THIS SCALA FORUM HAS BEEN ARCHIVED. IT WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT NEW POSTS AFTER APRIL 22, 2009. REPLIES TO EXISTING POSTS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH APRIL 27, 2009. THE NEW FORUM CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Posted: Thursday, 24 Apr 2003 11:01 AM -- by Mike LevinFor the record, ICD3 has been removed from WebStore. All sales opportunities are being directed to our Resellers (VARs) and Partners through our Lead Management System. Additionally, ICD1 is increasingly flowing through our Resellers so they may get the double-benefit of getting the sale, and exploring IC3 potential.
Some of our Scala "old-timers" dating back to our days on the Amiga are being connected with resellers internationally, where there talents can be put profitably to work. Others, like Vladimir, are developing 3rd party products they can offer to our Resellers. The new support for WinScript is also opening new worlds of Scala customization and specialized market opportunities.
If you've ever thought about becoming a Value Added Reseller of Scala-based solutions, or working with one, there's never been a better time. Use our contact form http://www.scala.com/contact and select the "Apply to become a Scala Value Added Reseller" radio button. We also have a way for vendors of complementary products (like plasma screens, or Ars Media) to simultaneously talk directly to the entire world of Scala Resellers as a group. |
Posted: Saturday, 30 Mar 2002 2:10 PM -- by Mike LevinWeb Store is now open http://www.scala.com/asp/buy.asp
And now to address the Denis' concerns...
It was me who both created and eliminated the Scala Web Link-back program. It is no longer part of the Scala Website. Instead, the Link-back program has been replaced by Partnership area of the Scala Website that has TOP BILLING. Opportunities for Scala Partners has never been greater. There is also the Scala Expert area, which I will be developing. I have not had time to develop these new areas of the Website yet, but it is coming. My time recently has gone into the launch of a new Website, Web Store, this Message Board system, and a Lead Management system to help our VARs. I believe many of you have seen the results of this good work.
With my new "Send Scala a Message" message board system, Scala has responded to 100% of all inquiries since it went into effect in February with the launch of the new Website and IC3. This is a documented fact. Even this person's inquires, were in fact replied to. Meanwhile, the response to the "Send Scala a Message" system has been overwhelmingly positive from everyone else. We have thanks and kudos piling up.
The quality of Scala's products, services and responsiveness is at an all-time high. We are positioned to become the dominant player in the rapidly emerging industry of digital signage. Our 10+ years expertise and development in this field makes us the key enabler of lots of VERY large multimedia deployments and business opportunities that are beginning to occur. It will not be long before every square inch of advertising and visual merchandising space is covered with some sort of flat screen technology delivering targeted messaging. This is Scala's primary market. I am on a mission to ensure that everyone connected to Scala is also positioned to benefit as this industry develops.
But it takes me time as I work my way through each of my projects and priorities. People who know my history know that I always deliver what I promise, and that my credibility is impeccable.
It is unfortunate that some of our ICD user base feels priced out of our latest IC3 offerings. But it is not an upgrade. It is a move to our high-end network and broadcast product-line. It is my personal opinion that somehow or other Scala will deliver satisfaction to the part of its user base that's become accustomed to ~$300 upgrades (but not with IC3). But this opinion will not become a reality unless you Send Scala a Message. But instead of abusing Scala's hospitality here in the very Public Discussion Forum we provide, please express your opinion by using the Send Scala a Message system. We DO answer. The messages are routed to the decisions makers that need to hear, and do much better than venting here and punishing those of us trying to make things better.
Thanks to Paul and the others who see this.
Scala has always allowed user opinions to be posted here -- good and bad. I take full responsibility for the things regarding myself that this person is complaining about. I hope everyone will benefit from the impending improvements to the Partnership and Scala Experts areas of the Website as many of you will, as I make things even better for everyone connected to Scala.
Thanks to vast majority of Scala users who continue to support us -- whether you stay on ICD or move to IC3. Things are indeed changing. It is my belief that these changes are ensuring you another 10 years of extraordinary multimedia products.
|
Posted: Saturday, 30 Mar 2002 11:14 AM -- by John Schilling I got interested in this guy, as he spent an afternnon attempting to talk to everybody from my Tech Support Guys to the CEO's Secratary with his tale of woe--so I checked his claims.
A: He is not a VAR [I checked the paperwork]
B: He is not a Dealer. [again--I checked the paperwork--expired and current paperwork is unsigned]
C: He could not provide "Proof of Ownership" of even a single copy of ICD.
