> Thanks. Yes, eye-candy sells. I'm a bit disapointed, as the > 3.0 release has sold more than prior versions, but not as > well as I'd hoped. It's written in VC++ and has a full COM > API for integration, but that hasn't sold one license so far, > and it's much more time to implement features in VC++ versus > a higher level language. It's also using 'legacy' win32 calls > for much of its functionality which is very problemsome, > particularly with newer OS's, etc. I'm actually halfway > considering writing a 4.0 in VC#.NET.... Either that, or > leave it in a 'maintenance mode' and work on a completely > separate product... I'm still on the fence as to which to > spend my extra time on...
Just to mention, the product (line of products) I mentioned was built on a 2-sided concept: collector and reporter, with the collector running every 2 seconds (actually 2.3 seconds, so it stayed out of potential sync with processes it was monitoring) to gather 'sample' data into a database that the reporter later operated on. Both were assembler at the time, but the reporter side really could be any language. A few sample screen shots of the current incarnation can be seen at http://www-306.ibm.com/software/tivoli/features/ccr2/ccr2-2007-06/omegam on-ims-part2.html Marketing is the really hard part of this (any!) business. The tact I'm on is to have a telemarketer systematically call targeted prospects (using a database app loaded with data from online directories) and read a script that invites the prospect to view an online demo (using Crossloop) given by our expert, who has the product installed with lots of data collected for show and tell. If the prospect likes the demo, they can reverse roles and our person then installs the product on the prospects machine as a purchase or for a 30-day trial. I've got the demo-person in place, but having trouble getting the telemarketer. The person I wanted is off in every direction but what I want her to do. I am a big believer in the eye-candy stuff, but opportunities are limited by the nature of the product. System monitors have it a little easier because they may (especially at first) find noteworthy exceptions to show in blinking red, but "back office" systems ... Well, best I've come up with so far is a "reminders" screen that pops up during startup containing reminders for high priority items in several tables (schedule, do-list, problems, changes, etc.). I'm thinking about using a treeview for this screen to get more out of the real estate, but that would require operator interaction versus "I've done it for you". Bill > > > -- > Derek _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
