Neobook Update 2018

[Palamar]

Hello people.
Those who know me will know that whenever I can I have contributed to disseminate with tutorials, examples, etc. to this great tool that is Neobook.
I will expose here a couple of ideas to clarify what I had in mind after reading everything.

1) I think that if Dave can not keep the product anymore and there is a community that expects an update, something must be done. I see that he is not happy with the economic development of recent years but before he also clarified that the problem was time. What is the real problem? If the Code can not be released for any reason whatsoever, Dave should provide the software to someone who is still in development with a license in between (For example, to maintain his original Software authorship).

2) The price is another problem. Like the user who speaks from Russia is the value for each country. We have people from all over the forum to take care of the distribution. But you can also lower the value to something more acceptable than convert it to any currency is not an exaggeration. I do not think the issue of annual updates is necessary at a cost (I'm talking about not requiring Dave or another programmer to do something he may not be able to accomplish).

3) Finally the complements. They are an example to follow, many of the solutions that users look for are in plugins that make everything expensive but that give us an idea of ​​where future Neobook updates should go. I think that for example someone would pay much better Neobook with database possibilities in the same package than separately.

Anyway, I use Neobook and I love it, I do not want it to die so I do not know what to do but I think the final decision is Dave's, and you can only help from the outside if he starts with a movement ...



EN ESPAÑOL:

Hola gente.
Quienes me conocen sabran que siempre que he podido he aportado para divulgar con tutoriales, ejemplos, etc. de esta magnifica herramienta que es Neobook.
Voy a exponer aca un par de ideas como para aclarar lo que me quedó en mente después de leer todo.

1) Creo que si Dave no puede mantener más el producto y hay una comunidad que espera una actualización es preciso que se realice algo. Veo que él no está conforme con el desarrollo economico de los últimos años pero antes también aclaró que el problema era el tiempo. ¿Cuál es el problema real?. Si no se puede liberar el Código por los motivos que sea, Dave debería de brindar el software a alguien que siga en desarrollo con una licencia de por medio (Por ejemplo que mantenga su autoría de Software original).

2) El precio es otro de los problemas. Al igual que el usuario que habla desde rusia es el valor para cada país. Tenemos gente de todas partes en el foro para encargarse de la distribución. Sino también puede bajarse el valor a algo más aceptable que convertirlo a cualquier moneda no quede una exageración. No creo que el tema de actualizaciones anuales sean necesarias a través de un costo ( hablo de no exigir a Dave u otro programador algo que quizás no pueda cumplir).

3) Por último los complementos. Son un ejemplo a seguir, muchas de las soluciones que buscamos los usuarios las encontramos en complementos (plugins) pagos que lo encarecen todo pero que nos dan una idea de por donde tienen que ir las futuras actualizaciones de Neobook. Creo que por ejemplo alguien pagaría mucho mejor Neobook con posibilidades de base de datos en el mismo paquete que por separado.

En fin, utilizo Neobook y me encanta, no quiero que muera así que no sé bien que hacer pero creo que la desición final es de Dave, y solo se puede ayudar desde afuera si el comienza con un movimiento...

[UltraVox]

Neosoftware :

I am certainly open to some type of alternative process that would allow NeoBook and NeoAppBuilder to live on in some form. Unfortunately, open source is not a viable option without extensive modifications, since both programs make use of numerous commercial and free libraries.

Dave, tell us what are these commercial and free libraries. We may be able to find equivalents, or replace them with other, newer and/or free ones. Do not stop there. All problems have a solution. We must try everything.

I'd like to know... On this forum, who are the experienced developers in Delphi who would be willing to help Dave in the development, help him somehow ?

Thanks for answering.

It is unacceptable that all these years of learning, investing and producing are lost forever.
I refuse to give up NB.

[krackerjaxz]

My idea to keep NeoBook going is to change the licensing system. In the 20+ years I have been online I've seen this happen countless times. Software lasts a while but the problem is always the same. Developer has to keep spending more and more energy drumming up new business.

