squibby@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Clark L. Breyman) (02/05/90)
It struck me that NeXT's practice of including copious software and especially gnuware with their computer as adding enormous value to their product: It can function out of the box and one need not A)get a net connection nor B) try to find a NeXT dealer with software to have a perfectly functional computer with good software. When I got my original ST (I traded it in after th ASIC's died), The inclusion of 1st Word, Neochrome, BASIC and LOGO was a nice bonus and saved me from dealers more than I had to. Considering the amount of net traffic devoted to finding reliable dealers, wouldn't it make sense for Atari to adopt a similar policy and secure rights to distribute the good Atari PD and shareware ( FSF software, Sozobon, ARC, ZOO, Gulam, TeX, Uniterm...) with the computer. It would be a hit to their compiler set (Alcyon tools), but wouldn't it they make it up in computer sales? It might also be a convenient way to distribute that portion of documentation that is publicly available (gemdos.arc on terminator, progem articles, pexec cookbook...) and a listing of all registered commerical software for the ST. It would enlighten the community regarding the true potentials of the machine. Just an Idea, Clark Breyman squibby@dartmouth.edu If this is not the forum for this sort of posting, please flame me by mail and I will refrain from further such postings.
rehrauer@apollo.HP.COM (Steve Rehrauer) (02/06/90)
In article <19140@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> squibby@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Clark L. Breyman) writes: > Considering the amount of net traffic devoted to finding > reliable dealers, wouldn't it make sense for Atari to adopt a > similar policy and secure rights to distribute the good Atari > PD and shareware ( FSF software, Sozobon, ARC, ZOO, Gulam, TeX, > Uniterm...) with the computer. I believe this has been asked before, with the official Atari response being something along the lines of "it isn't our job to do that" / "we don't have the time/money to do that" / "we don't want to distribute stuff we don't have complete control over (ie: 'not invented here')". (Ken and Allen and the rest of the hard-working crew at Atari, that wasn't a knock on you.) If there has been a change in policy regards this, it'd be a welcome one. I agree; in most parts of the U.S. it's tough to find any lifeform vaguely resembling an ST dealer, let alone an excellent one. Such a "starter kit" would be a nice bonus. Probably only 25% of it would be deemed useful to any particular ST buyer, but surely everyone would find something to be happy about. I very much enjoyed getting Neochrome when I bought my ST, and even ST BASIC and LOGO were worth a few chuckles. None of those influenced my decision to buy an ST, but then, in 1985 (was it really that long ago??) nothing else on the market even came close to the bang for the buck. (The Amiga was introduced several months after I bought my ST, so no flames from the Commodore row, please.) In 1990 it very well might make a big difference to people. > It would be a hit to their compiler > set (Alcyon tools), but wouldn't it they make it up in computer > sales? Atari is a Hardware Company (tm). Hardware Companies sell Hardware. Hardware Companies don't use Software to sell Hardware; Software is just a parasitical yet unavoidable fact of life to a Hardware Company. > If this is not the forum for this sort of posting, please flame > me by mail and I will refrain from further such postings. Well, actually this is the forum for Bashing Atari, Spreading the True Atari Religion, Uncovering Grand Conspiracies, and Indiscriminate Flammage on All Sides. But since you were so polite, in your case we'll allow an otherwise heretical Thoughtful Suggestion, just this once... ;-) -- >>"Aaiiyeeee! Death from above!"<< | Steve Rehrauer, rehrauer@apollo.hp.com "Flee, lest we be trod upon!" | The Apollo System Division of H.P.