Re: Topologica port to Linux (was: A call to action)

[Brian Kerslake <Brian@topolgka.demon.co.uk>]

Well that was some email, Marshal. Are you fired up or what? It's
amusing reading someone else's interpretation of our reason d etre. Good
job you got it rightish!

Re all this time you're putting into Linux - are you goingto bill us for
it?

In message <000a01bedd3f$bd68e940$c34b95c1@desktop>, Marshal Anderson
<marshal@marshal.co.uk> writes
>
>
>> Well ... I took a quick look at the Topologica site
>> (http://www.topolgka.demon.co.uk/index.htm). The applications
>> there are
>> commercial, licensed apps. I don't have a clear idea of what you're
>> proposing that someone do.
>
>Produce a Linux version of one. Otherwise I can see a loop here where people
>sit around saying there's no  point in producing software because schools
>don't use Linux while schools don't use Linux because there's no software. I
>sorta gathered that was why we were invited into this listserve.
>
> Are you connected with the company
>> and able to
>> negotiate the details of an arrangement? Who are the "we" in your last
>> paragraph?
>>
>
>Topo is pretty much a 'garage operation' with a bunch of freelancers, of
>which I am one, working around it with a fairly common philosophy and a
>great deal of personal respect and trust. The proprietor is Brian Kerslake
>(brian@topologika.com). I think he would agree with me when I say that it is
>not some huge money machine (would that it were:) but it is a loose knit
>group of people who feel that there should be some standards and quality
>rather than simple froth in edsoft.
>
>> I didn't see any information about how the apps were written
>> -- the sorts of
>> details, like what programming language is involved,
>
>RISC OS machine code, RISC Basic 5, Visual Basic, Delphi, Director 6, - not
>sure what the up-coming Mac stuff is written in. Basically we use whatever
>tool seems right for the particular job on a particular platform.
>
> what
>> kinds of data
>> structures are used, etc. -- the kinds of information that
>> any sensible
>> programmer would ask about before committing to a job (or, in
>> my case, even
>> hazarding a guess about whether I have the technical qualifications to
>> consider taking it on).
>
>Well, have to be honest. In porting stuff before we've shown it to a
>programmer and they say whether they can do it or they can't. Not sure what
>you mean by data structures.
>
>>
>> I looked at the demo of MathMania (picked because it was the
>> highest grade
>> level listed for a math program with a Windows demo version)
>> and ran through
>> it. It looks okay, but not all that different from other apps
>> I saw around
>> 5+ years ago for the Mac (back when I was a sysadmin/teacher in a K-8
>> private school).
>
>Yep - the original was written I think in '89 for Acorn.
>
> Without seeing more of the apps at work in
>> their current
>> forms, I have no good way to decide whether working on
>> converting them would
>> be a good investment -- either financially (if the resulting
>> product were
>> sold commercially) or as a public service bit of volunteer
>> work (I confess
>> to being a bit skeptical about this possibility, if the
>> resulting app would
>> be owned by Topologica and not released as Open Source).
>>
>
>OK - I think you have come up with about 100 different reasons not to do it.
>That's just fine. You seem to have decided exactly what Topo's approach
>would be to such a project. My motivation was to see if there was anyone
>within, or outside this group, who would be interested in beginning
>discussion. What Topo is offering is marketing (or giving-away) access to
>some 30,000 UK schools as well as many in Canada, Australia and NewZealand.
>We (i.e. The Collective) would be keen to promote alternatives to Some
>Current Operating Systems. To this end we /might/ be prepared to allow the
>conversion of some of our (award winning) designs - a project in which we
>would expect to /share/ the risk with the programmer. I you don't feel that
>Linux has the commercial potential to carry edsoft then I would question the
>purpose of this listserve, if you do then I would suggest that starting with
>a few proven products would be a good way of launching it.
>
>> I imagine anyone who might have the programming skills to
>> take this job on
>> would have similar questions. What is the best way, do you
>> think, to get the
>> information that one would need to make an informed decision
>> about your
>> "call to action"?
>>
>
>OK - how about this; 'anyone' (or anyone else) might say that it would be
>something they would be interested in doing. They might then look over the
>web site, maybe download a few demos (more to come shortly) and we might
>send them more on disc if they requested them.
>
>They might see a package that grabbed their imagination, that they felt was
>of value, that they felt they had some of the programming skills and could
>get the rest to produce it for the Linux OS. At that point Topo would decide
>if it felt confident with that person (people) and would start to talk about
>open/closed standards, methods of distribution, commercial considerations,
>permissions (topo /never/ takes the copyright of an outside
>writer's/designer's work unless the designer wishes to sell it - they
>certainly own none of mine) etc.
>
>There are a range of products from the very simple Freddy Teddy stuff that I
>imagin any compitent 'weekend programmer' could tackle (though we like
>things bug free in the end:) up to complex programs like Music Box which
>required fairly sophisticated graphic/sound work including synchonising
>several channels and providing real time music editing.
>
>We'd want to work with someone who's competent certainly, but it's equally
>important that they're keen. In a word, Han Solo, not C3P0 :)
>
>Marshal
>
>
>> At 08:20 PM 8/2/99 +0100, Marshal Anderson wrote:
>> >OK, enough with the chat already. Is there anyone out there,
>> or any one who
>> >knows someone, who would be prepared to take on a conversion
>> job based on a
>> >piece of Topologika software?
>> >
>> >They would need basic graphics and sound handling - but all
>> pics and sound
>> >files can be provided.
>> >
>> >Dunno quite what we'd do with the result. On the one hand we
>> could give it
>> >away as a sort of taster - in which case there'd be no money for the
>> >programmer. If we decided to sell it there's be a royalty.
>> >
>> >Any thoughts?
>> >
>> >Marshal
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"---
>> Ray Olszewski                                        -- Han Solo
>> Palo Alto, CA  94303-3603                            ray@comarre.com
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>

-- 
Brian Kerslake, TOPOLOGIKA SOFTWARE
1 South Harbour, Harbour Village, PENRYN, Cornwall, UK TR10 8LR
tel 0044(0)1326 377771   fax 0044(0)1326 376755   
email brian@topologika.co.uk
http://www.topologika.co.uk

Educational Software Developers and Publishers Since 1987
GOLD AWARD WINNERS BETT '95, SILVER BETT '94