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=1.1 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, TO_NO_BRKTS_PCNT autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,c7b637f8b783b7c X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96" Subject: Re: The great Java showcase (re: 2nd historic mistake) Date: 1997/09/04 Message-ID: <97090409495535@psavax.pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 270047407 Sender: Ada programming language Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU X-VMS-To: SMTP%"INFO-ADA@VM1.NODAK.EDU" X-VMS-Cc: CONDIC Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1997-09-04T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Robert Dewar writes: >Paul says > ><it is a matter of doing a better job.>> > >Sure, but who judges what is a better job. The answer is that the only >person who can judge is the consumer. The VHS vs Beta example is a good >one from this point of view. The tecnical folks at Sony thought that >image quality was *the* important technical quality. But they were wrong, >and they paid for their mistake. In fact playing time was much more >important to the public. > I thought one of the biggest reasons that Beta didn't succeed was that Sony refused to license the technology in order to keep 100% of the market share (can you say "Apple?") and as a result there was less available material to view. VHS mostly won out because with lots of companies making players, lots of studios were willing to put out material on that format regardless of any technical superiority. Hence what the market really decided on was not a technical issue at all. It was more of a marketing blunder coupled with greed and stupidity. (Not that Sony would be the first or the last to ever make this mistake. The world is filled with such examples.) > >An interesting case is gathering steam now, there is a question of whether >the new digital TV transmission capability should be used for HDTV, or >more conventional channels. It is beginning to look more and more as though >the public and the hence the networks, prefer more conventional channels. > HDTV has a similar problem and I liked your earlier observation about asking the public what's wrong with TV and not having resolution be named number one. Sure: All things being equal, I'd rather get a sharper image on the screen. But I'd much prefer that Hollywood put out material that wasn't so pathetic, lame, vulgar and aimed at the lowest common denominator. If they would come out with a) lots of viewing material and b) better quality viewing material for HDTV, I might run out an buy a set. As it is, why waste the money - Beavis and Butthead will be just about as entertaining at lower resolution. (Maybe introduce the HDTV set along with a companion VCR & lots of movies formatted for it and put one on display in every Blockbuster? It'd take a lot of bucks, but I bet the public would run out and buy it if the combined unit cost could be kept under $500. Once you get a few million sets out there, broadcast will follow...) So to bring it back around to the topic of computer languages... Technical superiority isn't the only factor in the consumer's judgment about buying a computer language. Sometimes it's availability of material. I may like Ada better than C, but for lots of jobs, the only available compilers are C compilers, so that's what we use. (Can't stop everything and retarget an existing compiler - often takes too long or costs more than it's worth) The decision isn't technical (except insofar as the market itself may be considered a technical issue), it's based on other concerns that are not a failure of some engineer to anticipate what features I think will be important. I know Ada has lots of marketing problems that aren't technical in nature - not the least of which is incorrect perceptions on the part of lots of engineers. e.g. "govt mandate = bad" "Ada = committee design = bad" "dropping mandate = abandonment", etc, etc. I hear it right across the aisle and any attempts to correct the perception seem futile: "Ada is dead - I'm going with Java" Maybe it would be wise to make a few superficial changes to the language, give it a hip sounding new name, get some major software or hardware vendor to back it and start fresh? MDC Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer ATT: 561.796.8997 Pratt & Whitney GESP, M/S 731-96, P.O.B. 109600 Fax: 561.796.4669 West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600 Internet: CONDICMA@PWFL.COM =============================================================================== "I saw a bank that said "24 Hour Banking", but I don't have that much time." -- Steven Wright ===============================================================================