D: He was a BETA tester for ICD2--a product that we have never shipped. The Beta test program contains language that states: (1) You are not allowed to publically aknowledge your participation on a beta program; (2) Scala is under no obligation to bring any given test program to market as a product. [I reviewed the beta test program documents--there were no committments w/r to a "free" copy of the shipping product for that or any other beta program since MM100/IC100--CIRCA 1995/96] I've read the bug reports sumitted. Useless twaddle.
I'm sorry--but this person called me directly and made four incorrect/false statents within a 7 minute period. We are running a business. I certainly do not have the time for this sort of stuff--I have real paying customers who need help with real, non self inflicted, issues. All in all I wasted 22 minutes of my day on this person.
We do not throw away customers gladly. We do all that is reasonable, (and often much that is heroic), to retain and assist *customers* in proportion to their revenue relevance.
Regards,
--John Schilling, Scala, Inc.
[...and I don't bother with irrelevant titles--you can be the "King" of an English Channel Island--you are still the soveriegn of 900m^2 of concrete and sand with no resources positioned between two of the five greatest historical navies in the world]
|
Posted: Friday, 29 Mar 2002 11:57 PM -- by Denis G La Bine, CEO/President L@ Bine ProductionsYes it is dead, because at every turn of trying to GET some sort of help, both technical or otherwise nothing has happened except being hung up on, and and being told our IT guys Are the problem.
Sorry it doesn't work that way, I had to call Mr. Scala IT in a desperate atempt to get our SCALA system back up and running. They hung up on us.
Seems WE DO NOT MAKE ENOUGH MONEY or are a BIG enough account for Scala. And we have been with Scala, since 1980's. and We just recently gave scala months of Beta testing without compensation for what was promised to us. One free copy of the latest ICD.
1) Apart from all that, Certain Scala people make promises they do NOT keep, such as the above.
2) Scala is Dead, because It's a DVD world and they do NOT have any DVD distribution like we see on the CD-Rom family.
3) Scala is NOT yet up to speed with Xp Pro, that I might add WE WERE A BETA TESTER FOR AS WELL.
4) We are Partners and developers for Intel, Hp, Microsoft, Handspring, and many others. But NO longer for Scala unless they do answer the phone and NOT try to sell you yet another maintenance contract for their software inability to function with Xp Pro.
5) We are the only beta tester of Scala's that put the Major Test on Xp 64 bit on our Itanium CPU computer systems.
6) and Finally Scala IS dead because it made the choice of being arogant, deceiving, ( many features in the beta testing were never implemented or see) They refused to communicate. Many of my posts are gone vanished, as probrably will be this one.
7) After so many years of being a totally satisfied customer, var dealer, since the old amiga computer days, we find ourselves looking in amazement at this arrogant, narrow minded, poor visionsary, company still called "Scala"
Franckly , I'm amazed these bafoos can so quickly turn on those of us who pay their bills. Got it yet Scala?
This people is the rewards for LONG HARD work as a dealer, deta tester and end users. total abandonment by Scala.
No returned emails, NO return calls, no customer service, no help from any decision makers at SCALA.
We have made the partnership link to our website and again reneud it, with the promise that Scala would soon do the same, they lied again. It never happened, we gave them "FRONT AND CENTER BILLING AT OUR WEBSITE" as per the scala partnership agreement. We got nothing.
Denis G. La Bine, CEO/President L@ Bine Productions Corporation www.albine.com |
Posted: Friday, 29 Mar 2002 4:40 PM -- by BarryToo true, Bobby! R14400 would be far too much for a small business like ours to fork out for an upgrade. South Africa (like so many other parts of the world, I should imagine) isn't yet ready for the "digital signage revolution" so I guess we'll just have to stick with ICD for a while longer.
And Bobby, if you're from South Africa, drop us a line at cybercd@eastcoast.co.za |
Posted: Friday, 29 Mar 2002 3:06 PM -- by Mike LevinWeb Store is now open...
http://www.scala.com/asp/buy.asp
Feedback is welcome. |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Mar 2002 4:38 AM -- by Bobby$1200 = R14 400 The South Africans will find the upgrade pricing too costly! |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 1:55 PM -- by Mike LevinYou can start with the PDFs located at...
http://www.scala.com/press/literature.html
All the content I will be converting into HTML will be coming from these PDFs anyway. Kjell's post will be useful too :) |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 1:48 PM -- by Momir Zecevic
One can feel high tension at booth sides, Scala and ICD users. Scala is in the middle of the marketing campaign and it is understandable that they will pay more attention to VAR's and big customers.
