Netobjects Fusion 12 (?)

[JLewis]

Here is another true blue customer of Netobjects wondering when Version 12 will be released. I have used Version 2 thru 11. It's been a long time since an upgrade, no new templates, and not much news even saying "Hello, we're still here." I love Netobjects and fear that with the lack of life out of Netobjects that customers will gradually leave Netobjects for other choices—which of course leaves us tru blues leaving the bag and caught with our pants down when Netobjects folds for lack of enough customers. There could be lots of improvements. For example, just being able to install Netobjects on Windows 7 computers without having to adjust settings so that Windows works with an old software. I am sure there are lots of ideas for new things and improvements in Netobjects 12...but where is that active initiative from Netobjects to actually ask its customers for ideas and input. I think we all want to be part of living and thriving Netobjects community. But we see Cyber Monday deals on other software, new versions, updates, add-ons, etc. What do we see from Netobjects, except comments from some users that Netobjects 11 will work fine for the forseeable future. Is everyone happy? What are people using Netobjects deciding to do? a) live with Netobjects 11 and keep quiet, b) stay with Netobjects though hope for Version 12 (Hope Dies Last), c) have already switched to another program, or d) will switch to another program if Netobjects 12 does not materialize within the next few months? There are probably other options. I'm just wondering what everyone is thinking. This is a community, so I thought everyone here would want to share their thoughts. Thanks. And much love to Netobjects! We just want to know what Netobjects thinks about us.

[gotFusion]

What do we see from Netobjects, except comments from some users that Netobjects 11 will work fine for the forseeable future.

In the past few months NetO has announced some partnership deals with major hosting companies to provide branded version 11 copies that they can distribute. NetO has partnered with Corel and Fusion 11 is now part of Corel X5 suite.

They opened this online forum this year.

Fusion is still the most powerful WYSIWYG web design tool on the market.

Sure it would be nice to see Fusion 12.... 13.... 14.... and so on up the numbering system.

Some people have complained that each release is not a great improvement over the last release.

Some people complain that there are not more releases of the product.

You should use a design tool based on what it does for you, not on how large the version number is.

I still use Homesite 5.5 and it has been a orphan product for almost 2 years now (no longer developed - no longer supported - no new versions will ever be released) Am I looking for something to replace it? No way Jose.... I have been satisfied with it for the past decade and will continue to use it LONG into the future, regardless of whether it ever gets developed again or not.

If you like the Fusion product, continue using it. Most users only utilize 20% or less of the products capabilities and are astounded when they learn how much it actually can do.

[Roscolo]

On 11/30/2010 11:41 PM, gotFusion wrote:
> regardless of whether it ever
> gets developed again or not.
>

I'm guessing not. Sad, and too bad. Maybe they don't need a new version,
but not having a product that is ready-to-go on Windows 7 means at least
an update is in order. Even that has been neglected.

I still use NOF. But I probably use Wordpress for most simple sites that
used to be the exclusive domain of NOF for me. And I did that out of
necessity. Lost opportunity there for NOF. NOF just didn't make any
effort to compete or keep up. Wordpress works better for me for many
small simple sites, faster, easy...also easy for customers to learn so
they can update and make changes without bugging me most of the time.
Still like NOF. But you have to keep up and make changes, perhaps not to
survive, but certainly to thrive.

[RayC]

The fact that the NOF "partnered" product is v.11 implies that v.12 should be coming soon. In the past the giveaways were typically a version behind the current. In fact, when my first project landed on my lap, I used NOF 8 that came on a CD attached to a magazine.

Even if N-O closed up shop, I would probably use v.11 until it was no longer possible. I've learned most of the ins & outs, and the ease of embedding external scripts makes it great simply as a WYSIWYG layout tool.

That being said, one of the attractions (at least initially) of NOF is the library of components for common things. But as I use it more, and encounter inexplicable flaky behavior from the components, I continue to source out third-party scripts to deploy in my sites. So the more I use v.11, the more it becomes just a layout tool for me, and I use other sources for the things I use on almost every site, like News, FAQ, Testimonials, Photo Gallery and E-Commerce.

I'm absolutely positive there will be a NOF.12. If it makes it fully Win 7+ compatible, then it becomes my WSYWYG for the next 5 years. If they improve some of the components: Bonus. If they add some stunning jaw-dropping new features, well that would be swell, too.

