I am sad to say that DMXZone gravely disappointed me in the very poor interview they performed after all the time many of us has spent trying to condense the problems with the software we basically love - and need.


How on earth can dmxzone allow theemselves to water the questions down to something like "sorry we bother you MM".

None of the serious issues we raise (again) in the forum has been answered with anything but hot air! This is not candid!!! this is lame.

Macromedia took our money - they DID NOT fix dmx before releasing a new product. They DID post a page stating you had to disable virus protection - which is crasy even if it WAS an old page (one that was not there before dmx2004 as far as i know).

MM have to put data behind their claim that it is well received (but that wouldnt fix the problems anyhow would it) - no dreamweaver based developer i have spoken to (5) have received dmx2004 well - and they all want a bugfix package for dmx before they regain confidence in MM again.

DMX still do have all the bugs i have posted in the DREAMWEAVER RELEASE forum no matter what MM claims to have fixed.

DMX2004 STILL doesnt allow me to test it before buying. And they got an award - so what? There is always some smuck that thinks he have tested something by just opening it up and run it for two hours.

Real life testing is something different! DMX is great in many aspects- but its also buggy as hell. Why should DMX2004 be any different when we are not allowed to try it?

DMXZone should pick up that phone again and ask the questions they promised to ask.

Edited by - enkidu on 21 Oct 2003 15:55:55

When you say you're 'not able to try MX 2004', enkidu- I assume you're referring to specific problems you've had with the demo version that prevents you from trying it? Obviously the demo's been available for a while now.

As for the reception of DMX 2004, troll around for the reviews- there's many already posted on all the major sites. Sure, I've heard of people having problems with 2004 (complaints always arise faster than kudos- just a fact of the industry), but I've also seen and heard lots of people who aren't having much if any issues with it either. Not to downplay any problems you're having, just giving both sides of the coin here. You may not agree from your personal POV (and I respect that), but it is the case.

As for 'fixing DMX before releasing a new version', I can offer a few insights. For one, there is no such thing as a bug-free software product, from any vendor. Software is always susceptible to environmental differences, third-party conflicts, the list goes on. No software company could make the claim of shipping 'bug-free software' with a straight face. Problems, always arise, and as OS's/third-party tools/utilities are updated, there's always the potential of future unforeseen conflicts as well.

Secondly, the 6.1 updater was released to address the most prevalent and commonly-reported issues with the MX release, and if some of your specific problems weren't addressed in that update, then I do apologize. This can be a double-edged sword, though. If a product team concentrates only fixing every isolated issue they hear about with every release, you have no traction towards new features/functionality. The product stagnates, and realistically, still will never reach the point where every user on every configuration of every OS/platform can say, 'hey- I can't find a single thing wrong with this product anymore'. It's a fine balance to be sure- and honestly, no point of balance will ever satisfy both sides of this argument.

For each release, however- we do make the top issues that are being identified publicly via an 'emerging issues' technote (along with any solutions/workarounds that we may have to accompany them). Sure, this isn't a patch, it isn't an update, but it does give you an idea of what the most frequently-reported problems have been and which of those we can in fact reproduce and verify consistently. Obviously if and when a patch is released, these are the top issues we're looking at for it.
Current 'top issues' technote:
www.macromedia.com/support/dreamweaver/ts/documents/emerging_issues.htm

Much like with product releases, however- we can't talk about patches or updates until they're a known quantity and on the fast-track to release. It's better to give firm answers than simply glad-hand everyone with false hopes of an update that may or may not solve all their problems. Hope you can appreciate the rather tenuous balance there as well.

I'm sure this may not answer all your questions, nor am I the right person TO answer all your questions, but I hope this at least gives a bit more human perspective on the situation, since you seem to have not gotten much individual response elsewhere, for what it's worth. Hopefully any followup to the interview that seems to have irked you will answer whatever questions are remaining.

best!


- Scott

scott fegette
macromedia, inc.

"How on earth can dmxzone allow theemselves to water the questions down to something like "sorry we bother you MM".

- Enkidu; my job is not to take sides. All the forum comments were sent to macromedia, and I asked the questions that were implied, but did so politely. There was no need for me to be belligerant, nor was there any need to duplicate what the comments said.

I am sorry that you were disappointed; I was disappointed in the answers I received - and have still not got any reponse from the customer services department at Macromedia (there's an irony there), but I stand by my decision to ask the questions neutrally and non-combatively.

Bruce

I thought that the questions asked in the interview seemed to be too generalised, and invited generalised answers - rather than tackling specific issues that have been raised on these boards and elsewhere.

I guess maybe it was always going to be that way for such an interview, but I felt that the interview lacked any substance I'm afraid.

Regards