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>"First Adobe drops the Mac version of FrameMaker, now MM drops RH for FM.
Perhaps they know something about FrameMaker that Adobe isn't letting the
tech writing public know? Perhaps the fate of FrameMaker is sealed?"
That's quite a leap of logic, n'est-ce pas?
I mean, equating Adobe dropping FrameMaker for the Mac to Macromedia
dropping a version-1 acquired product that only exists to support an
Adobe software product seems ... off base. Non?
RHFM is a version 1 product, brandy new, came out just before
Macromedia lapped up eHelp. RHFM only supports FrameMaker, an Adobe
product. Adobe is a competitor of Macromedia's. RHFM is competing in a
niche market of a niche market, those help-authorers who use
FrameMaker, it's gotta be a small market, right? And, RHFM is
competing against a mature, robust, feature-rich established software
tool in the form of WebWorks Publisher.
Sure, RHFM has brand-name appeal, that's why it captured some who did
not see the light years earlier and go with WWP, but as a version-1
product, still undergoing its sea trials, RHFM surely needs and eats
marketing cash, support cash, and development cash ... for less
return, probably negative return, than a mature product.
Even if you are the most overoptimistic help author, you could not say
RHFM fueled the Macromedia purchase; RHFM was at best an unintended
consequence of the purchase of eHelp. Nope. The best you could say is
that Macromedia wanted RoboHelp--a fact that I'd say is in serious
doubt. Perhaps MM wanted RoboPDF or RoboDemo--I'd certainly say
help-authoring software is not something Macromedia would seem to be
interested in, and I'd suspect they'd shoot for a PageMaker/InDesign
competitor for marketing and publications before taking a chance on
help authoring.
All wild guesses on my part, but I'd say my wild guesses are more
logical than equating Adobe dropping FrameMaker for the Mac to
Macromedia dropping a version-1 acquired product that only exists to
support an Adobe software product
On Tue, 06 Jul 2004 07:27:06 -0700, David Knopf <dklists -at- knopf -dot- com> wrote:
>
> on 7/6/2004 6:42 AM Amram wrote:
>
> > How could that be? It was just released ~three months ago, no?
>
> It was released before Macromedia acquired eHelp. Changes in the product
> line-up are not at all uncommon after an acquisition.
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