ignac@electro.UUCP (Ignac Kolenko) (03/08/90)
hmmm. i seem to have created yet another controversy over trying to post
the Quick ST II demo code to comp.binaries.atari.st. Soooo, i want to get
some feedback from net people on a couple of things:
1 - Branch Always Software *ALWAYS* will post a demo of our latest stuff
on ALL online services (Compuserve, BIX, GEnie) and we feel (or at
least I do) that people on Usenet who don't have access to the above
online services (ie: most Europeans) benifit from having the demos
posted to comp.binaries.atari.st as well
2 - we will NOT make a special demo version just for Usenet. One is plenty
to worry about for later bug reports, etc. we just simply do not have
the time to do things specially for Usenet.
3 - because they are demos of commercial products, we put as must notice into
the demo to give people ABSOLUTELY no doubt that the stuff is not
shareware and is indeed commercial. We feel that this is hardly any
different than large shareware notices. And let's face it folks, Branch
Always Software is HARDLY on the scale of Apple or Microsoft or even
lowly Atari for that matter when it comes to commercial sales.
Shareware simply became too large to keep under the
table, so going commercial makes our
stuff that much more legitimate, (and keeps us out of trouble with
government auditors, etc :-) (this point is equally valid for
small companies such as Double Click, etc in the Atari world)
(and this way, the author of Turbo ST can't yell at us for being
"unfair competition" as he said when we were shareware.)
so, the questions i ask are:
Do you Usenet folks feel that the posting of our demos of our products here
is a worthwhile endevour, or should we stop?
Are Usenet folks REALLY care all that much if a commercial endorsement is
made in the demo??
if the responses are in favour of absolutely no commercial
stuff on Usenet, then i guess there's no point but to leave Usenet out
on future postings of demos, etc. And i think that in such a small
userbase, that would be a damn shame!
(and hell, why should Compuserve, GEnie and BIX get all the good stuff
anyways?????)
comments/responses/flames/praise/beratings/humble opinions/blathering/etc
accepted free of charge!
--
=====Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)=====watmath!watcgl!electro!brasoft!ignac======
co-author of QuickST, and the entire line of Quick Software!!!!
Branch Always Software Box 2624, Station B, Kitchener, Ont. CANADA N2H 6N2
=============================================================================derrick@ritcsh.cs.rit.edu (Derrick Williams) (03/10/90)
In article <1478@electro.UUCP> ignac@electro.UUCP (Ignac Kolenko) writes: > >hmmm. i seem to have created yet another controversy over trying to post >the Quick ST II demo code to comp.binaries.atari.st. Soooo, i want to get >some feedback from net people on a couple of things: > [rationales deleted to save bandwidth] I support Ignac's posting of the Quick ST II demo. In the past I have brought software that I didn't need or never used, simply because I didn't have a good idea of what I was getting, even if the dealer let me try it out and read the manual. I have installed the demo version and tried it out with many of my existing programs. This type of tryout is very beneficial, as I found out firsthand how reliable it is. I am planning on buying the commercial version as soon as I can find a dealer near campus who stocks it. I have no unrealistic expectations (Quick ST II demo left some cursors scattered in Flash, but otherwise it was flawless), and I know what I'm going to get. I wish that other companies would follow Ignac's example, as I like getting free stuff, but more importantly, it allows the customer to make a judgemental decision, which is important as much of the decisions I make as a software buyercomes from secondhand information or shop talk. I don't see demo's overcommercializing Usenet. Although Usenet is a non-profit entity, it serves to distribute information throughout users, and I believe commercial developers should have that access to inform the public on new products, and more importantly, demo's to inform the user of what is available for his or her machine. >-- >=====Ignac A. Kolenko (The Ig)=====watmath!watcgl!electro!brasoft!ignac====== > co-author of QuickST, and the entire line of Quick Software!!!! > Branch Always Software Box 2624, Station B, Kitchener, Ont. CANADA N2H 6N2 >============================================================================= \ _________\____ /______/ /___\ |______/ _/_____| Holy Temple Of Jolt Swiggin' Dudes |_--.__/ / / _/_| "We Never Sleep" |_\ / __\| |\ \__| |\_(_/ /_|__/\_\_| |____/_/__COLA___| Derrick Williams, Chief Acolyte |___//___________| |2x the caffeine.| EECC |________________| |The Switch Is On| Rochester Institute of Technology \______________/
qralph@dna.lth.se (Ralph Haglund) (03/11/90)
Mr Kolenko is almost too sensitive I think, but maybe that's better nowadays... What do we all want? Half of us (including me) want to develop soft- ware for the Atari, and be able to live on it, the other half want to get it as cheaply as possible to use. It sure is the perfect example of symbiosis. All advertising adds to the price of the product. So - everyone gains if the advertising is cheap. I have no complaints if the good guys advertise in the Usenet. |-------------------------------------------------------------| | Want to talk to me? Try: | | QRALPH@SELDC51 || QRALPH@SELDC52 || qralph@dna.lth.se | | My name? In official Sweden it is: 4.901.185.654 (secret) | | Anywhere else: Ralph Haglund | | Disclaimer: If it works, it's out of date. | |_____________________________________________________________|
rick@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Eric Ruck) (03/12/90)
