Hi quornroast,
This is going to be long sorry up front.
Q1: The reviews at the site you linked to are good - but there are issues raised in some which are issues I have questions about; level of prior experience being one.
A1: There is one post / review via were I’m waiting for my reply to be posted.
Here is a copy of my reply to that post.
“it works.. by OADesign, June 4, 2006”1
Joomla! Extensions Directory - Joomla Template kit
My reply:
Well I’ll take this with a grain of salt.
This review sounds like a very well plan review for the mention parties below.
Not to mention that both web sites are affiliated. There is some truth to some of the errors
when this video was made I did call JOOM-LAH JOOM-MAL but that does not effect the value
of the video training or outcome of your template.
Now let’s talk a little about the way that its "really done" versus the scope
of our product. “The right tool for the right job” We do not claim that the Joomla Template Kit
will teach you a java script switch of an HTML tag properties. Which is what these "...see how its really done."sites do for tricks”.
For this you can pick up a book at Amazon these tricks where done back in the 90’s.
Secondly this B.S notions about tableless template design and Joomla case and point look into the
com_content component and tell me if there is or is not a lot of table code inside.
So how it’s really done? Is it wrapping tabled content with div wrappers and calling it tableless design?
That’s elite!
This post sounds like a rant or person with a bad attitude I'm just clearing up the facts here.
We being me Brian Diaz / Media 65 M65.net / Howtomambo.com have been with Mambo then Joomla for
over two years a lot of these so called experts have watch our videos and articles. This is not to say
that we don’t learn from each other. My Mambo mentor was Arthur of mamboportal.com.
Which in my opinion was the mentor to most of the Mambo Joomla senior members.
So someone puts up a five minutes to Joomla CSS chart it most likely came from ours.
And that’s fine. But don't tell me that’s how it’s really done.
:End of Reply
Q2: Your lack of refund policy is unusual, in my experience?
A2: If I was Adobe or a large software company the refund policy would be different.
But this is why.
1. I can’t turn Dreamweaver off or the extension once installed.
2. There is a limited market of clients who purchased a specialize extension.
3. Most designers buy a tool for one to two projects and move on to the next
Clients needs. If they can design a project in 30 days and get there money back
a good amount of designers will.
The list goes on but you get the point.
Q3: Joomla V.S Mambo and Price updates?
A3: Mambo is not a bad product but it just does not have a market share it once did.
Joomla is in my opinion the leader.
The Mambo Template Kit extension sales are not meeting sales quotas.
Now that the Joomla and Mambo template system are not similar and the demand is down for mambo
It does not make business sense to develop a product with little demand.
Quornroast here the bottom line is Joomla just has a larger base at this time.
And most likely in the future barring stupid changes in the Joomla cms core code the 1.5 Beta looks
good but still changes are being made daily to the system.
As for our position on the extension we offer a lifetime license
on the standard version of the extension which is soon about to end.
This is not to rush you into buy mode It's better for me if you wait till the new yearly model comes out.
The bottom line is 99 dollar’s sounds like a lot of money. But what do you pay at the gas station for gas
or your bar tab. This tool can make you money not just take it.
Lastly to the level of user skills need.
These are addressed at the system requirements tab of the product.
http://www.m65.net/cms/dreamweaver-j...plate-kit.html
In short we don’t teach you how to use CSS or HTML or Dreamweaver or JavaScript etc..
Any product that over teaches is not going to be good. There are a lot of books that cover these disciplines. We teach you what it takes to make a Joomla Template with our system quick and as easy as possible within the scope of the product.
In our new article system coming soon we will address our client’s demands for such services
products and information.
I hope I have answered your questions.
Cheers,
Brian