[Peter B]

I also have used Net Objects from the early days but I am become more and
more fed up with Version 11- I cannot get it to run correctly on Win 7 (
despite the usual back up from them ) at all even reverting back to using it
on an older XP machine although still having the ocassional issue of the
program stopping running. I am now seriously looking at another program
unless they actually get a version on the market place that runs correctly
on Win 7 without the hassle in the very near future. Good question to ask
the community just hopefully someone at base will bother to read the
comments sooner rather than later. Happy Xmas Peter

"JLewis" <JLewis.4l9vqz@no-mx.forums.netobjects.com> wrote in message
news:JLewis.4l9vqz@no-mx.forums.netobjects.com...
>
> Here is another true blue customer of Netobjects wondering when Version
> 12 will be released. I have used Version 2 thru 11. It's been a long
> time since an upgrade, no new templates, and not much news even saying
> "Hello, we're still here." I love Netobjects and fear that with the lack
> of life out of Netobjects that customers will gradually leave Netobjects
> for other choices-which of course leaves us tru blues leaving the bag
> and caught with our pants down when Netobjects folds for lack of enough
> customers. There could be lots of improvements. For example, just being
> able to install Netobjects on Windows 7 computers without having to
> adjust settings so that Windows works with an old software. I am sure
> there are lots of ideas for new things and improvements in Netobjects
> 12...but where is that active initiative from Netobjects to actually ask
> its customers for ideas and input. I think we all want to be part of
> living and thriving Netobjects community. But we see Cyber Monday deals
> on other software, new versions, updates, add-ons, etc. What do we see
> from Netobjects, except comments from some users that Netobjects 11 will
> work fine for the forseeable future. Is everyone happy? What are people
> using Netobjects deciding to do? a) live with Netobjects 11 and keep
> quiet, b) stay with Netobjects though hope for Version 12 (Hope Dies
> Last), c) have already switched to another program, or d) will switch to
> another program if Netobjects 12 does not materialize within the next
> few months? There are probably other options. I'm just wondering what
> everyone is thinking. This is a community, so I thought everyone here
> would want to share their thoughts. Thanks. And much love to Netobjects!
> We just want to know what Netobjects thinks about us.
>
>

[David]

Like you Mike, I have never understood this obsession with the Next
Big Thing.

NoF works for me, sure, I'd like more features, but if 11 is the end
of the line, as you say, it will work for years to come.

I also sue 4DS ite Designer, the latest beta release is 12 months old,
I do not know when they will get to a final release, but the e=beta
works perfectly, so I don't worry.




On Wed, 1 Dec 2010 04:41:50 +0000, gotFusion
<gotFusion.4l9y3z@no-mx.forums.netobjects.com> wrote:

>
>JLewis wrote:
>> What do we see from Netobjects, except comments from some users that
>> Netobjects 11 will work fine for the forseeable future.
>
>In the past few months NetO has announced some partnership deals with
>major hosting companies to provide branded version 11 copies that they
>can distribute. NetO has partnered with Corel and Fusion 11 is now part
>of Corel X5 suite.
>
>They opened this online forum this year.
>
>Fusion is still the most powerful WYSIWYG web design tool on the
>market.
>
>Sure it would be nice to see Fusion 12.... 13.... 14.... and so on up
>the numbering system.
>
>Some people have complained that each release is not a great
>improvement over the last release.
>
>Some people complain that there are not more releases of the product.
>
>You should use a design tool based on what it does for you, not on how
>large the version number is.
>
>I still use Homesite 5.5 and it has been a orphan product for almost 2
>years now (no longer developed - no longer supported - no new versions
>will ever be released) Am I looking for something to replace it? No
>way Jose.... I have been satisfied with it for the past decade and will
>continue to use it LONG into the future, regardless of whether it ever
>gets developed again or not.
>
>If you like the Fusion product, continue using it. Most users only
>utilize 20% or less of the products capabilities and are astounded when
>they learn how much it actually can do.
>
>
>
>*Mike - (turtle)* - 'www.gotFusion.com' (http://www.gotFusion.com) -
>'www.gotHosting.biz' (http://www.gotHosting.biz)
>FREE one on one *Fusion Support* with all web hosting accounts
>*Web Hosting* + hand holding support + ASP + PHP + ColdFusion
>Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Linux web hosting platforms
>http://www.gotHosting.biz - http://www.gotFusion.com

[Max]

Agree with gotFusion's points.

