Hey, everyones jumping into this one, and I don't want to be left out so here goes...
Suffice to say I can't stand Microsoft at the best of times, but one thing they do know about is marketing. And they would follow this course of marketing action: Step 1 - ramp up the product way before the release, Step 2 - announce the product launch at least two months before Step 3 - warn everyone that the product launch had slipped by a couple of months Step 4 - re-announce the product launch and wow everyone with the new features Step 5 - launch the product (minimising the fact that a couple of the features aren't in it yet) Step 1 - then immediately start working on the free SP1 release (which of course is because the product was released too early with known bugs, and without all of the features they said it would have) Now I am not saying that is the way to run a business (though I can think of a few companies that have made it very big without having the best product so from a shareholders perspective it probably is how you should run a business), but from a marketing perspective, it gets people excited about the product, it keeps them hanging in there, it commits them and then it is followed up directly with the SP1 which actually provides the originally quoted product in all its glory. I guess the way Microsoft sees it is: - they get free press at all of those times when announcing it and launching it, including the service pack - they get to rope in developers and client on the product through feature-talk - buyers commit because they have waited long enough for the product & they're gnawing their arms off to get at the features, or upgrade from existing versions - and the SP1 looks like a quick response from the company to teething problems that everyone has come to expect (once again due to the process that Microsoft adopts to rolling out software). and this approach certainly seems to work. Plus Microsoft gets to charge for more support calls that clients are willing to foot the bill for, since they've gone with the product, and can't back out now. What I have figured is that there is no advantage to selling the concept of pure code. If the buying public (ie corporates and end clients) haven't yet figured out just how much it costs them for PCs that don't work properly, OSes that fall over regularly, and software that is bloated and bug ridden and insecure, then they aren't going to wise-up now. So, companies like With Enterprises that are keen on releasing quality, as-bug-free-as-possible, feature-rich, well-thought-out and easy-to-use software, may be doing it right for developers and for the cause of good software in general, but they lose out to companies that promote features, quick releases, greater usability across platforms and between other products (ie as Macromedia can), and each upgrade which has one or two "must-have" new features. I don't know what the answer is, but it sure doesn't pay to keep quiet about what you're doing, and how wonderful it is. Getting the world to talk about you is the important part, even if not all the talk is good. Garth At 08:27 18/07/02 -0700, you wrote: >I am sorry. I guess my post just made things worse, and that was not my >intent. I am not an employee of With Enterprise and cannot speak for them. > >You have been on the list for a long time, and probably remember some of my >posts in the past with your same sentiment, I understand. > >My intent was just to let you know they are not far off, and I can see the >light at the end of the tunnel. Believe me, I am a mac guy, and I have felt >like a red-headed step child with Tango in the past. But I can assure you >that this is not the case with Witango. > >My personal experience is that they are driven to provide excellence, on all >platforms, and it is taking a little more time than they expected. I am >sure they will read these posts when they get back and give more info. > >I was supposed to be there working the booth, but had to cancel for personal >reasons. But over the last couple of months, I have been excited to see >there commitment to Mac OS X. You will not be dissapointed. > >-- > >Robert Garcia >BigHead Technology >2781 N Carlmont Pl >Simi Valley, CA 93065 >Phone 805.501.1390 >Fax 805.522.8557 >http://www.bighead.net/ >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > From: "Steve Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 23:03:09 -0400 > > To: Multiple recipients of list witango-talk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: RE: Witango-Talk: Tango V5 for OSX > > > > I don't mean any disrespect but it appears to me that almost all of the > > replies that said "don't worry" or "I'm sure that they are working hard", > > etc. have been from people who I'm guessing have copies of the beta in > their > > hands already. And those replies which were "I've got decisions to make", > > "customers are anxious", "why is there no information", etc. are from > people > > like myself who feel lost and/or abandoned. > > > > Apple had a delay on their site immediately after the MacWorld keynote but > > by yesterday afternoon all of the new products and pricing was available. > > Has anyone been to MacWorld and visited the With booth? I'm curious to know > > if there is any official word being discussed to those that visit the booth > > in person. > > > > Even a "we thought we could hit the July timetable but we've slipped" would > > be welcome news. > > > > My 2 cents Cdn. > > > > Steve Smith > > > > Skadt Information Solutions > > Office: (519) 624-4388 > > GTA: (416) 606-3885 > > Fax: (519) 624-3353 > > Cell: (416) 606-3885 > > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Web: http://www.skadt.com > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Robert Garcia > > Sent: July 18, 2002 7:52 PM > > To: Multiple recipients of list witango-talk > > Subject: Re: Witango-Talk: Tango V5 for OSX > > > > > > Don't be worried. I am sure the timetable will be out shortly. It is > > currently in private beta testing. > > > > -- > > > > Robert Garcia > > BigHead Technology > > 2781 N Carlmont Pl > > Simi Valley, CA 93065 > > Phone 805.501.1390 > > Fax 805.522.8557 > > http://www.bighead.net/ > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > >> From: Richard Masters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:42:36 -0700 > >> To: Multiple recipients of list witango-talk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> Subject: Witango-Talk: Tango V5 for OSX > >> > >> Does anyone have any news on this, or know when a demo will be > >> available? I've been checking all the Mac news sites and have heard > >> absolutely nothing about witango V5 for OSX... which I find very strange. > >> > >> Richard > >> > >> ________________________________________________________________________ > >> TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text/US ASCII email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> with unsubscribe witango-talk in the message body > >> > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text/US ASCII email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > with unsubscribe witango-talk in the message body > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text/US ASCII email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > with unsubscribe witango-talk in the message body > > > >________________________________________________________________________ >TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text/US ASCII email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with unsubscribe witango-talk in the message body ________________________________________________________________________ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text/US ASCII email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe witango-talk in the message body
