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: 103376,c62a5e526aafd9d4 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-09-27 08:15:13 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!newsfeed.direct.ca!look.ca!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!denver-snf1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!coop.net!newsfeed1.global.lmco.com!svlnews.lmms.lmco.com!news1.lmtas.lmco.com!not-for-mail From: Gary Scott Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: The Hobby Lobby was Windows CE? Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 10:07:50 -0500 Organization: LM Aeronautics Message-ID: <3BB340C6.DC51CB98@lmtas.lmco.com> References: <9onhgu$9h9$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3BAF77E6.9BDE9102@adaworks.com> <9onvig$f6n$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <3bb05ee7.10496763@news.demon.co.uk> <3BB0B3C4.432E2B4B@sparc01.ftw.rsc.raytheon.com> <3bb1d07f.18201562@news.demon.co.uk> <3BB2075A.57C22F55@sparc01.ftw.rsc.raytheon.com> <3BB22F0E.718B1244@sparc01.ftw.rsc.raytheon.com> <9otbs2$juj$1@nh.pace.co.uk> <9ovaf2$c18$1@nh.pace.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: CAA261517.lmtas.lmco.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.72 [en]C-CCK-MCD {C-UDP; LMTAS} (WinNT; U) X-Accept-Language: en,pdf Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:13435 Date: 2001-09-27T10:07:50-05:00 List-Id: Hi, But is it even necessary to get it onto store shelves. Visual Fortran 95 from Compaq/Intel isn't in any stores that I'm aware of and it's selling like hot cakes (estimate about 100 copies at my site alone). Marin David Condic wrote: > > A fair observation. As I said, the first part of the problem is *relatively* > easy and simply requires the application of large amounts of money. We could > clearly get a consumer-oriented Ada development environment constructed and > we could clearly get it into stores alongside MSVC++. How much money is > involved and would it generate sufficient return are fair questions, but it > is at least feasable. > > The hard part, as I noted, would be to overcome the reticence of software > types to adopt Ada as their language of implementation. Too many people have > a bad attitude towards Ada (although I think this is diminishing) and too > many programmers want something that looks & feels like C and dislike Ada > because of its strictness, etc. Could a consumer oriented product with an > appropriate advertising campaign overcome these attitudes? Would the cost of > doing so exceed the profits to be reaped? > > As for ObjectAda failing in the consumer market, I'll say this: I bought a > copy of it several years ago on company funds and it ran about $700. If I > had to pay for it out of my own pocket with no particular purpose in mind > beyond casual hacking at home, I wouldn't (and didn't). That's a pretty > steep price tag for the student or casual hacker who has to work for a > living. There were other problems with it, but I think the chief one was the > price was a bit beyond the consumer market. > > Suppose something similar was available for a price tag of under $100? For > your money, you got a disk, a couple of manuals, a book, and an e-mail > address to answer installation/startup problems. (There shouldn't ought to > be any installation problems!) For an additional fee, you could subscribe to > a service that allowed you to report bugs & get quarterly updates. A kit > such as this would be within the reach of the consumer and would provide a > sufficient level of support for the average user. That *might* stand a > chance of succeeding. ObjectAda messed up in terms of the consumer's > reservation price and in some technical ways as well. > > Now is there a marketing model that would let you circumvent the > brick-and-mortar stores that would demand you pay them for shelf space? > That's tough. They can demand the price because that shelf space is of huge > value to you. The guy who is scanning the shelves to find some computer game > sees your compiler kit and makes an impulse buy. (That's why you *must* have > the price low enough to overcome any "Let me go home and think about > spending that kind of money..." thoughts.) The internet might be a useful > way of distributing the kit, but how do you get that exposure to the > consumer who doesn't read C.L.A? > > I'd love to hear any ideas anyone had about it, but this problem is not > unique to Ada and there are lots of dotcoms that became dotgones trying to > figure it out. > > MDC > -- > Marin David Condic > Senior Software Engineer > Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com > Enabling the digital revolution > e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com > Web: http://www.mcondic.com/ > > "Ted Dennison" wrote in message > news:RBrs7.6406$ev2.11556@www.newsranger.com... > > > > You also have to pay out the proper bri^H^H^Henducements to retailers if > you > > hope to put physical copies on store shelves. That's one of the things > that > > tripped up OA. > > > > I'd think a study of how the Linux resellers got into this market would be > in > > order. > >