Top 5 "Fixes"......

1. more folders and options with folders in the GUI.

2. non-square profile gradients and such.

3. that steve quits posting redundant threads.

4. multiple 'results' type components (yeah, i know vlad says this isnt necessary, but i've run across the need again.)

5. a 'shapes' component(s)

1) More blending modes. 2) Simple rotate. 3) Simple zoom. 4) More mapping inputs on components. 5) Batch rendering. Other than that, faster rendering, and bug fixes. Those are my top choices for "fixes" for V1 I think. They fall between improvements and fixes, since they all already exist, they could just be "fixed" and made better eh. Mixing and matching (limiting) user controls might never happen, although it would be easy enough to turn them on or off internally to accomplish the same thing. And #1 is a given as well, but they've already said not til V2 on that haven't they ? And #5, good luck, maybe V3, although it would be cool, it ain't on it's way anytime soon I dun think.

jffe

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StevieJ wrote: Nope.....Not until I get what I want!!!

hehehe, hang in there, bubba. it'll happen

Anyone's list that does not have correcting the resource leak as the first five items just doesn't get it. It's one thing to have an unstable product, it's another to entirely ignore it and move on to other things. In the early/mid nineties Corel was on top of the mountain. They had every reason to expect to dominate the market for years to come. But they made a strategic decision to move forward rather than stabilize their existing portfolio. Now look at them – eating Adobe's scraps. I am not saying the leak is the end of the world, but that it indicates misguide priorities and lack of internal controls.
I love FF, everyone here knows I love FF, but FF had better find religion and put into place an ethos of reliability, and a structure that will allow product instabilities to be isolated and corrected quickly or they can expect to join Corel as could-have-been.
Of course this opinion is coming from someone that does not have a successful business with an excellent product like the wonderful people at FF do, so take it for what it's worth.

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StevieJ wrote: Quote ronviers wrote: correcting the resource leak Yeah, I've been scratching my head to why FF has not fixed that yet.....

----Probably because the only thing that's mattered for 6+ months is the Mac version, without it, and the sales to follow, they'll probably be broke before 2009. That is of course speculation, but considering their very real lack of advertising, it seems obvious they 1) have no real reserves of cash, and 2) aren't selling enough Pc versions to make up the difference and get some advertising going. FF would've blown up by now if it was in the magazines. They'd at least be selling those $99 basic version hand over fist by now. And as far as the resource leak goes, it's not exactly critical in my opinion, since it only really starts bogging me down about twice a month, and I use FF for an hour or two every other day. How often are you guys having problems with it ?

jffe

i get a problem with the leak about once or twice a day, sometimes even when i first boot FF up, but that's normally if my resources are already somewhat low in windows (like having run another heavy app sometime before FF). so, yes, it is noticable and somewhat annoying. but, if you're aware it exists and know the signs of an impending crash (the sticky, jerky mouse cursor), it's at least possible to prevent losing your work most of the time. but, i do agree that it's high on the list of neededs and wanteds. it's just that that gets requested in the 'Bugs' forum instead of here, mostly.

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ronviers wrote: But the reality is that FF cannot run one single day without locking up.

----I have had a few error/bug related crashes (only one that I couldn't figure out what happened since the final Pc release though) and FF has never "locked up" on me. Granted I probably never leave it open and running for over maybe 2-3 hours at a time tops.

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StevieJ wrote: I think FF is trying to do their own OS compatability without purchasing any code.....so I think they have no OS support to help remedy problems like this.....

----I don't really know what their development package is or isn't, and it's none of my business as an end user, but if it slows down updates and bug fixes then I guess it affects us all in the end. I was complaining about some little issues 4-5 months ago, calling it 'amateur hour' til those were addressed, and those were just minor compared to any real resource leak/crashing/locking up probs. So I dunno what to think anymore, the program is genius, but it has flaws, what can ya do. *shrug* Hopefully it all works out for them, and then they can fix up the Pc version and make it better for us. I'm trying to be = done complaining much about it til the next update, they know of many little problems, and I'm pretty sure they will address most of those bug/workflow matters in the next Pc update, assuming there is one, and whenever it happens etc.

