Re: Software cost and edu discounts (was Re: Ada is not a failure.)

[cis.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura .net!source.asset.com!vand@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Laurence VanDolsen)]

In article <1993Jul28.225732.20898@hellgate.utah.edu> matwood%peruvian.cs.utah.
edu@cs.utah.edu (Mark Atwood) writes:
>   ...  So if <Ada Vendor> sold their compiler
>to businesses at the same high price they are currently charging, and GAVE
>AWAY their compiler to schools, they only thing they would lose is the (small)
>amount of money they would have made from the (very few) schools that would
>have bought their product anyway.
>
>Sounds like a low risk investment to me.

I call this the DEC model.  In 1993 it is nearly impossible to sell any
computer other than DEC in any third world country.  Why?  First, DEC
made sure that every University in the U.S. with any significant foreign
student population had PDP-11s running out of its ears.  Now, every
third world decision maker with a U.S. education has prior experience
with and fond memories of DEC.  

Second, they set up maintenance shops overseas.

This was a huge investment.  As you point out, a software version of
same, aimed at the software engineering schools, would be a lot cheaper
and might significantly improve the odds of that software being used
five years from now.  Maybe that's why C has become so popular. :-)

One caution, vendors, don't forget to give the service at a comparably
reduced rate.  A compiler and related tools without support and upgrades
will create a worse taste than none at all.