Special thanks to Joe Strout for typing all this up and to Juergen Schreck for helping with the transcript.

waiting for the keynote to start
Introduction.
wow, Matt has really short hair!
Must be going to William's barber.
Geoff is on stage now.
greetings, welcome
start with talking about what's happened since last year
we've shipped a release every 90 days — 5 releases since last conference
improved editors, compiler, and new Lingua
r3: version control format, customizable UI, SES Enterprise Linux Desktop
r4: UB support, X-Platfrom toolbars, improved SSL
2007R1: improved ODBC, MySQL, QT, HTTPS
r2: incremental compiling, code folding, RTF, improved debugger
within 90 days, we'll have R3
appreciate the beta testers
now talk about Linux...
over 22000 Linux users
userbase overall
steady growth in Mac market (about 60K)
Windows market (about 94K)
Linux users (124K)
(as of start of the year, I think)
localized versions: French, Simplified Chinese, Japanese all released last year
Windows Vista support began in 2006r2
in October, added support for Universal Binary
our strategy last year for getting to UB was to be based on Cocoa...
since then, realized a faster way and safer way was to use the Carbon code
Cocoa is still important... believe that that is the future on OS X if we're going to provide the best possible user experience
so Cocoa is still part of our road map
update on Swordfish
after a preview of that technology, started getting feedback and hearing people talk about it...
people thought it was "Web 2.0" technology, like AJAX
it was actually more like PHP
realized that it really needed to be Web 2.0...
so considering a new architecture for Swordfish. No schedule on that yet.
Incremental Compiling
traditionally RB compiled all your code every time you press Run
now simply compile what's changed since the last run
RB is a big project, made with REALbasic
over 600 project items
over 150K lines of code
(just the IDE — not counting compiler/frameworks)
each beta is built with that beta
demo of what incremental compiling does for building RB in RB
giving peek at the project for the IDE
opening the Find All window
doing a Run to compile the whole thing
now...
....still building...
done
about 20 seconds
now, making a small change
moved the Cancel button
building
done
about 6 seconds
3 times faster
we're a privately held company...
in first quarter 2007, highest sales in the history of the company
want to talk about how the software industry has changed...
the internet has changed it a lot
how this affects RS
before the Internet, software companies worked with distributor, and distributor worked with end user
users don't want to go through a local distributor anymore
they want a direct relationship with the company
customers all around the world now can purchase directly from RS, without going through a distributor
most customers can buy in their local currency
dollars, euros, yen, AUS$
still providing products and support in all languages, and continue to have local representation in various countries...
but customers can purchase and interact directly
introduce Pierre Groleau, manager for the EU
in charge of European market
RS has been selling in Europe for many years...
500 million potential market in the EU
must be present in Europe to tackle this market seriously
closer to customers
95% of questions asked are answered within the same day
grow the community
what they've been doing in Europe...
press across the EU
magazine cover CDs
Apple Expo Paris
Mac Expo UK
Ads on EU-centric web sites
customer service...
technical support
in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch.
realsoftware.com, full web site is now in French (inc. white papers etc.)... soon will have it in other languages as well.
online store
now can be used all over the world; a real request from customers in Europe
handles all the tax issues, VAT, etc.
300% increase in sales in France in 2006 vs. 2005
Education
try to get RB into schools
good successes in UK, Switz., Germany, Poland
main success in Poland, over 8000 licenses there
a lot of high schools now have RS as the mandatory tool to learn programming
will be running a session about selling your software in Europe Friday afternoon
(applause, back now to Geoff)
REAL SQL Server
first release was this past July
easy to install/administrate, easy to use, robast, powerful, aggressively priced
user said: "I have never seen or had experience with the server... was up and running in less than 5 minutes. That is exactly how my client base will do it. Impressive!"
(quoth Jeff Stillinger)
Multi-Core
the feedback system at RS is powered by REAL SQL Server
since Feb 2006
handles 2.4 million queries/month
about 1 query/sec on average
also means 2.4 million connections/month
downtime?
less than 1%
0.009%
very robust and reliable
about a month ago, switched the order system to REAL Sql Server
includes online store and internal (RB-made) desktop application
did some tests on performance between OpenBase (used before) and the new RSS system
sample query... a simple one and a more complex one (which I'm not going to retype!)
and some middle-sized queries
bar chart...
simple query, Openbase is faster, but both are very fast
average, RSS is faster
complex query, RSS is a LOT faster
32 times faster
13 different tests, OpenBase was faster on the 4 simplest/fastest tests...
