rap@ardent.UUCP (Rob Peck) (01/31/89)
In an issue of Amiga Mail, I proposed the formation of the Amiga Developer's Coop, kind of a way to maximize a developer's exposure to the outside world while minimizing his cash outlay. The idea was to get together a catalog, consisting of one page per product, and then placement of an ad here and there letting users send (micro-bucks) for a copy of the catalog. Thus the ads get directly to the user who is interested in what is available outside the normal commercial realm and developers who did not have a track record might get enough direct responses from users (and reviews of that software, if only word of mouth) to perhaps finally interest a distributor in carrying the software. And with the catalog directing the user directly to the developer, it would have left maximum profit and customer support in the developer's hands, leaving the "Co-op" out of the loop other than as a facilitator in the first place. As of today (over 4 months since the proposal appeared [Sept/Oct issue I believe], I received a total of three responses from interested developers and am therefore (reluctantly) declining to pursue it any further. I guess those that have written for the Amiga market are finding no problem getting distribution and don't need to participate in any such venture. I guess I was wrong... (sigh), so be it. Rob Peck