Eleven weeks after the US release, the GoLive v4.0 upgrade has still not been seen in Europe. Annoyed by the ‘release date of the week’ phenomenon, I called Adobe UK and spoke to Barbara Hamilton, Product Manager Europe, GoLive.

‘The whole situation is deeply embarrassing, and none of us are happy about it,’ she admitted, with unexpected candour. So, what went wrong?

Installer staller

While long-time Mac users might be happy with the concept of mail-order, Adobe Europe are keen for upgrades to sit alongside full products on retail shelves. The merits of this plan are another topic for another time; the difficulty, of course, is the upgrade installer. It has to reliably check for a qualifying product, yet not be easily fooled. The European release of GoLive 4 was to have this installer, but it doesn’t work yet. This is what caused the delay.

At length, the decision has been taken to release a conventional update as an interim measure. Users will need to call Adobe for a new serial number, which might require proof of original purchase by means of a faxed CyberStudio receipt. It’s messy, but it will get the update in our hands with the minimum additional delay. Of course, CDs still need to be pressed, instructions written, and packaging packed. With luck, the stop-gap will be out during the week of the 16th May, though Hamilton was clearly wary of committing to a more specific date.

Online updates? Not yet, sadly. Adobe Europe are hoping to have downloadable product purchases in the future, but it’s taking longer than they’d like to sort out a pan-European system.

So, is the bungled release sign of general Adobe incompetence? When the GoLive sale/take-over was announced the CyberStudio Talk list seethed with foretellers of doom. While our favourite tech support staff were not, in the end, incarcerated in a San Jose dungeon, do Adobe really understand the open attitude that made GoLive special?

Crumbs of comfort

There are several good signs. Its reassuring, for example, that everyone I’ve dealt with at Adobe, from the US product team through to UK telesales and press office staff, has known about the botched release. Moreover, they all freely expressed their regrets – not once was I fobbed off with the usual ‘localisation issues’ excuse.

US staff are, it seems, furious about the delay, while Hamilton herself is painfully aware that prospective customers are running out of patience. If there are further delays (and if Macromedia Europe wake up and offer a DreamWeaver competitive crossgrade) she might well have a mass defection on her hands. That she fully realises this is, I think, encouraging.

It’s also encouraging that everyone reads the GoLive Talk list, including Hamilton. Our voices there are heard, and not only by technical support staff.

Seeds of doubt?

But I still have concerns. Why am I, an end-user, relating all of this as a column for GoLiveHeaven? Adobe staff were commendably open with me, both in email and by telephone. If with one user, why not all? A post to GoLive Talk would have done much to appease us, not least for its echoes of GoLive’s old attitude.

Recapturing that attitude might serve Adobe well. With the Windows version of GoLive yet to appear, no recent mention of the Web Publishing System, only passing reference to integration with graphics tools, and the competition (read: DreamWeaver) catching up fast, it’s not clear what direction Golive will take in the coming months. An occasional hint from Adobe would be welcome.

Meanwhile, 'The application Golive CyberStudio 3.1.1 has unexpectedly quit, because an error of type 3 occurred.' I grit my teeth. Two more weeks...