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,a073fa836a03b290 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-05-15 12:15:35 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!kibo.news.demon.net!demon!psiuk-p2!psiuk-p3!uknet!psiuk-n!news.pace.co.uk!nh.pace.co.uk!not-for-mail From: "Marin David Condic" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: [OT] Gnat cross compiling FreeBSD to Win32 ? Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 10:50:03 -0400 Organization: Posted on a server owned by Pace Micro Technology plc Message-ID: References: <3CD1FFC5.4050607@qwest.net> <5ee5b646.0205030057.7cb47a2d@posting.google.com> <3CDD3699.2090809@qwest.net> <4519e058.0205130633.478cc872@posting.google.com> <5ee5b646.0205140613.14b17df4@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: dhcp-200-133.miami.pace.co.uk X-Trace: nh.pace.co.uk 1021387804 2657 136.170.200.133 (14 May 2002 14:50:04 GMT) X-Complaints-To: newsmaster@news.cam.pace.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Date: 14 May 2002 14:50:04 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:24118 Date: 2002-05-14T14:50:04+00:00 List-Id: Time travel and crystal balls would be the most useful field of all. :-) I agree that a technical background is only mildly useful in predicting what will be the dominant technology. Technical knowledge gives you some sense of "Features" but lots more goes into buying decisions than just "Features" (try "Costs" and "Benefits" as the two other categories typically identified.) Experts in marketing would be far better equipped in identifying what the market is likely to be buying in the next few years. Linux certainly has its die-hard followers and it has made some significant inroads into the market. But the last time I checked at Costco, I didn't see a single machine sitting on the shelf that had Linux installed. Do any of the major manufacturers of PCs offer Linux as a pre-installed package? (Maybe some do - I have not checked lately) Are machines from major manufacturers available with Linux running on them, on display at CompUSA? When you go into Best Buy and leaf through all the jewl-box editions of software being offered up - or even the up-scale packages in boxes with manuals, how much Linux software do you see? Saying you can get the same stuff from the Internet free or cheap and go cobble your own OS/Apps together from there is saying "Only geeks will use Linux." I think when Linux has access to the gondolas and shelves in the big consumer electronics stores, we can start talking about it being a real threat to Windows. Until then, its largely a *potential* threat - albeit one that Bill Gates clearly takes very seriously. To get mildly back on topic, Ada advocates might take a lesson from that. Ada needs to appear in places where programmers make buy-decisions and needs to address what it is that programmers want to buy. To some extent, Ada is dealing with this much better of late. But it sure would be good to have some professional marketing research available & a marketing strategy carved 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 "Larry Kilgallen" wrote in message news:qsXCmOF9Z+l+@eisner.encompasserve.org... > For me it is hard to discern the discipline in which they need to be > informed in order to be accurate. Marketing, and psychology would > seem to be more useful than programming, but best of all would be a > thorough background in time-travel.