Hello Nick,
Just trying to anticipate that argument. It's amazing how many times
I've seen people try to argue that something isn't worth developing
for just because the stores don't sell them. What matters is what is
people are *using*, not what the stores are selling.
Should they stop offering brake-pads/spark-plugs/tires that work on
2008-model cars? No? Well why not?! It's not like the stores sell
2008's anymore!!
It's a ridiculous line of reasoning made even more ridiculous by how
frequently people actually try to use it.
If I'm ever in a position to do it, I will spec the target platform for a
program as something like the 20th percentile of computers used by our target
market when the project is started. I'd get a bunch of system like that and
then mandate that any prototypes be shown to management on one of them before
it's shown on anything else and that the devs must run their code on them
regularly.
I wouldn't have any problem with the program being able to take advantage
of something a lot newer, but it darn well better run on those old boxes.
