There’s a board, and they would have a plan in my absence. I think it will be fine.
I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I believe we’ve had something like 160 public releases of new Tinderbox versions so far; we’ll have plenty more.
One thing strikes me: a lot of promising systems that influence Tinderbox died not because their designers died, but because the large companies that acquired them thought that their short-term profits would be better if they discontinued the product. I think that’s clearly the case for:
- Agenda
- Chandler
- ThinkTank
It’s also arguably true, at least in part, for:
- NLS/Augment
- Symbolics Document Examiner
- LMI Gateway
- The Xerox LISP Machines — Dandelion, Tiger, etc.
- GUIDE
- HyperCard
The documents themselves are an open book: any competent programmer can read them and build on them. Your data are yours.
(How many copies of Tinderbox are you planing to purchase, Norm? If you have a use for Tinderbox, you ought to be able to recover your investment in a week or two. Of course, if you’re equipping a thousand desks, that requires more time; if that’s your worry, I think we can work out an escrow deal that will please you.)