Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

[2ninerniner2]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

@peteconway - along this line, here is one from a 'mate' from Sydney, via FMForums:

"Like the joke about the difference between a buffalo and a bison... you wash your hands in a bison. LOL "

Thanks for all the replies! I am not ignoring the thread; just got back in and will try to address the points made this coming week :-)

[WendyWelton]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Oh now I might pay money to see that! Come on Pete - throw us a picture?

[peteconway]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Yep need to be careful with languages as you know they call a pullover (in the USA) we call a jumper - If said I sitting here with a nice jumper on - Wendy would see me wearing a dress.. - not:-(

[Tim Kiebert]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Nice save Pete. :-)

[peteconway]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

In Australia the term is used to describe a great example and what's appreciated and reliable.

[WendyWelton]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

LOL - "a classic" - a phrase that can be interpreted many ways!

btw - fair credit - I got PICNIC from Jay Talbot, from one of the training videos. I just loved it so much I use it everywhere now.

[peteconway]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

most of mine are PICNICs (Problem In Chair Not In Computer)

Wendy - next time I'm in the States I have to meet you OK. You are a classic.

[WendyWelton]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

"This is when the flags started popping up. The biggest one for me is this "new" subscription model. Hmmm. Well, that may be workable. Then there is the feature set that was supposed to ship with the latest build but now somehow seems to be listed as only available in the subscription (I may be totally off base here, but that is how it appears from some of the posts and also the "squeeze-page"-like emails that I have been receiving since signing up for the trial)."

You are correct that some of the new features are only available to subscription holders. The subscription is not required for ongoing use, not like some other companies. But it is required for some of these features. I'm guessing they're doing that to encourage folks to switch to the subscription, rather than wait for the next release to upgrade.

The subscription gets you any and all training and new features they put out within your subscription period. I don't find it the least bit odd that these new features would not be available to all, as I don't know any other software that puts out any new features for free. You either get them via the cost of an upgrade or some other type of charge. My main architectural software introduced a subscription system about a year and a half ago. I'm involved enough with them to have discussed it personally with them. The subscription model is really a win-win. The company gets better cash flow. Rather than income coming all in a rush at upgrade time, it's spread out over the anniversary dates of many. In return they can lower the total cost of ownership for users, and release new features sooner, rather than having to hold them until upgrade time.

The one thing I don't know, that you'd have to ask them directly, is what they have planned for any pricing changes in the future. For instance, they've said they plan to discontinue the WAS during or after V12, that they're working on an IIS based replacement instead. They've just introduced some pricing changes for the WAS that adds some limited use options - don't remember what exactly, but I think the newer lower-priced options limit the number of domains. I'm hoping they will continue to offer the unlimited domain option, but you'd have to ask them.

[WendyWelton]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

I also think company size is a two sided coin. Being small can seem more risky. But, I was a user of Dabble DB prior to A5 (don't laugh, I said I was a rookie!). Well, Twitter bought them. Sounds good huh? Nope. They bought it to get the head developers, then killed it. That's not the norm, of course. But, being bought and owned by a large company does not always mean a better product. Decisions are now being made by bean counters. One of the reasons I bought Alpha Five is the overwhelmingly positive experience I had with my main architectural software, Chief Architect. It's also relatively small, privately held, and the creator is still involved. For me the fact that the Rabins brothers are very much personally involved is more a plus than a minus. It's their baby. My business is my baby. I eat, think, drink and breathe it. I will provide a level of service that sometimes makes no sense, because it's my baby. Every coin has a flip side of course, and so does this one. I have absolutely no doubt that there are times where one person or another on this forum quietly really wants to go there and smack some sense into them! But that's dealing with people, and I'd rather know that there are people there who care, even if every decision they make wouldn't be my first choice.

I'll also say that their small size and personal involvement leads to a rapid response on bugs that I haven't seen anywhere else, ever - and I have and do use a LOT of software. I've sent in bugs and received a fix the next day. I have only one that I know of that's still outstanding, and even then that's because it's hard to describe and I haven't documented it clearly (found a workaround, have been buried in my main work).