Sure it would be good to see an upgrade, but unless it has some
genuinely useful new features / usability enhancements or the like I'll
be sticking with version 11 - which will remain a great application well
into the future.

Incidentally, I see that NOF10 is currently being given away in the UK
with the December issue of Windows: The Official Magazine (and was also
on the PC Pro cover disk back in July). May be an attempt to build
market share ahead of version 12 - though they could just be after
upgrades to version 11.

Max

----
gotFusion wrote:
> JLewis wrote: What do we see from Netobjects, except comments from
> some users that Netobjects 11 will work fine for the forseeable
> future.
>
> In the past few months NetO has announced some partnership deals
> with major hosting companies to provide branded version 11 copies
> that they can distribute. NetO has partnered with Corel and Fusion
> 11 is now part of Corel X5 suite.
>
> They opened this online forum this year.
>
> Fusion is still the most powerful WYSIWYG web design tool on the
> market.
>
> Sure it would be nice to see Fusion 12.... 13.... 14.... and so on
> up the numbering system.
>
> Some people have complained that each release is not a great
> improvement over the last release.
>
> Some people complain that there are not more releases of the
> product.
>
> You should use a design tool based on what it does for you, not on
> how large the version number is.
>
> I still use Homesite 5.5 and it has been a orphan product for almost
> 2 years now (no longer developed - no longer supported - no new
> versions will ever be released) Am I looking for something to
> replace it? No way Jose.... I have been satisfied with it for the
> past decade and will continue to use it LONG into the future,
> regardless of whether it ever gets developed again or not.
>
> If you like the Fusion product, continue using it. Most users only
> utilize 20% or less of the products capabilities and are astounded
> when they learn how much it actually can do.
>
>
>
> *Mike - (turtle)* - 'www.gotFusion.com' (http://www.gotFusion.com) -
> 'www.gotHosting.biz' (http://www.gotHosting.biz) FREE one on one
> *Fusion Support* with all web hosting accounts *Web Hosting* + hand
> holding support + ASP + PHP + ColdFusion Microsoft Windows and Red
> Hat Linux web hosting platforms http://www.gotHosting.biz -
> http://www.gotFusion.com

[JLewis]

Thanks for the very thoughtful responses to my original post. I've used NOF since version 3 up to 11. Now that I am in semi-retirement, I plan on doing a lot more on the web. My strong preference is to use NOF, although I am hesitant to put days, weeks, and months into this if NOF 11 is the last release. Who knows what changes will be forthcoming from Windows, Google, and everyone else that could create problems in using NOF. What I am looking for is at least some degree of comfort that NOF will be there for me. Xara's Design Pro package includes great web design features, though not as robust as NOF. But Xara make me feel that they will be there for me next year and the year after. I read good things about 4D Site Designer, and even XSitePro seems to be a possibility—although its marketing image looks like a pyramid scheme. My choice is to stay with NOF if I just had some indication from the company that they are still here. I haven't seen anything new on its website since the note about using MOF with Windows 7. And I do see from this forum that people do run into a lot of issues with the NOF software—although I am sure many of these issues represent user error and a failure to read the manual. What I see happening is that, because there is so little communication from the people at NOF, NOF users eventually will buy other programs just to try them out (we all like to look at what's new). If some of these programs click with us and we start using them, it's another downhill ride for NOF. Scary stuff for people who stay with NOF and are left "holding the bag."

[chuckj]

As you may be aware, NetObjects, Inc. was formed in the summer of 2009 and took over Fusion from Web.com (formerly Website Pros).

I seriously doubt the new owners would have spent a great deal of money just to buy Fusion 11 as a dead-end product.

It's been less than 18 months and with the new generation of web browsers supporting HTML5 and CSS3 to varying degrees, any further development of Fusion to emcompass the new web standards alone would certainly take a serious amount of time. Let alone any new features the developers would want to add to a new release.

In the meantime, Fusion 11 is a solid program.

You're correct.... many of the issues you read about here are "cockpit trouble". User, not program issues.

As it's been since the early days of Fusion, users need to understand it's a code generator, not an HTML editing program.

Fusion 11 isn't perfect... but it's still a lot of bang for the buck and a very powerful and generally easy to use program.

[gotFusion]

NetObjects Fusion is nothing more than a tool.

If you are worried you should explore all of the tools that are available.

There is no reason NOT to be proficient in all of the major web design tools.