I can still remember when I first started using Revolution for a serious project. I was really proud of all the logic I had organized and my elegant system of chunking my code up into "objects" at the right level and how it all worked more or less just the way I wanted it to. It went really quickly; that's the power of Revolution's natural-language scripting for you.

There was one problem. I didn't have enough experience creating output in Revolution to just write out the routine the way I wanted it. I spent a lot of time writing the logic to handle subtotal groups and pagination. In terms of hours worked, the job of producing code for printouts easily was 75% of the project. Boy, do I wish I had Quartam Reports back then! I could have finished off that part of the system in a snap, and probably had a lot more reports and flexibility in them as well.

Then there was the project where I painstakingly designed more than 20 icons all by hand. Print buttons, search buttons, open and save, you name it. I started in Illustrator, then took them into a dedicated icon program that cost me $40, and proceeded to make each icon look decent, dot-by-dot. That was a couple days worth of work, but my application needed to look perfect, not like it was a Frankenstein creation of icons from different operating systems and eras. The three libraries of icons from IconPeople sure look a lot better than what I ended up creating.

And what about that little game that I put together with sounds I stole from various web sites using Google search? I guess it was okay for my friends and family, but there's no way I'd be able to sell it with a clear conscience.

Or, that time I made so many compromises in speed and functionality just so I could use a one-size-fits-all free database engine, when I could have had the industrial-strength power of Valentina?

Are you seeing the pattern yet? All of these situations are problems solved by terrific products available through the RevSelect program. I had Revolution and my jack-of-all-trades know-how, but that was only half the battle. To take my projects the last 10 yards to touchdown, I needed more: professional sounds and icons; professional reporting tools, professional database engines.

Sure, some of them were available to me back then, but I didn't want to spend $200 for a database engine, $150 for a reporting add-on, and $99 for an icon library. These were lean times, and I was trying to make a profit on what was then my "hobby." I rationalized it away thinking that my homemade icons would be good enough, that I needed just one report, or MySQL would have to be "good enough." But deep down I knew I wanted to take my work to the next level. "Some day," I thought. "Some day."

Well, after hearing my story, maybe it won't be a surprise to you that one of the first things I wanted to do after landing a job at Runtime Revolution was to get these great products into the hands of everyone who could benefit from them. I went to the RevSelect vendors with a simple story: Let's help everyone create better, more professional Revolution applications by giving them the most complete developer productivity toolkit possible. And let's do it at a price that anyone can afford.

I talked to Jan Schenkel about how many people really needed his terrific reports and PDF packages. Not just for commercial applications that were to be resold, but for the everyday, steak-and-potatoes business stuff that didn't warrant intensive development effort.

I went to Scott Rossi and buttered him up about how sexy and cool his interface tools were. "Wouldn't it be great if more Revolution apps looked this slick?"

I went to Malte Brill and asked him to imagine the terrific games that would be created if more people had his fantastic Animation Engine.

I went to Lynn Fredricks and told him that more people needed to see how effortless it is to work with Valentina for their database stuff... and by the way could you throw in those icons and awesome soundtracks too? Elven music is like a good red wine, it goes with just about anything!

One by one, they agreed. We would put together the most comprehensive, awe-inspiring, fancy-tickling, productive, and powerful collection of software ever... and sell it for the same price as a regular ol' copy of Revolution.

Finally, I went to Kevin Miller, Runtime Revolution CEO. "Kevin," I said, "I've got 25 software packages here. Hundreds of icons and media clips. Our best and brightest utilities. There's just one thing missing."

Kevin raised his eyebrow.

"We've got to help people figure out how to put it all together!"

A little arm twisting later, I had the cherry on top of the super-sundae I'd made. A free pass to Day One of RunRevLive 2008... sometimes called the "pre-conference" day because that's when we put the focus on learning Revolution. Every aspect from text and graphics to the Internet and databases. A full day of sessions that cover it all, led by the supreme experts of Revolution, Kevin and Jacque Landman Gay. Simply the most perfect way for someone to finally "get it" when it comes to Revolution.

So, gentle reader, I've done my part. Eliminated any barrier you've had to really getting into Revolution programming. Paved the way for you to invent the next "killer app." Saved you hours and hours of work. Given you some legit, royalty free icons and sounds. A top-of-the-line script editor like GLX2 that will dramatically accelerate your coding and code reviews. And finally given you the opportunity to sit down with the best instructors we have for live, face-to-face education about Revolution programming.

You'll have it all at your fingertips for the next project you tackle. You'll save yourself hours of tedious work. Your stuff will look great and sound great. You'll have the expertise to make the most of it. And you'll save a bucketload of cash.

If you've ever had a passion for programming, a desire to create beautiful results, now is the time for you to act because this experiment in creating the ultimate bundle of Revolution productivity tools only lasts a short time. If you've been a long-time user, this is your chance to get the full library... stuff you've heard about and always wanted to look into. If you're a new user, this is the absolute best way to start off. Either way, you'll save time and money, and get fantastic results.

So give my "RevSelect Super Holiday Year End Mega Bundle Extravaganza" a look-see and try not to drool. You're just a click on the "Order Now" button away from having your dream come true...

Just click http://www.runrev.com/offers/rshb