On the other hand ICD users are waiting for this upgrade for a long time (although not so long as IC200 ones), and they find that their current product is obsolete. It is normal that they are worried especially when you have in mind that information's about upgrade and new features can't be found on one place of the web site.
Although I can understand booth sides I am very sorry to see this kind of argue on the forum. Especially when there is no REALLY good reason for that.
Nobody from Scala is telling that upgrade must be immediate. Nothing prevents ICD users to keep using it. I will. Although I thrust Scala I have not seen software to be suitable for what I am doing in its first incarnation. Even the companies famous about quality and stability of their products, such as Avid and discreet were not able to do that.
There is no issue about abandoning ICD and market that it represents. IC3 can do most of the stuff ICD could.
There is also no issue whether ICD has enough of new features for an upgrade. Read Kjell's post. There are plenty of them even if we forget for a moment possibility to expand with network components. In my opinion (and that is just my opinion, I am not trying to convince anyone to anything) just WBScript EX update is worth the price. It opens wide area of possibilities.
Only issue I can see here could be money asked for the upgrade.
John promised demo. Why not wait and see how it fits to your requirements, does it meet yours expectations, and at is it worth the money asked for it.
I suppose that nobody here use ICD for making colorful and jumpy amusement for it self. We are using it for business needs so we should treat this as business decision. With cool head and clear mind.
Certainly there would be users who will not go for an upgrade and there would be ones who will, but decision about that will be much more appropriate when you know about what you are talking about.
And to Scala guys and girls, I know that it's hard but try to push your self a little bit more, pack one file with detailed info for ICD users and place it in file download area, and hurry up with the demo. (Again it is business related; it is not in your interest to loose customers by making them nervous, or even worst, uninformed)
Best regards,
Momir Zecevic
Ars Media
|
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 1:17 PM -- by Mikael OlaussonNOW we're talking!
I know that there's more than just the two of us that would like this feature.
Anyone else??....
/Mike
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Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 10:30 AM -- by Scott BowermanHow about Scala making ICD "open source"??? That way those who are passionate about the product can add enhancements and upgrades and keep it alive indefinitely! |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 9:21 AM -- by John SchillingI have a rather thick skin. Your reaction does indicate that this product is important to you. That is good. The question is: Is it important enough to you to follow us to the next generation?
Scala is not new to this market. Scala, and its employees both at Scala and in previous lives at other computer hardware and software manufacturers, pretty much developed many of the components that made the market possible.
We know our customers. We have 15 years of sales/cost figures. We have the "Online Forums" searchable for every posting going back to 1994.
I know--I been here for most/all of it in one form or another. [I've responded to posts as time permits for 7+ years at Scala--and for 5+ years on Usenet Amiga forums for Commodore before that--I *know* our customers rather well!]
As to the question of "Why should we rush out and adopt this product?" If you need to ask the question--then the answer is "probably not". The IC3 product is geared for the traditional "InfoChannel" customer--the requirements in the area of "Product Stability" for this class of product are rather different than that of the "single user retail desktop presentation product."
Based on our internal testing I place the quality of this release at about the same level as IC200 Service Pack 3. A lot of people made very good money selling, deploying, and running IC200 SP3 solutions.
Its a good release--does it have issues? Yes. Are many of them fatal to the function of the product? No. Would I recommend its deployment in a 10-20 Player deployment? Yes. In a 2,000 unit deployment? Not this quarter--after Service Pack 1, Yes.
Its a new software release in its second week of sale. For many of our existing IC200 customers it offers clear and very compelling business advantages. It will sell very well and make quite a few people a good living.
And that folks its what its all about!
Best Regards,
--John Schilling, Director, Technical Services, Scala, Inc. [address any issues/complains reguarding my conduct to my immediate superior and employer for 14 years to: Jeffery Porter, CEO, Scala, Inc., 1 East Uwchlan Ave., Ste. 300, Exton, PA, 19341] |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 6:52 AM -- by Jonathan HodgeDear Mr Miller,
I'm sure that Mr Schilling will be most displeased to see that the only posting written
in his defence( by you) has an opening paragraph that is full of the very self satisfied
sarcasm that he and Scala have most recently been accused! Sarcasm is generally
regarded as the "lowest form of wit" and unfortunately your initial statement virtually
negates any credibilty relating to any of the possibly useful comments you may have
made later in your letter.
