Re:22 Years of Delphi and It Still Rocks
by tonyedgecombe on Wednesday February 15, 2017 @08:19AM
(#13651761)
I think they do understand that, they just see their opportunity elsewhere. The reason is the only price that would satisfy the complainers is free, which isn't going to be very profitable.
There is a community of locked in customers who are wiling to pay to keep their projects going, it makes sense for Embarcadero to milk them.
Re:22 Years of Delphi and It Still Rocks
by Karunamon on Wednesday February 15, 2017 @11:03AM
(#13652943)
That market can only possibly be diminishing over time. I mean sure, $bigco can afford ~3k/user/year, but eventually, that's gonna dry up.
Charging for basic development tools in 2017 just seems weird, and I'm afraid by the time they realize that the company is dying, the mindshare will be gone, never to return.
Re:22 Years of Delphi and It Still Rocks
by Joeri on Wednesday February 15, 2017 @11:45AM
(#13653314)
There's no money in devtools for general desktop app development. Embarcadero knows that the only way to grow the delphi userbase is to make it free, so they're instead trying to milk it for all it's worth on the way down.
I had a bit of hope for delphi with mobile app support, but the pricing really killed it now that microsoft offers xamarin for free.
Plus, object pascal is too weird for js coders. C-style syntax is a must, even though object pascal is in many ways a better language.
Re:22 Years of Delphi and It Still Rocks
by dvfjsdhgfv on Wednesday February 15, 2017 @03:11PM
(#13655005)
I don't agree making it free is the only option. Delphi is now multiplatform. There are several companies with a development tool targeted at just one of these platforms, charging money for it - usually not much, but the subscription model makes it more expensive in the long run.
Imagine having just Delphi for Android free. If I could release the same app for iPhone by coughing up $200, why shouldn't I?
They could also release a basic version at a very low price, unlocking features in the more expensive editions. Yes, they can actually study the usage cases and examine what extra features are indispensable for current paid customers but could be removed in the basic version without much problem for an average developer. There are so many ways they could play this out, I'm really disappointed they've chose this route.
I would happily pay. So would many others. Things do not need to be free, they just need to be priced within reason.
Re:22 Years of Delphi and It Still Rocks
by tonyedgecombe on Wednesday February 15, 2017 @11:54AM
(#13653386)
Yes it will dry up but by then I expect they will have made a ton of money. This isn't an unusual pattern, I've seen it with a few platforms I've worked with.
I agree with your diagnosis. The problem is that Embarcadero doesn't understand that, and when it does (or when someone else buys Delphi), it may well be much too late to revive it. They could really position various versions of the product in a different way, making the lower tier more affordable.