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$: The New Frontier (6/20/98)
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In other price hike news, UserLand's Frontier is joining the world of commercial software. Frontier is a popular and powerful scripting environment that, until now, has been free of charge. Unfortunately for its users, MacInTouch points out that its new pricing structure means that Frontierheads are going to have to pony up at least $300 a year to use the new 5.1 version. You can read UserLand's announcement email for more details.
AtAT doesn't use Frontier, but we know people who do-- and judging by the email flooding our inbox, people are not pleased with this turn of events. While we've long heard the Frontier was too good to be free, we doubt that anyone expected a cost of at least $300 a year. We don't doubt that licensees will get what they pay for, with excellent technical support and constant updates, but we have to assume that there are many, many Frontier using who absolutely can't afford the new license fees.
We're told the Frontier offers a ton of features not available in Applescript, but for budget-conscious scripters who now find themselves priced right out of Frontier's market, you might want to re-examine Apple's free offering. We personally have no idea what features a Frontiersman would lose in resorting to Applescript, but September's release of a new PowerPC-native Applescript in Mac OS 8.5 should at least address speed concerns. (We hear it blazes.)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/20/98 episode: June 20, 1998: Apple arrives late to the party, but makes good on its promise to revamp the QuickTime distribution license. Meanwhile, UserLand starts charging-- a lot-- for its Frontier scripting environment, and if you thought PowerBook G3's are hard to find, a group of armed burglars in Canada found a way to get their hands on some (though we can't approve of their methods)...
Other scenes from that episode: 791: Better Late Than Never (6/20/98) For those of you remember the hullabaloo surrounding Apple's new distribution license when QuickTime 3 came out a few months ago, you should be pleased to note that Apple's finally posted a revised license, as promised, incorporating changes demanded by the developer community... 793: Think Larceny (6/20/98) Hands up-- your Mac or your life! A MacCentral report confirms a long-held axiom in the computer world-- thieves prefer Macs. In a frightening turn of events, several armed burglars threatened an Apple Canada security guard at gunpoint and robbed the building of about $100,000 worth of Mac equipment...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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