All the majority of the so called " Angry Postings" from existing ICD users are a
request for information from Scala:
Where do they stand now if they do not want to go into the Digital Signage Market
straight away?
Has ICD as a stand alone situation really been completely dumped?
Should they be looking elsewhere for other alternatives with ongoing innovation and
support?
For the past couple of years Scala has allowed, without any denials, through their
Forum and on the ground through their VARS, conjecture to continue regarding a
new ICD product or upgrade with many new features and the possible solving of
some compatabilty problems. ( Not just "Undoes").
Fred has been there! Seen it! tested it! Why has all this hard work and research
been shelved? Why not make ICD better? I'm sure that most users would be quite
happy to pay quite handsomely for some of the refinements that have been
suggested in the past and that are quite evidently possible.
Scala has already got a wide base of loyal "customers" using ICD who potentially
may progress to Digital Signage options at their own pace. The jump to Signage is
considerable not just in the cost of the programmes but in the organisation of the
installations etc. Scala must be aware that this is not for everybody right now so why
alienate many of their existing " customers" by pushing them too far too fast?
If Scala can answer some of these questions directly I am sure that most of this type
of Forum posting will become unnecessary. We are all, I'm sure, dedicated
supporters of the brilliant Scala programmes but are at present feeling just a little let
down and unsure of where Scala is heading.
Come on Scala give us some answers and hopefully some reassurance!
Jonathan Hodge |
Posted: Thursday, 28 Feb 2002 6:41 AM -- by Kjell DidriksenFor all your loyal beta testers of IC3 and customers. I just _had_ to do a posting of the above subject. Not sure if the posting ended up the way I did intend when I started to write it, but here it goes...
There have been some unclarified statements of what features that have been added to IC3 compared to ICD.
Basically all new features that was in the latest beta of IC3 have been implemented in the release version of IC3. This include (from the top of my head):
- Undo (limitted)
- Spell checking in 9 languages.
- Publish to Video (without sound)
- The possibility to adjust multiple backgrounds from the main menu. (Basically the Design Background menu inside themain menu with a few limitations.)
- More wipes.
- Layout Guides in the Page Editor.
- Grid mask in the Page Editor.
- TextCrawl that can use WBScript to feed it, of be feed from a file or a variable. The textcrawl can be used as button faces.
- Opacity individually on front, outline, shadow, backdrop, bevel and others.
- Rotated text in steps of 90 degree.
- Better playback of Movies and MovieClips. It also supports using Overlay. For movieclips it also supports other elements to be played on top of the movie without loosing to much performance. It works much better than in ICDesigner.
- Improved Design menus. Easier to use.
- WinScript EX. You can write WBScripts that you can launch with the Launch EX and you can communicate with the WBScript using variables. E.g. The variables will be changable from both the WBScript and the Scala script. It's a lot of new possibilities here.
I'm sure other features and fixes that I cannot remember just now have been added to IC3.
----------
And in addition these IC200 features have been improved and included in IC3. Many of them will solve many problems ICDesigner users have had and asked for help with in the support forum:
- Schedule EX. You can make presentations that will display different contents at different times.
- Textfile EX. You can feed variables with text from a textfile.
----------
And in addition to this IC3 is prepared for publishing to "Infochannel Network" - Maybe you never will have usage for that, but it's good to know that you would not need to upgrade IC3 to be able to do that if you later invest in the "Network Manager" and "IC3 Players".
----------
On the down side the publish to "Internet Channel" and "Internet Channel CD" was dropped. It was a question if we wanted to spend another month or so to fix a feature that most users did not use anyways (according to studies of how channels was used), or to get the product out earier. The last alternative was choosen.
The publish to Webcomponet is still there.
----------
So it is not correct to say that for an ICDesigner user the only usefull thing IC3 adds is spell-checking and Undo.
And bear in mind: Scala have had an history to add further fixes and also new features in ServicePacks. ICDesigner with the latest servicepack is pretty stable as it is. To add undo, spellchecker and publish to video in a service pack or upgrade to ICDesigner would most likely (if at all possible and affordable) had made ICDesigner less stable. Not to mention that it would had taken to much resources from engeneering.
Instead a downscaled IC3 product would be easier to do. But then which new features that exist in IC3 would you then want to live without? I guess "Publish to Infochannel Network" would be one. But how about the improved TextCrawl? Shedule EX? Textfile EX? WinScript EX?
In addition we would need to do stuff to make it impossible to use the downscaled version of IC3 to author scripts that is supposed to be published to Infochannel Network. To make that impossible we most likely would need to strip the downscaled IC3 for the above mentioned features and make it impossible to author scripts using those features in the downscaled IC3.
