In this episode, Michelle discusses the fate of bespoke indexing software programs in light of Scribendi.ai's announcement about CINDEX. As of April 1, Scribendi will no longer distribute or support CINDEX, but will make it available as an open-source program. Michelle attempts to address what indexers can do to ensure the continued development and distribution of the software programs.
Maria Sullivan, an indexer who has been providing support to CINDEX users both when it was owned by Indexing Research and Scribendi, sent an email to the CINDEX Users listserv about this upcoming change. Her email is shared below with Maria's permission.
But first, here are some links Michelle mentioned in the episode:
Macrex site
CINDEX Users group page. If you're interested in hearing more about the open-source efforts, be sure to join the subgroup.
Index Manager - software for embedded indexes. This software is billed yearly as a subscription plan.
And if you'd like to join the conversation about legacy planning (please do!), you can send Michelle a voice message at indexerpodcast.com.
Or you can drop her a note in the Exchange Box.
If you know anyone who uses CINDEX but has not heard the news about the upcoming change, feel free to send them a copy of Maria's email.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
From Maria Sullivan to Cindex Users listserv:
Please take a look: https://www.scribendi.ai/cindex/
Most of you have no doubt read the announcement from Scribendi regarding the future of CINDEX. First, let me reassure you that CINDEX is NOT GOING AWAY.
This change will mean that the CINDEX community will grow—this will make CINDEX stronger, more universal, more nimble, and more useful to indexers and publishers around the world.
For those of you who already own licensed copies of CINDEX, the program will continue to work as it has, and this will have no change in your personal copy.
One important change: after the transition to open source is complete, free software support will no longer be provided. Please rest assured that I am working on transitioning to another platform for support, and should have news coming about that soon.
There is a world of available information on open source software: please research and read up on open source and make yourself more familiar with how this model differs from a traditional proprietary licensing model. You will be surprised to hear how many of the tools that you use every day are based on open source code. I’d like to encourage any coders in the group to get ready for the release of the code. Let’s help other indexers by creating new open installers and augmenting the existing functionality.
Like always, and especially for the short-run, I encourage you to make sure that you have a current copy of the CINDEX installer and your serial number. Tuck these away in a safe place (not on your computer!) in case something happens to your equipment that would cause you to need to reinstall. In the future, we will not need these, but for now it’s best to be prepared so that you can keep indexing!
Thank you,
M—
Maria A. Sullivan
Email: [email protected]
Indexing
Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!