If there are recent changes in both companies - FM being sold and an investor being added at A5 (which I don't actually know about, I'm taking your word for it), then I'm not sure you can even predict how either action will affect either product. So then I would simply look at the product.

Also - as Pete Conway suggests, contact them directly. You'll find them surprisingly willing to answer your questions. I know of one recent purchaser who had quite a bit of interaction while using the trial version - here on the forum, over at the IADN forum & round table, and with the company directly. I think she was even sending them "bug" reports! I don't know if they were actual bugs or not, most of mine are PICNICs (Problem In Chair Not In Computer). But, if you're in the trial and you follow instructions for something and it doesn't work or you sincerely think you've found a bug, you can submit it, even if you're only on the trial. Now there's a way to test drive things!

[Rida Alhasan]

Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

.
Hello,
It seems that we all like Alpha Five as a product. On the other hand, Lyle has raised a reasonable issue, which is "credibility". I'm writing from Spain, where people have a more no-experiments mentality than in the US. This is not strange when you have 24% (not a typo) unemployement rate. Products tend to be adapted when they already have a large backing/base and if the company that sells it has a big-brand name. The result is that many good products, Alpha Five an example, are just a blip here. This means that a client may want the application built in Java or PHP just because.

As the matter hinges on an emotional level, which I think you call FUD, no amount of rational reasoning gets through. I'd be grateful for any suggestions on how to deal with this issue, especially from those developers who have encountered a similar wall. What

A) emotional arguments
B) strategies (like try-and-buy)

have you used to reassure your clients on the benefits of considering an alternative solution. (I personally don't like my last phrase "alternative solution", as I do not consider Alpha Five as solution B but am unable to word it otherwise).


Regards,
Felix
.

[WendyWelton]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Lyle,

I have not used filemaker. I'm a relative newbie to this world, maybe about 9 months in. I really debated with myself in the beginning whether that subscription I bought was worth it or not, especially when I struggled with the economy (I'm in the home construction sector). But the new feature packs and bonus training material have made it well worth it. Each round of new feature packs seems to have at least one thing I've been trying to figure out how to do - and voila, there it is! Even if you're an experience developer, not a newbie like me, they're great time savers.

[gaby_h]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

At least 2 advantages:
- Cost of ownership. I can easily embed the cost of Alpha in my development cost, this is very difficult to do with FM.
- Alpha has much more features an options.
In other words you can build highly sophisticated apps for much less, therefore make more money per project.

[bobalston]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Just curious, what is it that you like in A5 over FM?

Bob

[gaby_h]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

Lyle:
I come from FM too (I switch to Alpha after version FM8.5).
- Cost of ownership. FM is an expensive product, hard to make a living from it. If I remember your client needs to buy 1)FM server (around $1000), 2)1 copy of FM for each station which leaves very little room for you to charge for your work. In Alpha you can deploy an app on a LAN for a large number of users for $600, for $1000 you can do both desktop and web app for any number of clients. For expl I bought the Web Develop bundle which I can use to develop web apps for hundreds of clients at no additional cost. Try that with FM. Also a web app developed in Alpha is too feature rich to be compared to an app developed in FM.
- Alpha has a lot more features than FM, so much more that you can't really compare, that's why...
- FM is a worry free development environment. There is 1 or 2 or 3(max) ways of doing things. In alpha you can get the same or similar results in many ways. It's a plus but also a minus; therefore expect a learning curve (the product is very deep).

I leave it up to other former FM developers to chime in and add things

Love at first sight is a dangerous thing. I would advise to buy a basic version (desktop or web or both) and use it for a while. Take 1 or 2 apps that you developed in FM and recreate them in Alpha, one feature at a time. It's only after you have done so that you can tell if its good for you or not.

[DaveM]

Re: Sell this FileMaker developer on A5 :)

For what it is worth, Filemaker was always considered a sub par app maker in the groups I have been in. That includes many places youwere also in by what you aluded to.

Alpha is a great RAD development platform that you can use for web and/or desktop.

As you know, there is nothing in this world perfect and neither is alpha. The people at alpha are way more willing to listen, modify, create, repair the program when it is needed and you don't usually have to wait long for the help.

If you choose Alpha, WELCOME ABOARD!