Re: The Hobby Lobby was Windows CE?

["Marin David Condic" <dont.bother.mcondic.auntie.spam@[acm.org>]

I would be the last one to suggest that ACT/Dr. Dewar/Anyone Else go forth
and develop a product without exercising the due diligence required of one
who is operating a business for profit. Even a large giant like Microsoft
has a fiduciary responsibility to its stockholders and should not fritter
away its resources on speculation that something might be a good idea and
make no effort to prove out the concept. Resources are always limited and
should be invested wisely in areas that have the maximum potential for good
returns. I wouldn't condemn a businessman for saying "I won't go build it
just because a few posts showed up in a newsgroup." One needs a bit more
evidence than that to be convinced it is a good idea.

Obviously, if a business is getting lots of serious inquiries about a
product for a particular segment they have good reason to believe that they
will be able to find customers for it. OTOH, customers often don't know what
they need until they see it or they may have a need they don't express to
one particular company - especially if they are only potential customers
rather than regular customers. That's the point at which floating a few
trial baloons or otherwise conducting some market studies & analysis can
help out a lot. Sometimes there is industry or government research that
sheds light on a market & suggests where to introduce new products.
Sometimes you have to do your own surveys & research. In any event, you need
to look before you leap - something commonly missing in new business
startups or new product developments. "Know Thy Customer" is a good rule to
have.

As for Windows CE? I have no clue as to how that market might react to an
Ada compiler. I could rectally extract an opinion - but it would be worth
every nickel you paid for it. Better answers would be had not by asking
around in this newsgroup but by identifying (non-Ada) users of Windows CE &
asking them how interested they'd be in buying an Ada compiler. Microsoft
itself might be a useful resource from which to inquire. They probably have
a good idea what their customers want or could find out what they want and
they are smart enough to know they can't build everything for them
themselves.

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/


"Richard Riehle" <richard@adaworks.com> wrote in message
news:3BAF77E6.9BDE9102@adaworks.com...
>
> Several people have commented on the virtue of satisfying
> those who program as "hobbyists" versus those who are
> working as bona fide professionals doing "real projects."
> This raises some interesting perspectives on how the software
> industry develops, evolves, becomes, and achieves.
>
<Reasonable propositions snipped...>