So in my opinion the upgrade price if it ends up in the 1XXX$ range (I do not know) would not be to bad. After all, you get a fair amount of new functionality for your money. And who knows what upcomming sevicepacks will bring later!
But I'm glad that it's not me that have to take the difficult desitions on how to market our products. And how many different flavors the product is to be made in.
Regards.
Kjell Didriksen
Developer
|
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 8:32 PM -- by Jim DouglasAs a relative new Scala customer, I was surprised by the upgrade price. I was dismayed by the lack of information early and I am still looking for the trial version. The OS requirements will probably
require new hardware so our upgrade would be quite expensive to our small company. A trial version might help all of us make an informed decision. |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 7:43 PM -- by Paul MillerI'm not sure what would please many of the users posting angry messages - maybe
Scala would have to produce a software product that sold for $59, would do realtime
video over slow internet connections, be backward compatible with all windows operating
systems back to 1990, and run full speed on a 486 with a 25 Mhz processer. Then, of
course, they should also port ICD to Macintosh and Linux while they are at it.
The fact of the matter is that Scala has consistently, since 1989, produced authoring
software that is much better than the competition (what little there has been). In my experience
they have always upgraded and provided fixes in a timely fashion, have not lied or
promised vaporware, and have been the best return on investment I have ever made
in software. Maybe John Schilling is a little sharp now and then, but I have never
known him to be wrong in his answers -- can any other other tech support site make
that claim?
IC200 users (whom I suspect probably account for more than 80% of Scala's income)
have had to wait for an upgrade much longer than ICD users. ICD3 gives them the
features of ICD in a 24/7 reliable package. If it takes advantage of DirectX 8.1 technology
for better performance, how can we fault the requirement for W2K or XP?
Paul Miller |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 7:13 PM -- by ScottI MUST AGREE!
Someone, HIGH UP, Should set John straight about his attitude toward all Scala users and customers. Most, "Over Half" of his responses gets you nowhere and is a disgrace to the people asking for help!
I do have to agree with previous posts' of Johns though. Why rush out and upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP? This goes the same for all products, WHY SHOULD ANY ONE OF US RUSH OUT AND BE SO WILLING TO UPGRADE TO IC3?
We, the real Scala community, are not trying to rule Scala; we are just trying to get some good, and respectful, answers. |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 5:28 PM -- by AAActually, if you look at an archive of John Schillings responses over the years his responses are condescending and sarcastic the vast majority of the time. Very rarely will you get a straight answer, rather his own personal views on either your importance as a customer (or lack therof) or your foolishness in using certain system software or a hardware component. Even if a company, or representative of a company, feels a certain type of customer is of little importance to the bottom line, they rarely make it so obvious. I got a crazy idea John, how about mixing in a straight answer every now and again, instead of disguising it in bitter rhetoric. |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 9:39 AM -- by Mike LevinScala USERS like yourselves are the ones conducting business for $xx,xxx.xx. Scala usually only gets the small software piece of that, giving most of the business to our Resellers. And we're not really breaking into this market. We've always been there, and we've always been the leader. What's going on now is the mainstreaming of the digital signage market.
Scala's unique competitive advantages are more valuable than ever. The ability to produce multimedia quickly and reduce production schedules and production cost should make back the investment in Scala on the very first project. And Scala's ability to control dozens, hundreds or thousands of remote multimedia player units opens the doors to new opportunities. But the idea and market is not new. This is a natural growth of what Scala has always been good at.
For beta testers airing their grievances, I would prefer you use the Send Scala A Message system. I am sure there is a better resolution. |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 8:43 AM -- by fredNow let's gang up on SYNTRILLIUM [http://www.syntrillium.com] and get 'em to release THEIR vaporware, eh?
LOL |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 7:48 AM -- by ScottScala, if you are selling your products for $xx,xxx.xx it looks like, by the postings of others in this forum, that you would consider reducing the upgrade price of IC3 Designer.
I realize 5 digits add up faster than 4 digits, but any business man with any sense at all would want to please or at least try to please all of their customers, not just the ones paying in five digits.
I guess what I'm saying is give your faithful and loyal customers a break. We know IC "D" is much better than PowerPoint or any other program, but get real! You can get the full blown version of Microsoft Office XP for just over $500.00. Even the richest man in the world realizes what a dollar means to the common man!
What does everyone think?
