There is a POST in EDB this week where Tim responded to requests for EDB roadmap requests - indicating financial concerns has moved his focus to some other consulting jobs to support his families needs, but clearly reassures that support emails are being handled.  He then pounders out loud about subscriptions fees and features ,,,,, so I just wanted to hightly this post if you have not seen it and to ask here:

Would you pay more for your EWB subscription?

A poll was started - but a simple Yes/No did not make sense to me - as it is not that easy.  My response is below.


(Cross post below)

This poll might be too simplistic.

I would pay more (how much more is another question) - IF - the product was growing. Frankly I find both DBISAM and EDB quite stable and can work within there current feature set and am happy to pay the current rate just to get bugs fixed (timely) without new features.

I purchased EDB in the past just to support Tim when I only developed with DBISAM and continued to purchase ongoing support for both product for many years while I did not use EDB.  I now use EDB first and don't do much new work with DBISAM, but still maintain some DBISAM clients.

Elevate Web Builder - The EWB evolution and growth of this product is MUCH more important to me.  I would like to see the Client Side blossom and leave the Server side as it was in V2 - we as developers can extend the backend with the integration option provided - more controls and integration into other existing JS tools really excite me.

I know everyone has different needs - these are just mine.

Walter Matte

I would definitely pay extra to assure that EWB moves forward. Each year I pay 1.000 dollars for my Delphi subscription so if EWB got the focus it needed, Tim could double the yearly subscription fees for me. Most important is that someone work on the product.

Thats just my thoughts.

Br
Eivind Brenne

Although money has been very tight for my business since COVID originally hit, I would be prepared to pay more for my EWB subscription if it meant continued and faster development.

I too am more interested in the development of the client side of things than the server side, particularly in regards to more components.  Though I still need the ability to call EDB stored procedures from EWB apps.

= Steve

A family has to make a living.

I too, only use the EWB portion of the product and that's where I'd obviously like to see the support go.

I would be interested to know what proportion of the Elevate user group is EWB-only, because that would be indicative of where effort should be spent for the best return.

I would be okay with increased fees IF the level of support could increase.  Currently it feels stalled, I'm still waiting on some bug fixes which I feel would benefit others too.   I don't want to switch products, I'd already tried the competition before switching to EWB.

To put things in perspective, I've largely replaced my Delphi work with EWB, so I'm willing to decrease my Delphi licensing fees  in preference for EWB licensing.

Erick
EWB Programming Books and Component Library
http://www.erickengelke.com

In my job I can't develop any more server side applications with delphi but I can use MS VS 2019 and C. With EWB and with a little library self written in C# I have an incredible productivity to realize proof of concepts and apps standalone.
So I need to be assisted and evolved in elevate ewb.
Thanks all

I know I already posted an opinion on this topic but I have more thoughts.


Component Sponsors
---------------------------------
Some clients needs a specific new component ASAP, or an existing component extended and looked but it’s not available yet and they don’t know how to proceed themselves.  So they approach Tim, or if really desperate, me.

I’ve found that rather than doing custom solo-work solely for the individual, many people are willing to pay for the component and “donate” their extension back to the general good of the user base.

This has been true with my Nice library, when I wasn’t particularly inspired to do some things on my own, several people paid for the extensions and agreed they be added to the general toolkit with the understanding that they had likewise benefitted from others doing the same.   Everyone benefits from each other’s generosity.

So, I suggest we get sponsors for new Elevate components.  This could keep Tim focused on EWB and the work remains the property of the software author for product inclusion, but the individual or company can then complete their desired project on-time.    

It’s also a way those of us with a bit more budget could pay a bit more without raising general prices as much – which helps grow the community.  

Community Editions
--------------------------
I’m actually against community editions of software – free software for home/education/etc. having had a lot of experience developing some and also using them.   It seems many people suggest them to get viewership up.  They mostly attract people with no intention of purchasing who tend to be a big support drag.   So I’m glad Tim hasn’t entertained that beyond a limited trial edition.


Software Life Cycle
-------------------------

Software life cycles last in years, with 10 years being a surprisingly successful run, and many show their age by that point requiring redesigns or abandonment.  Delphi has reached 30 years last year, and EWB 10 years around this year but is still quite fresh and having renewed versions.  Congratulations.

I appreciate that Tim has done miracles building a complete eco-system for us, but at significant cost of time and distraction from EWB.
Some were false starts, like months dedicated trying to make a PHP based system – again admirable but it didn’t pan out.

I kind of wonder about the Elevate server and other Elevate products, how long they will remain as viable as EWB while diverting time from it, and competing with products like MySQL and others which are so mature and often free since there are so many 3rd party products available to extended or augment these other compeditors


Finding New Benefits
----------------------------

EWB for me has replaced Delphi for most desktop applications as I embrace a web-first strategy.

In another post I mentioned the growing ability to use EWB with NodeJS for multiplatform solutions.  I hope to find new opportunities to deploy EWB solutions and will continue to evangelize about it.



Community
----------------

We as a community need to step up to make this product particularly vibrant and remain viable.   

That can be a combination of board posts,  components, examples, how-to videos, etc.  Just participating is important.


Erick
EWB Programming Books and Component Library
http://www.erickengelke.com

Short answer: I am in. Running circles around whole companies with EWB (and Delphi) is fun, I'd like to pay for some more than today. Like, double?

Walter Matte wrote:

> Would you pay more for your EWB subscription?

I don't need the server.  Is paying a monthly service fee out of the question?

Walter Matte wrote:

> Would you pay more for your EWB subscription?

I don't need the server although I can see a server product with EDB built in to it.  Is paying a monthly service fee out of the question?

> Elevate Web Builder - The EWB evolution and growth of this product is MUCH more important to me.

I agree.  I've been wanting the HTML editor very bad.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Allen

<< Allen W. Hunt wrote:

I agree.  I've been wanting the HTML editor very bad. >>

Me too!!  I've been waiting for that for a very looonnggg time.

= Steve