RSS won on the 9 more complex tests by a comfortable margin
overall tests, RSS is more than twice as fast
RS now runs its business completely on RS technology
how does RSS compare to some other db servers?
17 tests, total time: RSS 19 s, PostgresQL 36, MySQL 77
working on RSS 2007 R1
will have some new features...
it's UB
adds support for PHP
ODBC driver for Mac/Win/Linux
C development SDK
Currency type
full-text searching
added military-grade encryption
stores the data on the server in an encrypted format
uses AES encryption
Current Pricing: 5 Connections=$500
Unlimited Connections=$1000
with 2007R1, new pricing eliminates the 5 connection server entirely
unlimited connections will be $500
(applause)
just one server, $500, unlimited connections, much simpler
for bundling RSS with your application...
a 5-pack of servers is $400/server; 10-pack is $300/server
Unlimited pack: $9000/year; sell as many servers as you want.
includes the ability to upgrade all your existing servers as well.
will take effect with RSS 2007 R1
one of your considerations in bundling is the server licensing...
So: RSS is...
easy to install; robust; fast; aggressively priced; crystal-clear license
Marco Bambini is here, giving a session on Thursday
(architect of RSS)
next: Conference Changes
wireless internet in all session rooms
session surveys are now online
now have collared shirts
topic tables at lunch
dinner at Stubb's Barbeque
live entertainment: Trisha Murphy
REAL Software Store is here at the conference
buy RB books... author of Beginning REALbasic is here
Today...
General Session, Lunch, Breakout Sessions, Stubbs BBQ (leave at 6)
Novell is the "platinum sponsor" this year
other sponsers get smaller mention
thanks to attendees
(applause)
Matt back on stage... looks like a big William.
three customers to share their stories
John Callis
working for law firms, found it a PC-dominated industry
thought about what he could do to change the industry
founded Clearly Legal Software in 2004
wanted to tackle several problems in the law industry
first, law costs are driven primarily by software costs
two largest publishing companies in the US own 90% of the software
wanted to make some inroads on both platforms
liked RB because he could produce software on both platforms, and reduce his costs
and felt like he could open the business up (with respect to proprietary formats, etc.)
needed a process...
decided to start with court reporters
"Bundler"
Bundler allows court reporters to take the transcript and put it into a free viewer that they can send out with exhibits and video
caught his competitors off gaurd; they had a piece of software but not as developed as this
next, "DepoSmart" — software for attorneys PC or Mac
released January of this year
a Mac user in a PC-based law firm can access the same information
"DepoSmart Viewer" — free viewer for legal transcripts, exhibits, and video testimony
"TrialSmart" — Mac software for presenting transcripts, exhibits, and video
RB has been a key application to bridge the gap between them and their competitors
decision was easy, esp. because of expanding db back-ends
products are listed on Apple and trade sites
growing at about 20% per month
the only cross-platform legal software tool
model their release after RS's rapid release model
showing screen shots of products on Mac and PC
(applause)
Matt Quagliana on stage again
giving glowing praise about TrialSmart based on a demo he saw a few weeks ago
takes dig at non-RB developers :)
next from AltaPoint Data Systems...
Doug Lyman (?)
founded in 1996, current user base of over 8000 customers
products for medical and related markets
sold and supported through network of over 200 independent consultants.
AltaPoint Medical designed to fully automate the doctor's office
started off as a Borland Delphi shop
transitioned to RB over two years ago
saw that the Mac platform was becoming more and more relevant
cons to Delphi: shifting their focus from ISV to Corporate IT; access to, and quality of product support; limited platform support
(ISV = independent software vendors)
pros of RB: fast, native-code compiler; RAD tools; beautiful IDE; unparalleled product support (inc. strategic relationship with RS); broadest platform support
made this decision in August 2005; in February 2006, Borland announced it was "divesting" its developer product lines
showing screen shots of the product
includes a WYSIWYG report writer
underlying script-based report design with nested, conditional logic
allows report to change appearance based on the data
Matt thinks it may be the largest product he's ever seen developed in RB.
