Not very surprising we will have an Alpha (which is currently running) phase followed by a Beta phase after which we will release the 1.0 version into the wild. The Alpha phase started recently and will end roughly somewhen early next year, most likely in January. The Beta phase will follow immediately after that and is scheduled to end at end of february. On March 2010 we want to release.
Some more words to those phases:
Alpha Phase
We will release updated alpha versions in a quite short cycle which will be around two weeks each. Depending on the arrival (or failure of such) new features this might be one or three weeks of course. During this alpha phase crashes are more likely and new features may pop up each iteration. In rare cases existing features might be even removed - if that happens we will let you know. Generally, the focus of this Phase is the rapid development of new features. During that timeframe we will be very responsive to new feature requests from your side.
Beta Phase
The beta phase will introduce considerably less new features (only marginal ones) but will focus strongly on increasing stability, usability and design. Naturally, we will be less able to listen to new feature requests - at least for the 1.0 version. Requests will be scheduled for a later 1.x or 2.0 release depending on the "size" of the requested feature.
Release
Well this phase is obvious I guess
Pricing and Availability and Future Development
There was a question in another thread about the indented price tag. Let me use this chance here to also talk about the intended licensing types we are thinking about. We want to release Augenblick MMV in three different versions. We will have a free basic version and an advanced version which will cost a one time license fee. Both will be available simultaneously. Later (roughly 6 month) we will add a Pro Version which will cost more and brings along more powerful features. The difference between free and advanced is, that the free version will have some sort of limitation - we are not sure of what exactly that will be, but we intend to make the free version really useable, i.e. not that limited as our very fist alpha release
As time continues we intend to develop new features for the Pro Version while "older Pro-only" features will move into the Advanced and Free variant of the software. So what will Augenblick cost then? Honestly, I cannot say now - because if I state a price here, you (and we) expect this to be a final word yyou can count on. But we do not know yet what amount of features will make it into the first release and we still have some market research homework to do - so I cannot give a exact number here. But what I can say for sure is that the Advanced version will be not as cheap as 19,99€ but it will also not cost like 400€. The Pro Version will be another thing, which is even harder to tell right now - but I am sure it will have less than four digits before the decimal point
Since we are open for feature requests we also love to hear your opinion about this topic. Tell us what you think about our Alpha/Beta/Release plan and we can also discuss price tags here. If you have a price range in mind tell us - okay, but that does not mean we sell it for 2€ if you say between 1 and 3 is cool
Best regards,
Oliver