I've seen one Internet Marketer go from the "pay once" to "yearly renewal" system. To me, this makes more sense. This way, the folks that want to keep using the software can by paying a yearly renewal fee. Those that don't want to continue using the software can simply not renew their license.

As for NeoApp Builder, I thought it was a decent idea at first, but thus far, i'm more interested in Windows application development. Seems as if NeoApp Builder mainly creates the GUI and the person has to do JS or related programming to really get it working. Granted, this may change once more functions are added to it.

With that being said, it might be better to update NeoBook (if needed) and implement a new licensing model. Once that is all fine and dandy, then possibly focus on NeoApp Builder. In my opinion, I don't believe it wise to put effort into developing a new software (i.e. NeoApp Builder) while not investing much time into NeoBook. Sort of trying to spread one's self thin. Granted, if there is huge demand for software such as NeoApp Builder, then fine. However, NeoBook seems to be the flagship product of Neosoft.

[UltraVox]

+1 !

[Wrangler]

Nothing is lost. Neobook is still alive and doing well. As it is, with no future development, it is a powerhouse. The problem isn't with the licensing system. It's with marketing. Just as the software Neobook produces needs to be marketed properly to succeed, so does Neobook. Having developed dozens of shareware titles over the years with Neobook, I can attest to this. This is difficult to do. Mostly, it costs a lot of money. And takes someone who is talented to pull it off successfully. There are talented people out there who could make Neobook a success. But they cost money. It always comes down to money. Or a lack of it. Dave hasn't quit development because he's tired of it. He's taken it as far as it will go with the means he has to work with.

I agree that something should be done to revive Neobook. But the wrong way to go about that is getting dramatic and claiming it's dead. IT'S NOT DEAD. I continue daily to create new software for HighDesert Software as well as numerous in-house utilities. And I like the idea I don't have to cough up money every year to use it. No, it's not Delphi or Visual.net. It wasn't designed to be. It was designed for the rest of us who aren't programmers to develop useful windows software. It is an excellent teaching aid for teachers to prepare our latest computer-savvy generation for what lies ahead.

If you really want to help Dave, and Neobook, just spread the word about Neobook for what it is now. Tell all your friends. Write a blog on it. Make a youtube video on it. Share it on social media. Tell your kids' teachers about it. Open people's eyes to it's features and ease of use. Support the plugin authors so they have reason to continue development.

It will work because Neobook will back up all your claims. If you don't believe me about the power Neobook has, visit my shareware site linked in my signature. Everything there (and many not there and no longer available) were made with Neobook.

Stand up and shout, and they will come. Or, keep it to yourself and lose a powerful tool.

[krackerjaxz]

Wrangler, I agree with you on the sentiment that i'ts not Delphi or .NET but gives those that may be grammatically challenged the ability to create their own software. For a number of years I have attempted to learn C#. The biggest hurdle has always been what I consider the instability of the .NET framework. I'm very technically adept. However, when I have to sift through tons of various .NET forums just to get Visual Studio installed due to various errors by the .NET installation system, I often end up giving up. I want to spend my time creating software not trying to troubleshoot a failed IDE installation.

This is one of the things I love about Notebook. Installation was a breeze. Plugins come with their own installers, even though manually installing a plugin is a breeze. I'm able to jump in, start developing my software and not have to worry about much else.

Even though it's not .NET or Delphi, it's still quite expandable. I love how I can incorporate JavaScript or VBS coding if I wanted to expand on some features not currently available in NeoBook. This leaves a huge window open for those wanting to get their hands a bit more dirty with programming (i.e. other than NeoBook's built in scripting language).

[Wrangler]

Yup. Tell everybody.....

[luishp]

Please take a look here:

http://neosoftware.com/community/viewto ... 29&t=22248

Regards.

[Wrangler]

I am very pleased to be able to say that this topic can be closed. The future of Neobook is now in good hands. See Luis link above.