I am the try before you buy type, but I also refuse to pirate. The result of this is that I buy very little software withmy hard earned dollars. However, I recently was given the Quick 1.6 demo, and found it very impressive. Not onlydo I feel that posting a demo will gain you a sale (just as soon as I get my next paycheck, really) but I also think you have done me a service by letting me see something that I believe is worthwhile. I think that demos are a useful advantage to Usenet access. Eric
me@dude.pcs.com (Michael Elbel) (03/12/90)
Do you Usenet folks feel that the posting of our demos of our products here is a worthwhile endevour, or should we stop? YES, I feel that it really is worthwile to have the demos on the net. Are Usenet folks REALLY care all that much if a commercial endorsement is made in the demo?? I DON'T care !! The demo still is free. I can use it, don't have to pay for it (although I rather use the real thing, but that's beside the point). If there is a note, that an enhanced version is available commercially, fine. I think, the point is: The demos Ignac is posting are *usefull*, not only advertising for the real thing and they are FREE. This is more than you can say for shareware (also no bad thing on the net in my opinion). So, please go on posting demos, Ignac. Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Branch Always Software besides that I'm using their stuff, I even don't get it for free. -- Michael (X) Elbel | No, I haven't lost my mind, I just me@dude.PCS.COM | forgot it in the rush this morning
mccann@rbdc (Mike McCann) (03/14/90)
I have a question. Does anyone know if it is possible with InterLink (or other terms) to filter out ansi control codes? If so how? (I mean, from entering a capture buffer). Thanx. EOFZZ
ralph@laas.fr (Ralph P. Sobek) (03/14/90)
In article <1478@electro.UUCP> ignac@electro.UUCP (Ignac Kolenko) writes: | 1 - Branch Always Software *ALWAYS* will post a demo of our latest stuff on ALL online services (Compuserve, BIX, GEnie) and we feel (or at least I do) that people on Usenet who don't have access to the above online services (ie: most Europeans) benifit from having the demos posted to comp.binaries.atari.st as well True! | Do you Usenet folks feel that the posting of our demos of our products here | is a worthwhile endevour, or should we stop? I personally appreciate seeing demo versions come through the net! It lets me comfortably compare. | Are Usenet folks REALLY care all that much if a commercial endorsement is | made in the demo?? As long as the final commercial product does not follow the same path, I don't mind too much. As for Usenet rules... | (and hell, why should Compuserve, GEnie and BIX get all the good stuff | anyways?????) True again. But do they really get all the good stuff? Please folks, I do not want to restart the shareware controvery that's going on already in another newsgroup. -- Ralph P. Sobek Disclaimer: The above ruminations are my own. ralph@laas.fr Addresses are ordered by importance. ralph@laas.uucp, or ...!uunet!mcvax!laas!ralph If all else fails, try: sobek@eclair.Berkeley.EDU =============================================================================== Reliable software should kill people reliably! -Andy Mickel, Pascal News #13,78
depeche@quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (Sam Alan EZUST) (03/27/90)
Ignac says: > > Do you Usenet folks feel that the posting of our demos of our products here > is a worthwhile endevour, or should we stop? > Are Usenet folks REALLY care all that much if a commercial endorsement is > made in the demo?? I feel that software posted on the net should be judged solely on its usefulness. If usenet people like the damn thing, why deprive us of a demo simply because it endorses a product? By this logic, we could censor messages posted by people who work at commercial institutions, because their content may be construed as commerical, even they just contain info about how their products work! Well, since I am happy and satisfied a LEGAL OWNER of QuickST II, and would strongly recommend the non-demo version without reservations, my opinion may be biased, but I think I would say the same thing about any other product - the simple fact is, the more useful stuff which is available on the net, the better. To be honest, if his original shareware demo versions were never posted to the net, I wouldn't have known enough about the product to buy it in the first place, so it is in a sense, serving the interests of Branch Always. To this, I say: WHO CARES? just my two dollars worth...
boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu (Mickey Boyd) (03/28/90)
>Ignac says: > > Do you Usenet folks feel that the posting of our demos of our products here > is a worthwhile endevour, or should we stop? > Are Usenet folks REALLY care all that much if a commercial endorsement is > made in the demo?? Well, could this problem not be solved (and everyone made happy) if a version was posted to the net that did NOT have the "Available from X at $XX.XX" line? If a substitute was made like "Send email to X or snailmail t Y for more info" would that not satisfy the non-commercial requirement of the net? I for one do not think that a demo should be held from the net just because it advertises something, but I can see where that could get out of control if people abused it. I have always thought that most user text in a program was stored in the .RCS file. A net-only version, if easy to produce, may be the best way to solve this dilemma. Again, this is IMHO, and I could easily be wrong about the .RCS file thingy. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------+------------------------------------- Mickey Boyd | "Nobody can be exactly like me. FSU Computer Science | Even I have trouble doing it." Technical Support Group | mail: boyd@fsucs.cs.fsu.edu | - Tallulah Bankhead ---------------------------------+------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------