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Kraellin wrote: it is noticable and somewhat annoying. but, if you're aware it exists and know the signs of an impending crash (the sticky, jerky mouse cursor),

----That's the 'resource leak' I get, the *lag*, and then I just save my work, close FF and reopen it and problem = solved. And I get that about once every 3-4 weeks, and it takes 2-3 minutes to completely deal with it and be back to work. That's why I just don't consider it critical at all compared to some work arounds that might a couple of renders to resolve, that = wasted time cause a render even at 600X600 takes longer than saving, closing, and reopening, in most cases.

jffe

*** rolls a d20 for a saving throw vs. reality ***

Nope, failed miserably again! Damnit, I'm still resident in this imperfect reality where all v1.0s have bugs and even some v10.0s suck big-time!

Ack!

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StevieJ wrote: I just think that letting this degree of instability go on like this is getting kinda ridiculous. I've never had any program on my machine, freeware or otherwise, that even comes close to instability of this program......

----I can't agree, since I haven't experienced many problems as far as *instability* go with FF. It needs a lot of little fixes and additions to make it truly 'professional' level software in a sense. But as far as I know those things are on the way as slowly as that may seem to be happening. If FF goes under tomorrow, we still get to use this last version, and there's still lots to be done, so I just can't complain too much ya know.

jffe

*** chooses the red pill and wakes up in reality***

Do'h, competition here too! Damnit, I'm still resident in an imperfect reality where they don't mind knocking off good ideas and using them to there own ends!

Ack!
--- Craronviersilla says: "Damn you, stupid Mac version!"

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Kraellin wrote: it's probably not viable to fix a version you're going to pretty much discard in the near future

I'm not complaining about the bug. I find it annoying but that was never my point. What I was pointing out was that they do not have a structure in place that allows them to isolate and correct the problem quickly. The implication being that they do not consider such a structure a high priority. As for lines of code; ff probably has as few now as it will ever have.

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StevieJ wrote: just think that letting this degree of instability go on like this is getting kinda ridiculous. I've never had any program on my machine, freeware or otherwise, that even comes close to instability of this program......

That's strange, because FF is very stable on my two machines, and I haven't experienced the resource leak in months. But then again, I don't leave FF sitting in the background for hours when I don't need it.

So, while I agree that there are fixes that need to be done, I'm also convinced that constantly "rubbing it in" ain't too helpful either. Give the guys some time to re-architect the code, meaning: get back to making filters.

There are problems (like stuck cursors, unexpected component stuff, low performance of certain components), which are going to be fixed sooner or later, but apart from this and the dreaded leak bug there isn't much more wrong with FF current functionality. Well, either that or I missed something really irritating

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jffe wrote: FF would've blown up by now if it was in the magazines

Advertising in printed mags (and everywhere) without the Mac version means wasting 30 to 50% of the ad budget.

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StevieJ wrote: that letting this degree of instability go on like this is getting kinda ridiculous

Yes, this leak is a real pain in the $$$. This is the most serious bug we have in the current version of FF. The bad thing is that it's very difficult to get rid of the leaky code in mid-version due to various infrastructural reasons. So most likely we will drop it when releasing 2.0.

Ah, thank you for the explanations.....

Like Ron said, it's more of an annoyance and really doesn't effect my use of the program.....because I've learned to religeously back everything up.....and save, shut down, and restart at the first sign of any trouble (sticky cursor and controls, unusual slow-downs in rendering, etc).....

My concern is just that I hope this stability problem is not preceding the product in the market and impacting sales.....because I need this program to be extremely successful for a continuous stream of PC enhancements..... LOL....

I, for one, can't wait to see what you do with the program in version 2.....