From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50,LOTS_OF_MONEY autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 29 Sep 93 05:13:53 GMT From: world!srctran@uunet.uu.net (Gregory Aharonian) Subject: Re: Buy C++ compiler, fly to Pluto Message-ID: List-Id: Lon Smithers writes: >Symantec gives away plane fare to Hawaii with their C++ (the old Zortech >compiler), BUT only if you PAY for 7 nights in a lodge (the fine print >says total cost will be $800-$1800). >WOW, what a deal! (business for Marriott, kickbacks for Symantec etc) It is a deal, if you want to goto Hawaii. If I want to go to Hawaii with a second person, say from the East Coast, I am going to have to pay about $800 in air fair, and $800-$1800 in lodging ($60 - $129 per person double occupancy, not unreasonable) for the two people. Thus to save the $800 in air fare, I buy Symantec's compiler for $200, saving $600. Now you might argue that a TOTAL cost of $800-$1800 in londing may be too expensive, but it can be offset by some of the $600 you save in airfare. So if I am traveling to Hawaii anyways, or want to, the Symantec deal can be of benefit to me. Handled properly there are benefits to me, and obviously for Symantec and Marriot and whoever. It is neither a fantastic bargain for me, nor a ripoff on the part of Symantec. It is, however, an interesting gimmick on the part of Symantec which gets them some sales, some media attention and publicity. But at least they are trying gimmicks, as opposed to many ofthe Ada vendors whose products are too uncompetitive to win many converts in the non-Mandated world, marketed with next to invisible advertising and publicity campaigns. Look at the latest issues of Computerworld, Infoworld, PC Week, Software Dvelopment, Dr. Dobb's Journal, EMbedded Systems Programming, InformationWeek, Datamation, Open Systems Today, and other publications. You would never know that Ada exists based on advertising exposure and editorial coverage, while the C/C++ industry is everywhere. >G Aharonian reminds me of a town drunk that people pity, but won't >do anything to help, mainly because he provides needed amusement. >Witness his performance at the Washington Ada Symposium. Given the favorable reviews of my WadaS performance in Government Computer News and Defense Electronics (which found nothing interesting to quote from my fellow debaters), I think I did quite well, especially given the funding the others had to prepare with. >Please, do something that matches your skill level. When people call >you Mr Ada, they are laughing at you, not with you. If the people laughing at me (like you) are the same people who support the ASSET effort subsidizing people's free Internet accounts and long distance phone calls to download source code, who support ARPA spending $100 million on supporting the commercial CAD industry while spending $0 similarly on Ada, who support the fact that the Mandated world refuses to have a presence at non-Mandated trade shows and conferences, and who support other activities that wreck any chance of Ada success outside the Mandated world, well let them laugh at me. Maybe if they laugh hard enough and long enough, they won't have enough time to waste taxpayer's dollars. -- ************************************************************************** Greg Aharonian srctran@world.std.com Source Translation & Optimization 617-489-3727 P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178