"Yesterday we sent an email to Macromedia ColdFusion hosting partners regarding the new Hosting Service Provider Edition of ColdFusion Server 5 that was cross-posted to this list. The information in the email was unclear, which caused some confusion about ColdFusion Server 5 pricing and licensing policies in general. On behalf of the team, first I want to apologize for any confusion caused by the email.
"ColdFusion Server 5 is a very exciting release. The focus has been on building features that developers have been requesting for years. You'll find support for user defined functions, incremental page output, charting, a new administrator, and major performance increases among other cool features. At the same time that we've been building enhancements, we've been very focused on quality, and so far, the feedback in the beta program has been very positive.
"With the exception of the Hosting Service Provider Edition, we're not changing the basic licensing policies or pricing. As a merged company, we're focused on the needs of ColdFusion developers more than ever. Macromedia is deeply committed to the ColdFusion community and the vision behind ColdFusion Server, and we're making a significant investment in the product. We understand that having high quality hosting options is important to developers, and one of our focuses for this release is to expand the number of service providers participating in our hosting partner program.
"When we announce formally on Monday, there will be a lot more information available about the new release on our Web site. To help clarify the Hosting Service Provider Edition policies, we've posted an FAQ about the new edition at:
http://www.allaire.com/products/coldfusion/cf5hostingfaq.html.
If you have more questions or concerns about this new edition, please feel free to drop me a note. I'm looking forward to your feedback on ColdFusion Server 5!
Jeff Whatcott
Director, ColdFusion Product Marketing
Macromedia
jwhatcott@macromedia.com