Scott
|
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 4:35 AM -- by Chuck HunnefieldWhy not look at porting MMOS to Linux?
High reliability combined with excellent networking resources might be the way to go in this market.
Embedded versions of Linux running a basic display system combined with Scala would be unbeatable.
I've been developing an information mini-cd for our school for the past two years with ICD. I've been VERY happy with the product, even with a few of it's quirks.
Looking at the other CD's schools put out, I can say that we really put on a show thanks to your hard work.
If you guys closed up shop tommorow, I'd feel bad, but I'd keep using the product until M$ finally kills it with DirectX 13 or whatever.
Keep up the good work guys.
Sincerely,
Chuck Hunnefield
admin@NOSPAM.lindenhall.org
Technology Coordinator
Linden Hall School for Girls
Lititz, PA
P.S. I am looking forward to a 'middleware' version of IC Designer 3 though! |
Posted: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2002 1:22 AM -- by BobI'm getting the feeling that the few of us who visit this site must not be the major players with the big bucks that Scala is looking to attract. How can Scala sell basically the same program to us little guys for one price and to the big guys at another price? How many ICD's would they have to sell to equal the profit off of one IC3?
It sounds like Scala is trying to reinvent itself as a company and product for a new and deeper pocketed market. I say more power to them, but I for one, have used their products since the Amiga days to do presentations and CDs and right now, I do not plan to change my business just because Scala wants to break into a new market.
I'm left with two choices - continue using ICD as is or look for another program with will do the same or better.
It's up to Scala to decide if providing a product for people like me is worth their time and effort. It would not be the first time a company had a new vision and left those who did not share that vision behind.
Anyone know how to use that*&*& Director program?
|
Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 11:46 PM -- by fred<...I suggest making arguments to Scala to get these features in a lower-end product...>
HOW RIDICULOUS!!!!! All of us have been posting our hearts out for the past YEAR or so, making suggestions for an "ICD 3" upgrade. I was even a beta tester for it, and there was a **** of a lot more in that beta than just "undo and spell check". Like the much-awaited 'multiple background selection operation", default tile setting, etc. I, as well as everyone else (I'm sure), was "certain" (?) that the "upgrade" would be out very soon....
Needless to say, I am very, very disappointed that ICD has been dropped, and those nice wonderful features I temporarily enjoyed as a beta tester have gone to vapor heaven.
I will paraphrase what I've read here recently where you imply that 'Scala is moving to the digital signage area with IC3, a product capable of 24-7 operation'. Funny....I have been running MM and ICD for YEARS unateended, 24-7 virtually non-stop.
And as for digital signage.....I am in central Arkansas, and the only "signage" i've ever seen was a rusting "Home Of President Bill Clinton" freeway sign left rusting in a ditch.
Kinda like ICD. And, just like the former pres, ICD will keep on runnin........ |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 9:04 PM -- by Beto BotonThank you Mr Levin,
I knew it was only a question of expressing our concerns, and we would have (as usual) a clear answer from Scala.
From our part, we will make a research on this new market, and see if it is suitable to a small business like us in our geographic position.
Our major concern is the capital expenditure necessary to even implement demonstration systems of this magnitude and caliber.
Once again, thank you for your answer.
Beto Boton
Boton Multimedia
Australia |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 8:13 PM -- by Scott BowermanI use ICD for multimedia presentations used in church worship services. I have recommended ICD to other churches, as well as several educational institutions, for the same use. The product is catching on among those who find out about it.
There is a market for high-quality presentation software; perhaps an entirely different market than for digital signage, and perhaps not as lucrative. Those I know who use ICD in church and educational settings are passionate about the product.
Several questions for you all to consider: 1) If ICD is catching on among those who use it for presentations, and doing so without any marketing on your part, what might happen if you decided to market the product? (Perhaps Iplay studio as well). 2) Have you considered the possibility that those who might use ICD for presentations might also be potential customers for digital signage, and potential purchasers of IC3?
I realize Scala is a small company with limited resources. But how much would be involved with making reasonable upgrades to ICD? If there is a common code base between IC3 and ICD, can modules be (fairly) easily imported into ICD - like undo?
I write this as, I suppose, a fan of ICD who is disappointed that Scala appears to be abandoning the product, and the market I represent. I hope you will reconsider. |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 6:18 PM -- by Mike Levin> Why are we missing a lot not moving to ICD-3?
Unless you're moving into the digital signage market, you're only missing out on a few features: Primarily spell-checking & undo. If you're disappointed, then I suggest you ask Scala to release a smaller version than the new IC3 product that effectively adds spell-check and undo to ICD.