They're very pleased with the incremental compiler (chuckles).
wrapping up with praise for RB
(applause)
AltaPoint
Dax Xsilva talking about LightSpeed 2 point-of-sale system
(really pretty screenshots)
Mac OS X -only product, iTunes-like interface
Lightspeed 1.0 launched October 2005; Lightspeed 2.0 launched a couple weeks ago
widely adopted by Apple specialists and resellers
120+ resellers and consultants in 14 countries
target market
small business, restail sources, call centers, etc.
(it's also in the latest issue of RBD)
used in many different kids of stores — e.g. furniture stores
been an RB user since 1.0
loves the incremental compiler
heavily uses plugins, MBS, Einhugr
uses On-Target Reports
uses OpenBase
web store based on PHP and CSS, with OpenBase stored procedures written in RB
more screen shots, giving a tour of the product
you can capture customer's pictures using the iSight
can run video ads while the POS is not in use, run slide shows, etc.
supports barcode scanners, receipt printers, etc.
some of them using Serial class, others are HID devices
LS2 browser supports searching, a "parking lot" to park things on, lots of other neat features
"tracker" allows different people to track different things
supports extensive drag & drop in lots of ways
dunno
does quoting and invoicing
has sucked up to the Apple dealerships :)
customer card allows all sorts of tracking
does inventory control, barcoding, etc.
purchasing system groups by supplier, etc.
200+ reports, for accounting and so on
exports to MYOB and QB
provides a web store with two button clicks
love the catalog graphics on his screen shots :)
admin tools include access privileges, logging, etc.
does "webinars" 2 or 3 times per week
extensible via XLS
Dax Dasilva,dax@xsilva.com
(applause)
Matt back on stage
talking about partners...
Apple...
another great partner is Novell
Paul MacKay from Novell
logging in to what's probably a Linux box for his presentation
Paul's a developer, and has some things he thinks are important for us to hear
but first, a video from the marketing dept
it's a Mac video parody
Linux is apparently a hot brunette
much chuckles
Wants to talk about why we should develop applications for linux
(...I'm pretty sure using KeyNote on a Mac for his presentation :))
Desktop Platforms: 93% Windows, 6% Mac, 1% Linux.
so why develop for Linux?
the "how" is easy: developing apps for Linux is easy with REALbasic
"You're not going to find a better tool"
so the question is why?
why are customers using Linux?
Challenges customers are trying to solve: 1. cost
2. complexity
(this guy has really great clip art on his slides)
3. risk
today's OS environments suffer from high licensing costs, maintenance/update costs, usability limitations, etc. (speaking mostly of Windows)
slips in a lot of Windows bashing and Mac praising
with regard to security, usability
CxO's want to reduce capital and ongoing costs
IT level wants rapid deployment and central management
in-house developers want flexibility and standards, interoperability
Linux market projections...
hardware revenue will increase almost 20% by 2010
12% on servers only
software trend, 23% increase by 2010
Linux momentum is gaining
67% of all data centers run on Linux today
Linux adoption: comes in via "edge" servers (file, web, etc.)
then comes light application servers, workgroup DBs, etc.
finally, core functions
on the desktop side, early adopters are in engineering, development, and sysadmin
next comes business appliances, POS, CRM, inventory management, and shop floor
last come general knowledge workers
not really there yet, but seeing more of it over time
sees significant new opportunity for desktop applications for general office worker applications
an office worker needs 5-7 applications
word processing, spreadsheets, collaboration, and 1-4 business-specific apps
don't need a big costly OS to run those apps
Why choose Novell?
52,000 customers worldwide
has a strategy from Desktop to Data Center
on mainframes, 80% of linux is Novell
a car maker in Europe hoved their 20,000 desktops to SUS Linux Enterprise Desktop 10
presenting several other Novell (SUSE Linux) desktop stories
presenting industry recognition & awards for Novell
partners in software & hardware
developer resources
http://developer.novell.com
including RB tutorials
Novell Forge: project hosting for open-source projects
applauding RB for not sucking like Microsoft did with VB6 to .NET
thinks we RB developers are uniquely qualified to develop for Linux
we have the tools, applications, & opportunity
Linux is a new opportunity for growth and differentiation
hah — no, presentation really was running on SUSE
cool 3D panning around multiple desktops
fades in/out, lots of fancy Mac-like eye candy
(applause)
bye all!

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