brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (01/26/85)
All you people calling for the world to move to cheap software don't realize your pushing for the demise of the good in the software industry. It's expensive software that fuels the entrepreneurial fire in this business. It's expensive software (and hardware) that allows the small startup to come in with a good idea and make enough money to grow. Can John Doe without many $M start a car company? Not a chance. Can you start a software company in a garage? Not often, but it does happen, and that's what makes the computer industry great. If the world moves to cheap software like some people are pushing for, you'll get an industry populated by about 10 to 15 giants who can afford the volume to sell software at those prices. The small companies will die or be bought out. No program will ever get real sales unless it is approved and taken by a small group of people at the large companies. Software is not like books either. Good books are written as a labour of love for the most part. Good software isn't. Sure interesting software is developed as a labour of love, but the effort to turn that into a polished product that is well-documented, bug-free, nicely packaged and SUPPORTED is a lot of hard work. People aren't going to do it unless they are paid and paid well. Besides, the book industry IS controlled (essentially) by a small group of major publishers. So stop yelling for $10 software - you'll destroy the major source of good innovative software - the entrepreneur. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473
jimb@amd.UUCP (Jim Budler) (02/13/85)
In article <> brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes: >All you people calling for the world to move to cheap software don't realize >your pushing for the demise of the good in the software industry. > >It's expensive software that fuels the entrepreneurial fire in this business. >It's expensive software (and hardware) that allows the small startup to >come in with a good idea and make enough money to grow. Can John Doe >without many $M start a car company? Not a chance. Can you start a software >company in a garage? Not often, but it does happen, and that's what makes >the computer industry great. > >If the world moves to cheap software like some people are pushing for, you'll >get an industry populated by about 10 to 15 giants who can afford the >volume to sell software at those prices. The small companies will die or >be bought out. No program will ever get real sales unless it is approved >and taken by a small group of people at the large companies. > >Software is not like books either. Good books are written as a labour of >love for the most part. Good software isn't. Sure interesting software is >developed as a labour of love, but the effort to turn that into a polished >product that is well-documented, bug-free, nicely packaged and SUPPORTED >is a lot of hard work. People aren't going to do it unless they are paid >and paid well. > >Besides, the book industry IS controlled (essentially) by a small group >of major publishers. > >So stop yelling for $10 software - you'll destroy the major source of >good innovative software - the entrepreneur. >-- >Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473 Contrast this with Borland International. Good software, innovative, useful, CHEAP. I agree that asking for $10 software is stupid, you get what you pay for, but I don't think $795 for dbaseIII is good either, especially when the reviews and user info all talk of the bugs in this release. -- Jim Budler Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (408) 749-5806 UUCPnet: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amd!jimb Compuserve: 72415,1200