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=-0.4 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_00 autolearn=no 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 06:55:59 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!psinet-eu-nl!psiuk-p4!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: The Hobby Lobby was Windows CE? Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 09:44:00 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: <9ovaf2$c18$1@nh.pace.co.uk> 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> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1001598242 12328 136.170.200.133 (27 Sep 2001 13:44:02 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 27 Sep 2001 13:44:02 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4522.1200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4522.1200 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:13433 Date: 2001-09-27T13:44:02+00:00 List-Id: 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. >