Adobe speaks on Frame

["Debbi Leipold" <debbi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just wanted to make sure everyone gets this!

Thanks mark, it is nice to finally hear from someone at adobe in a decision
making position.  There are groups of use (myself, Bill, Jeremy, Brad and
others) who have lots we would love to talk to you about.  For now it is
very reassuring to see a presence (I miss Trish) that can give some concrete
FrameMaker information.  I'll look forward to  your posts.

-----Original Message-----
From: Framers@FrameUsers.com [mailto:Framers@FrameUsers.com] On Behalf
Of B. Mark Hilton
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 5:59 PM
To: FrameExprt@aol.com; Framers@frameusers.com
Subject: RE: InDesign and Frame


Framers,

Allow me to introduce myself. I've recently taken over the Marketing
responsibilities for the FrameMaker product line.  This includes both
product management and product marketing management.

I'd first like to say that it really is a pleasure to work with a product
that has such a loyal and passionate customer base.  I understand your deep
interest in how Adobe takes care of this product that so many of you use as
such an integral part of your profession and your daily work efforts.

I can't address any issues that you may have regarding how Adobe has
marketed FrameMaker in the past.  I can only focus on how we'll be marketing
FrameMaker moving forward.  Let me assure you that both our engineering and
marketing teams we are working very hard to deliver you the best possible
FrameMaker products for the next release and beyond.

As you know Adobe has a dedicated engineering team who is as passionate
about FrameMaker as are you. They're busy with FrameMaker's next release
which will have many significant new features, enhancements, and fixes.
Unfortunately, I can't disclose these to you at this point.  However, I will
disclose our plans as soon as possible to this public forum.

My marketing team and I are evaluating past marketing programs and
developing new ones.   As we do move forward I hope to hear from you on how
we're doing and how we can improve.

To close, Adobe does recognize the significant value that the FrameMaker
product and customer base provides. We are, and will continue, working very
hard to maintain your loyalty.

<note: products listed on Adobe's home page are products that were related
to announcements from Seybold (new releases, new products, etc.).  From a
standard product point of view it takes two clicks to get to any product's
home page from Adobe's home page, including FrameMaker.>

Regards,

Mark

B. Mark Hilton
Group Manager, FrameMaker Marketing
Professional Publishing Solutions
Adobe Systems Incorporated
mhilton@adobe.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Framers@FrameUsers.com
> [mailto:Framers@FrameUsers.com]On Behalf Of
> FrameExprt@aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 8:23 PM
> To: Framers@frameusers.com
> Subject: Re: InDesign and Frame
>
>
> Congratulations, Adam. You've hit the nail on the head. This
> has been one of
> my biggest disappointments since Adobe bought Frame. I was
> initially excited
> because I thought that FrameMaker would be promoted in the
> same great fashion
> that other Adobe products were. For the most part, it
> DESERVES to be promoted
> with the others, but because it isn't its market share is
> much smaller than it
> should be.
>
> In spite of this, my confidence in FrameMaker's future
> remains high because
> it's such a great product, and Adobe has valued it enough to
> use it for its
> own documentation. My own theory is that Adobe is still a
> little "ashamed" of
> Frame's interface to really show it to the world. Version 6
> is (allegedly)
> supposed to change the interface to conform more to the
> Illustrator/Photoshop/PageMaker look and feel.
>
> To anyone at Adobe that reads this: Your faithful troops in
> the trenches are a
> little unsettled about FrameMaker's future. Throw us a bone.
> Tell us a few of
> the things that you are planning for Version 6. How about an
> abbreviated new
> features list and a rough time frame for release? Circulate a
> bootleg PDF with
> some screenshots of the interface. We don't have to know
> everything, just give
> us something to get excited about. Silence (or more mediocre
> updates, like
> 5.5.6) is the last thing we need.
>
> Rick
>
> > If Adobe were seen promoting Frame strongly, perhaps its
> adoption would
> >  become more ubiquitous. I understand that the market for
> FrameMaker is much
> >  smaller than for
> Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign/GoLive/Acrobat/etc., but
> I'd
> >  bet that most of Frame's market remains untapped. There
> are plenty of
> people
> >  using MS Word who should be using Frame.
> >
> >  As I see it there are two big obstacles to wider adoption
> of Frame (and
> both
> >  can be blamed on Adobe):
> >
> >  1. A lot of people have never even heard of FrameMaker. Of
> those that have,
> >  most don't know what it's really good for -- they think Word can do
> anything
> >  Frame can do without the additional software and training
> costs. Or, they
> >  think that it's only for huge technical pubs departments of massive
> >  corporations.
> >
> >  2. The common perception that Adobe's commitment to
> Frame's future is
> >  questionable. Whether this is true or not is almost irrelevant --
> perception
> >  is all that counts. A lot of companies aren't willing to
> make an investment
> >  in expensive software they think won't be supported,
> developed and updated.
> >
>
>
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