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Future of powerbasic

Started by Sutthisak Phongthanapanic, September 01, 2013, 12:10:38 PM

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Patrice Terrier

#75
Jim Bailey
Last Activity: Aug 26th, 2013 06:54 PM

:)

Patrice Terrier
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Carlo Pagani

Maybe it was Jim in the accident?

Jim Dunn

Jim Bailey's twitter feed hasn't been updated since March 2013:

https://twitter.com/tunedin76

Dennis Wallentin

James,

For me the documentation is not user-friendly and it's not subject to the level of knowledge in Basic.

Just because I buy a product does not necessarily mean I'm the right customer for the company. It's the attitude. I wished I have bookmarked two threads at the PB forum that point to the issue.

-----------------------------------------
Kind regards,
Dennis

James OShea

Quote from: Dennis Wallentin on September 16, 2013, 01:57:31 PM
For me the documentation is not user-friendly and it's not subject to the level of knowledge in Basic.

You are right, it's not user friendly.   Definitely not suitable for a beginner.  It's OK for someone with a good knowledge of BASIC but even then it is not an efficient source of information.  So we really don't disagree on this issue.  I have seen worse.

Quote
Just because I buy a product does not necessarily mean I'm the right customer for the company. It's the attitude. I wished I have bookmarked two threads at the PB forum that point to the issue.

If PB has belittled any of it's customer base it would be really stupid on their part.  They make their money on the sale of the compiler regardless of how it's used.   FYI, I fall into the hobbyist category who sold several PB/DOS programs in the long past.  I also sold some VB3 and VB6 programs in that same time frame.   

James OShea

Quote from: Carlo Pagani on September 16, 2013, 11:54:49 AM
Maybe it was Jim in the accident?

It is possible as the last email I received that was signed by Jim was on 08/26/13 in which he said he was sending out the disks that day.  I hope he wasn't in an accident bringing my disks to the post office.  The guilt, the guilt.

Further evidence would be the email that I received on 09/06/13 was signed PowerBASIC Management Team.   Maybe it was from Vivian.   It really doesn't explain why the software I ordered on 08/06/13 and 08/12/13 was not shipped as of 08/26/13.  I really do want to give them the benefit of the doubt but anecdotal evidence from this forum makes it very hard.

Whether it was Jim or not, I hope whoever it was recovers quickly. 

Marc Giao

Hi All,

Does anyone here have a direct e-mail to Vivian Zale? Please PM me if you do, thanks.

Marc
=========

Brice Manuel

Quote from: James OShea on September 16, 2013, 04:41:56 PM
Quote from: Carlo Pagani on September 16, 2013, 11:54:49 AM
Maybe it was Jim in the accident?

It is possible as the last email I received that was signed by Jim was on 08/26/13 in which he said he was sending out the disks that day.  I hope he wasn't in an accident bringing my disks to the post office.  The guilt, the guilt.

Further evidence would be the email that I received on 09/06/13 was signed PowerBASIC Management Team.   Maybe it was from Vivian.   It really doesn't explain why the software I ordered on 08/06/13 and 08/12/13 was not shipped as of 08/26/13.  I really do want to give them the benefit of the doubt but anecdotal evidence from this forum makes it very hard.

Whether it was Jim or not, I hope whoever it was recovers quickly.


Unless PB Inc. is now a one person operation, there should have been somebody else to mail out your software.

Patrice Terrier

If you do not need anything new, nor a 64-bit version, then you can stay with PB10 for some more years until you get retired.

ELSE

move on...
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Theo Gottwald

Ok, here is my personal opinion.
I have to say that its not really based on best of my knowledge but this is all i can say at this time.

My opinion is - and i have said this often enough before, also in the PB Forum -
that anybody with a bit of math knowledge can make a rough calculation,
how much money can really be earned with a product like PB with the actual prices in a niche market like it is.

You see Jose's Forum, you can see the download numbers of excellent free software from Jose.
Take you calculator and make a rough approximation how much is in there if anybody of these customers has bought a compiler.

Now ask your self ... all 4 to 6 years a new compiler ... can you pay all that time a staff of support and programmers and taxes etc. with the money you have calculated?

Going from there we have a reason to assume that PB was never a company with high profits, I'd even say it must have been at the border. And if i look at my calculation it could even have been down the border.

For the rest just think abit how the situation from Bob was and possibly for his wife now is.
For me its just adding 1+1.

What i am asking myself is, what Jim is doing about it. Its never good to make promises and not hold them.

I am not sure its a good idea to keep the community in the dark on what is really happening. Possibly the community would have helped in finding sollutions.

Chris Holbrook

Quote from: Theo Gottwald on September 16, 2013, 08:34:18 PMPossibly the community would have helped in finding sollutions.
Openness was never their strong suit. It would be a shame if the company just disappeared, but for prudent consumers of the product, the writing is on the wall - Find An Alternative.

While I sympathise with people who would be hit hard by the demise of PowerBASIC, which seems at least a possibility, the company was always a one-man band and as time went on there was no hint that they were planning for a succession. Here's the clue:
Bob Zale, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, TREASURER, SECRETARY.

If the users could get involved, great. But I'm just hoping that someone of substance has been negotiating with PowerVivian and that the products will be rebadged and continue, not because I am dependent on them, but because they are great compilers and it would be a shame to see them removed from the market, or worse, in the hands of an incompetent developer.


Patrice Terrier

You are at the tip of the very tip.

Or if you prefer, at the end of the very end...



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Chris Holbrook

Maybe the best plan is for people who don't see their future as being primarily with PowerBASIC to avoid contributing so as not to spoil the atmosphere for those who cannot afford to be critical.

Let me lead the way by asking a moderator to be so kind as to unsubscribe me.

Patrice Terrier

#88
Chris Holbrook--

Christopher Boss, has invested so much on PB with his EZGUI, that the disappearance of PB as a company would ruin all his marketing strategy, and if i was in the same situation i should be also very upset.

That should teach to third party addon developpers a good lesson: never put all your eggs into the same basket.
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James OShea

Quote from: Christopher Boss on September 16, 2013, 10:27:57 PM
The people at PowerBasic are not perfect and they face tremendous challenges right now, but much of what is being said here is more slanderous that useful. If someone has a problem with an order, take up with PB and leave it at that. If they are slow to fullfill, then one has the right to stop using their products or even cancel an order if necessary. But what is being said here in this thread is going too far and IMO this forum is losing credibility.

First off, I have been nothing but patient with PowerBASIC.  I have sent them four different emails,  two of which were answered with ship date promises that were not kept and a third that was only answered after submitted a complaint to the payment company and a fourth that remains unanswered.  I offered to cancel the order and get a refund.  No reply.   

As far as the tone of this forum, PowerBASIC should be concerned.  These are their paying customers who may or may not opt for the next version.