danielg@earl.med.unc.edu (Daniel Gene Sinclair) (01/31/89)
>In article <1@dbase.UUCP> awd@dbase.UUCP (Alastair Dallas) writes: >> >>Not to be overtly commercial, but why not try dBASE IV? This may be silly, but is dbase IV available? While I hear that it is, my boss (who pays for things like that :-) says that we can't get it yet. Can anyone give me the scoop? Please excuse my laziness, I'm sure there are better ways of finding this out, but what else is the net for? Thanks | 'If you only knew how much I was holding danielg@med.unc.edu | back, you'd commend me.' - Spurgeon ================================================================================
awd@dbase.UUCP (Alastair Dallas) (02/01/89)
dBASE IV v1.0 is available--I've seen it at my local Egghead Software store. We're working on version 1.1, which will support the SQL Server and include fixes for some known anomalies (it should also run some percentage faster for most tasks). 1.1 should be out within a couple of months (I'm not really "in the know" on the timing). But v1.0 is out now. /alastair/
wew@naucse.UUCP (Bill Wilson) (02/01/89)
From article <373@uncmed.med.unc.edu>, by danielg@earl.med.unc.edu (Daniel Gene Sinclair): > This may be silly, but is dbase IV available? While I hear that it is, my > boss (who pays for things like that :-) says that we can't get it yet. > I've had dBASE IV for a couple of months now. Seems pretty good but I haven't been able to play with it much yet. SQL seems ok. Compatibility with dBASE III seems to be ok also. Memo fields may be a problem. If you had a legally registered version of dBASE III you should have received an update notice. -- Bill Wilson (Bitnet: ucc2wew@nauvm) Northern AZ Univ Flagstaff, AZ 86011 {These views are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer}
angel@adm.BRL.MIL (Rick Angelini ) (02/02/89)
I have received a copy of Dbase-IV. I was meandering thru the extensive documentation, and found no help for "upgrading" a system from Dbase-III to IV. Did I miss a section of the manual or is there no conversion issue?
rl1b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Robert A. Locke) (02/02/89)
OK, Alastair, you wanted something concrete, so here's a sermon.
Actually, the complaints I have with Ashton-Tate are mostly with the
management and not with the product.
I stopped using A-Ts dBASE when they a) decided they wanted to charge
me for support; b) decided to charge me my right arm for the
developers version of dBASE IV; c) have taken FOREVER to release the
developers version; d) forced all my clients to buy copies of dBASE.
So, I started using Quicksilver. Don't ask me why I chose it over
Clipper or FoxBase. Maybe because they promised MS-DOS support and I
have clients with non-IBM compatible DOS machines. Maybe because at
the time, they had just passed Clipper in speed being in between
releases on Clipper. Maybe because it was the only one with dBASE
compatible index files.
But now, as with all companies that begin to get too big for their
own good, they are beginning to forget the people that gave them a
market, just like A-T did. But this sermon is on A-T....
Yes, A-T makes it's money with the big clients who can afford all
these whizzy-bang huge prices and don't think twice about them. But
what about the thousands of little clients that introduce people to
dBASE. I love working in the dBASE language. It's gotten to the point
where I can do things faster in dBASE than any other language I know.
So why do I feel like I'm getting screwed by them?
I'm a full-time undergraduate student with a part-time consulting
business on the side that can't really keep it's head above water. I
do the consulting because it's fun. I like seeing the smiles on
people's faces when they see what the computer can truly do for them.
But with companies releasing buggy software and charging high prices
for "bug fixes," that's just ludricous. I can't afford it.
I suppose I could come up with $1,000 for a one time deal on a
developer's release provided my clients never had to buy dBASE unless
they wanted to do more than I am willing to. And as long as my code
was protected. And as long as I could get REAL telephone support. I
mean, look at WordPerfect. What is their secret? Is A-T just trying
to grab money for support?
It just seems that every time I turn around, they have their hands in
my pocket again....
Well, that's my sermon for the day. Sorry to depress y'all.
--Rob Locke
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