> How the dynamic signage business is going to take the world?
Most companies will be looking at digital signage as a way to improve their business because they communicate more efficiently to their entire supply chain from executives to workforce to customers than in any other way. This is becoming more self-evident every day, but if you click on the "Successes" link, you'll see an area for "Proof". I will be filling in that area with the proof of the emerging digital signage industry as it is made available to me.
> How can we calculate the cost of producing a dynamic signage system to a client if we don’t know the prices of the several Scala components? (server, player etc)
The price list will be made available soon. To get it now, contact Scala about becoming a Scala Value Added Reseller. They're only just receiving the new demo kits with pricing, etc. as we speak.
Scala does digital signage better than anyone else. We deal with the large-scale installation issues, the 24x7 reliable playback issues, the rapid production environment issues better than anyone else. I've long been surprised that Scala positioned itself for CD-ROM and Web Multimedia development when it's had such exacting hardware requirements, and there were so many competitors in that market space -- at lower prices, lesser hardware requirements, and multi-platform capabilities.
I don't suggest moving to IC3 if it's just as an upgrade to InfoChannel Designer. It's an expensive way to get spell-checking and undo. Instead, I suggest making arguments to Scala to get these features in a lower-end product, while continuing our dialogue about the emerging digital signage industry.
My role (as I get clear of my latest urgent projects) will be to guide you, answer your questions, and generally make Scala the de facto standard application for this hotbed emerging industry.
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Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 4:39 PM -- by Beto BotonDear Mr Schilling
I don’t really understand your definition of customer, but in this side of the planet, a customer is someone we treat with respect and try to help the most we can.
It is not personal; we are not attacking you or your family….
We are trying to have some help from Scala, on how to make the transition from one market to the other. Maybe you have information we are not aware of which makes the decision to upgrade to ICD-3 meaningful.
If we, (your customers) have some problems in understanding the transition to a new product, it would be very helpful to have clarifying answers for these questions.
Until today, Scala has been one of the few business which kept direct contact with it’s customers, and this is the reason that kept us all using it.
Most of your customers are business, not individuals, and we do understand you have to sell your product and we will be glad to buy it as soon as we know what we are buying.
It would be very helpful to have a posting from you or any of your staff, saying:
Why are we missing a lot not moving to ICD-3?
How the dynamic signage business is going to take the world?
How can we calculate the cost of producing a dynamic signage system to a client if we don’t know the prices of the several Scala components? (server, player etc)
Again, please try to address this problem, we are trying hard to find a good reason to buy it because we are a business too, and we don’t rush to buy a XP version of what we have just because it is the newest.
Thank you
Beto Boton
Boton Multimedia
Australia
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Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 1:24 PM -- by Jonathan HodgeDear Mr Schilling,
I am most dissappointed in many of your responses to the enquiries of ICD users, they
seem in the most part very arrogant. Scala has quite obviously “upset” quite a few of
it’s existing “ Customers “ and some your responses seem hardly diplomatic. Most
successful companies try to keep their existing and loyal “ Customers”, however small,
happy rather than what I perceive at the moment from Scala... an almost bullying
approach i.e. Get into Digital Signage or Get off!
Innovotive CD presentations can lead on to the sale of higher end Scala products. My
small company has interests already in that direction from exactly that situation but I
have to say that Scala’s present attitude is giving me some food for thought!
From what I can gather at the moment that won’t worry you at all!
Jonathan Hodge |
Posted: Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002 9:24 AM -- by John SchillingActually the two largest deployments to date are in Europe. [England to be exact]
Before you get too worked up--remember--we are a business. We tend to service those who are our customers. Think about about the definition of "a customer". [when doing so note the following points: Macromedia is laying people off--Scala is hiring]
Regards,
--John Schilling, Scala, Inc. |
Posted: Monday, 25 Feb 2002 2:44 PM -- by Beto BotonSuppose I don't buy Net Manager 3 or Broadcast Server , what am I getting extra from buying ICD3?
I think most people like me, are not getting the point on upgrading a $1000 product (ICD) for only $1200 and not being able to do anything extra but undos, which is a standard feature in 99% of softwares.
Then you have publish to video and MPEG 2 playback BUT you have no plans to support Matrox RT2000 cards which are one of the best selling products for MPEG2 production.
It looks like a one way road:
We buy what we had before, you get rid of a product you're not interested in supporting, you decided we should go to a dynamic signage market we do not understand and have not received any substancial information on how and why to tackle this market...
