From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fdb77,c9f2b97a84c48976 X-Google-Attributes: gidfdb77,public X-Google-Thread: 1158e3,c9f2b97a84c48976 X-Google-Attributes: gid1158e3,public X-Google-Thread: 101deb,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid101deb,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1073c2,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid1073c2,public X-Google-Thread: 10a146,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid10a146,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-06-14 10:19:05 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!sn-xit-03!supernews.com!newsfeed.wirehub.nl!newspeer1.nac.net!netnews.com!newsfeed2.earthlink.net!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newsmaster1.prod.itd.earthlink.net!newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3B28ECF4.5010808@earthlink.net> From: Charles Hixson User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Win95; en-US; rv:0.9.1) Gecko/20010607 X-Accept-Language: en-us MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,ccomp.lang.clarion,comp.lang.java.programmer,comp.lang.pl1,comp.lang.vrml,comp.lang.java.advocacy Subject: Re: Market pressures for more reliable software References: <9folnd$1t8$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3B1FE1FE.B49AE27F@noaa.gov> <9fotpi$4k6$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3b24dc21$1@news.tce.com> <3B25D5FB.15C9B240@dresdner-bank.com> <9g5as6$hbq$1@magnum.mmm.com> <9g5ipg$roq$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9g614i$at4$1@magnum.mmm.com> <9g7r02$mni$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9g840k$qjt$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <40gfitgrvd8cgu27r3vfib6eptmapb3pfl@4ax.com> <3B27ED17.9826490C@home.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 16:57:48 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 198.94.156.19 X-Complaints-To: abuse@earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net 992537868 198.94.156.19 (Thu, 14 Jun 2001 09:57:48 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 09:57:48 PDT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net X-Received-Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 09:55:45 PDT (newsmaster1.prod.itd.earthlink.net) Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:8738 comp.lang.java.programmer:76379 comp.lang.pl1:1032 comp.lang.vrml:3801 comp.lang.java.advocacy:21116 Date: 2001-06-14T16:57:48+00:00 List-Id: Larry Elmore wrote: > Roedy Green wrote: > >> On Wed, 13 Jun 2001 12:22:43 -0400, "Marin David Condic" >> wrote or quoted : >> >> >>> Produce a reliable product at a similar price and with similar >>> features and with a similar marketing budget. >>> >> The problem with software is you have to use it for at least a few months >> to evaluate its quality and suitability FOR YOUR NEEDS. Adobe may >> create some extremely good and expensive software, but their packages >> could be overwhelming for a newbie. >> >> BUT, by then it is too late. The vendor already has your money, whether >> or not he has delivered a suitable, working product. >> >> This problem with buying a pig in a poke greatly favours market leaders >> who can afford advertising, and whose products will be purchased >> by newcomers simply on name recognition. There is not enough incentive >> for a market leader to produce a high quality product. >> > > Sure there is. ... but it will take years for that manufacturer to > rebuild its reputation once it's lost and it will lose a lot of > sales during that time period. > > Larry > There seem to be an awful lot of companies that don't count that expense. Considerably more than a mere majority. And frequently the larger ones. Marketing makes up for some horrendous blunders. In general my experience it that if I pay a wad of cash, I'll get a much slicker product than a free one. Free one's often even have text interfaces (though tcl and gtk are becoming more common). OTOH, I'm not talking about custom software here. I can't. If I need custom software I either write it or do without. (Or customize it myself, but that only applies to BSD and GPL style licensed products.) That said, I must admit that I'm more likely to write it myself than to customize it, unless it's a *very* simple job. Figuring out C code is generally nearly as bad as writing it in the first place, and that's what most of the source I see is. (And with C++ it really depends alot on the coding style of the programmer. That's another big chunk.) -- Charles Hixson Copy software legally, the GNU way! Use GNU software, and legally make and share copies of software. See http://www.gnu.org http://www.redhat.com http://www.linux-mandrake.com http://www.calderasystems.com/ http://www.linuxapps.com/