Hi Mario--
A life? Are you kidding? I never heard of any software developer with a life....
I appreciate your response to my comments and very much hope you don't misunderstand my perspective. I have nothing but the utmost respect for what you have done/are doing with iMatch, so I hope you don't interpret my comments as in any way hostile or antagonistic. Actually exactly the opposite is intended.
I bought your program some time ago (even though I have not yet adopted it as my image management database; I haven't adopted any other program either) and would happily pay you more if it would enable you to make enough money on it to make it into a real sustainable business. I'd be willing to be that a LOT of other people feel the same way. I can't see how you can make this work only charging $49 and giving away all your enhancements after that.... And I think that leaves you and your users in somewhat of a tricky bind.
It may be a part-time avocation to you, but I would be far more comfortable commiting to iMatch, putting the time, energy and reliance required to master it for my image catalog if I knew it were a profitable venture for you, sustaining the kind of development and support it will take to keep a product like this viable over the long haul.
I too develop software on nights and weekends (and during any other stolen moments) and I totally sympathize with you and fully understand how your best estimates of release dates, etc. get buried by the realities of software development, the press of customer support and whatever sliver of a life is left over.
But I honestly think that is precisely the heart of most of what you read in this forum, even if it isn't articulated that way.
I suspect I'm fairly typical: I have an urgent need to make a commitment to an image management system. Although the competition seems to be heating up a bit, many people believe that you have built the most powerful and extensible product on the market. And yet many people who want to adopt your product, are not willing to pull the trigger.
I know you are sick and tired of the "interface" discussions. I have been accused of being so sure about my products that I wasn't willing to really listen to other opinions. At some point that becomes a knee-jerk thing. For someone so intimately familiar with how something works, it is easy to underestimate someone else's difficulties.
Except for a few interface limitations, most "objections" have a more or less "simple" solution. Because iMatch is so powerful and potentially complex, the cumulative effect of those issues feels overwhelming to people who just want to "use" the product and don't want to learn a programming language. I haven't adopted your program, but I've spent a lot of time with it, read your manual, and scan your forum fairly regularly. I'm not just parroting what other people say.
Now, having probably sounded very arrogant and superior (which I really don't intend, but I really want to try to express my thoughts) I do have some constructive suggestions for you. While perhaps a bit radical, I can imagine that they might have an energizing and positive effect on your product.
We all know how IBM's decision to make the PC an open architecture and Apple's decision not to spawned an entire industry sprang around the PC.... Adobe's success is partly due to the plug-in architecture, providing an avenue for a wide range of people and organizations to extend the product. Look at
http://www.remotecentral.com-- a site devoted to entertainment and home automation remote control. Literally thousands of interfaces built by the user community (some quite amazing and professional) are available there for review and download.
Clearly the major beef around iMatch is the interface. There are some additional features I think people really want, but as you and others have demonstrated, almost anything can be accomplished using your scripting language and built-in functions. So here's my idea:
You've got a pretty active and knowledgeable user base now, many of whom are knowledgeable programmers, and there are many other lurkers in the same category waiting to take the plunge. Why can't you open up your interface-- make the interface source (or major parts of it) open-- provide SDK access to the low level functions and scripts to anyone who pays you for a license-- provide a site for people to exchange their work (some people will be happy to give their work to you if you want to incorporate it, and if anyone wishes to sell plug-ins, require them to pay you for a developers' license.)
You don't have the resources to respond to everything people want and your idea of the interface may not suit everyone, so why not put the energy of many users and developers to work expanding your product? You might see a LOT of very positive activity and extension of iMatch in ways you could never have imagined.
I would also strongly recommend you post prototypes of your interface design for major features for comment by your users (even if its only a subset of users) before you commit to coding them. I know that is a little unorthodox, but I think you'd be way ahead of the game.
OK, I've exhausted myself with this post, and probably exhausted you as well. Hopefully you will know how much I really want you to succeed. You need a polished interface around your powerful engine. The market is really ripe for the taking, but unless someone buys you out if you don't do something you're going to get lost in the growing momentum of other products.
Maybe people will chime in on this, and instead of complaining perhaps they have some other good suggestions for you. I'm definitely on your team, and think many other people would be too
Thanks for listening, and I wish you only the best.
Kenny Frank