Sorry guys, I may upgrade soon to IC3 but not before considering dumping the product all together in favor of getting $1200 of Xtras, wipe effects, and MPEG2 support to my Director 8.5 and keep making CDs and DVDs.
I hope, when you guys have some spare time, please at least try to show us (old timers on MM and ICD) why should we go on tacle this market?
Does this market exist somewhere outside the US?
Thank you
Beto Boton
Boton Multimedia
Australia |
Posted: Monday, 25 Feb 2002 10:46 AM -- by Mike LevinIC3 has all the capabilities of IC Designer for CD-ROM and Web publishing. But I hear what you are saying, and will pass this along to Product Development and Marketing. |
Posted: Sunday, 24 Feb 2002 8:22 PM -- by J. CanavanI agree with Yossi! I would like to have the say in what I am marketing to my customers. I also thought that the next ICD generation was going to have all those features within a smaller priced upgrade.
Let us decide if we want to tackle the digital signage industry....somewhere down the line this may be a reality but for now, I would like to have the capabilities of undo etc...
Jason |
Posted: Sunday, 24 Feb 2002 3:32 PM -- by Yossi KleinMike, I do understand what new prospect IC3 is offering and do agree that for this, a 1200$ upgrade payment may seem reasonable. But...As a beta tester, I was under the impression that "basic" features like undos, avi export etc...would be part of next generation product. I feel "robbed" (excuse the word..) from the opportunity to use advanced features without the need for digital signage features. In short, why not let me (the buyer) decide if I want to pay extra or not? The way things are, SCALA is obliging me to go a way I am not sure I want to go (or am ready to go...yet...).
Yossi Klein
NewMedia Coordinator
Michlalah - Jerusalem College |
Posted: Friday, 22 Feb 2002 10:07 AM -- by Mike LevinIC3 is the "Designer component" of our high-end product. So, for $1200, you get to move from the multimedia products NOT intended for on-air use, to our very high-end product-line, traditionally costing much more. This is a chance to upgrade across product lines. There is separate upgrade pricing available through our Reseller network for IC200 customers upgrading their players.
In other words, InfoChannel Designer 3 (IC3) not an upgrade to IC Designer (ICD), but a replacement to the designer portion of our high-end IC200 PC product. You can later ADD players and control remote screens, and break into this more lucrative business. For our entry-level market, $1200 might sound expensive, and to our IC200 on-air market, this might sound cheap (and it is, because it's not the upgrade price including players).
Further elaboration...
IC3 is the core product to get started in this emerging signage industry. Unlike ICD which limited you to Web Publishing and CD-ROM Publishing, IC3 is a product that can scale up to control hundreds or thousands of remote multimedia playback units (when added to Net Manager 3 or Broadcast Server 3). ICD has never had this capability. This ability to "scale" is the main thing differentiating our non-on-air product line from our on-air product line.
IC3 offers this ability to scale, plus one year maintenance (phone support), plus undo, spell-checking, and more wipes. You can read more on our PDF literature that has just gone online. http://www.scala.com/press/literature.html
I come from the same multimedia background as many of you who have been used to MM products for $300 or $1000. But instead of condemning Scala for what sounds like a high priced upgrade, begin thinking about what this new market and industry means to you.
It means that the skills you're developing on ICD (and even iplay studio) are now applicable to a market that has deep pockets. Every company, organization, and industry is now thinking about how to improve their business by using hanging monitors and digital signage to motivate their workforce & customers. Scala is creating and defining this industry. This may be bigger than the CD-ROM market. This may be bigger than multimedia web design. Why? Because it's about motivating human beings into action in the very locations they live, buy, work, etc.
If you have paying customers, and Scala is a source of your competitive advantage in producing more impressive multimedia more quickly than your competitors, then a $1200 upgrade price from ICD is well worth it.
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Posted: Friday, 22 Feb 2002 9:44 AM -- by Daniel MarzollaThe upgrade from ICD to IC3 OR IC200 to IC3 for the same price doesn't seem right to me.
What about IC200 master to IC3 master? Is there such a thing or does my IC200 Master package that cost me about $5,000 US (in Australia) get penalised in the new scheme? Also what about IC3 player? At this time the upgrade path is unclear.
Daniel Marzolla
The Media Circus
Sydney, Australia |
Posted: Friday, 22 Feb 2002 8:08 AM -- by BobI am confused about what I would get for $1200. Does it include everything or just the designer?
What are the improvements over ICD? is Flash support included? |
