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=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,LOTS_OF_MONEY, TO_NO_BRKTS_FROM_MSSP autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,7bcba1db9ed24fa7 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-07-10 13:26:10 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!feed.textport.net!newsranger.com!www.newsranger.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada From: Ted Dennison References: <3B4B3432.5BAFE9E1@easystreet.com> <3B4B4BF9.12C1E8C@lmco.com> Subject: Re: Death by analogy Part 2 (was Re: is ada dead?) Message-ID: X-Abuse-Info: When contacting newsranger.com regarding abuse please X-Abuse-Info: forward the entire news article including headers or X-Abuse-Info: else we will not be able to process your request X-Complaints-To: abuse@newsranger.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:26:06 EDT Organization: http://www.newsranger.com Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 20:26:06 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:9731 Date: 2001-07-10T20:26:06+00:00 List-Id: In article <3B4B4BF9.12C1E8C@lmco.com>, Michael P. Card says... >A business set up to operate in this kind of "build-to-order" environment is >simply not capable of mastering the other kind of business model, which would >be more like "speculative manufacturing," where you build something you *think* When I was at LMC in Orlando they tried to commercialize their simulation image generator business by making PC video chips. Their initial product was actually fairly nice. It ran the Daytona USA consoles, and through a partnership with Intel, got put in a lot of video boards. The problems happened after that. It seemed like they just didn't know how to run a commercial business, but they knew what one looked like. So they practiced some slavish cargo-cult style of business building. They separated themselves from all the LMC support organizations in the building, so that they could be lean-n-mean, but kept the same top-heavy management structure that the rest of the org had (if anything, it was even worse). They saw that other commercial companies give out free sodas, so they gave out free sodas. They saw that other commercial companies use lots of inexperienced developers, so they refused to accept transfers from anyone in the plant with more than 2 years of experience. In the end, their biggest success was in selling the group itself to Intel (another big company). I don't think they ever did ship a second-generation chip. >interest in the product, and DoD contractors really don't spend a lot of money >on that, just like housing contractors don't do much more than put ads in the Actually, they do. You just don't see them much because you don't golf or hang out in bars. :-) But their marketing folks have probably never talked to anyone who didn't have at least $15mil buring a hole in their pocket. They are more sales people than anything. --- T.E.D. homepage - http://www.telepath.com/dennison/Ted/TED.html home email - mailto:dennison@telepath.com