🚀 go-pugleaf

daniel@pkmab.se (Daniel Deimert) writes:
| I can assure you -- you won't be able
| to sell a lot of computers if you don't tell them how to program it!

I seriously doubt that the _majority_ of people who buy Atari
computers, or any other computers for that matter, have the slightest
desire to program their machines.  The simple fact is, most people who
buy computers want to _use_ their computers.  They don't want to be
bothered with "programming" the things.  Where a computer company
will lose is if there is no software available for the computers.  It
is important to make sure that professional programmers know how to
program the computers, not end users.

| [...] it must be possible to post a minimum of information to some
| knowledgeable people in the right places.

Who is "knowledgeable"?  What is "the right place"?  How much
information is "a minimum"?
And what do you call the information we have been posting?
Chopped liver?

| And there're a lot of developers on the net, too.

In fact, only a tiny percentage of commercial ST developers are active
on the net.

| And people from the net DO forward things to the right places.

It's true that net.info gets spread around quite a bit.  It's also
true that it gets warped on the way out.  People are misquoted.  The
information may be wrongly interpreted at the far end, with no chance
of the person(s) responsible for the original post to clear up the
mistakes.

[interesting chain letter analogy deleted]

| It should at least be "cost effective" to give this information to
| developers without them having to ask!

Registered developers get a lot of information without having to ask
anything more than "Where's my developer kit?"

| Why should I buy a computer I can't use?  Like buying a car and when
| you ask for an explanation of the buttons getting the answer: "Sorry,
| you have to be a registred driver to get to know this.  You shouldn't
| know about more than the gear and the wheel."

Why do so many people use this analogy?  A computer is not a car.
A computer is a computer.  But, since you insist, getting technical
information (on a level equivalent to "How do I program DMA sound?")
from an auto manufacturer isn't all that easy either.  Try it some time.

| Have nobody thought of the possibility that there might be something
| wrong? Why should we otherwise be bashing Atari?

Okay, I'm donning my asbestos suit for this one, but here goes: I think
the reason that people bash Atari is BECAUSE THEY CAN. Because we are
active on the nets answering technical questions, people feel that
their input on how Atari should run its operation will be listened to. 

WRONG.  The nets are not the right forum for that kind of
communication.  I pass on what I can to TPTB (The Powers That Be) at
Atari, but a lot more credence is (and should be!) placed in letters. 
That's right, letters.  On paper.  Sent in envelopes.  Becuause it's
all too easy to sit at your computer reading netnews, and fling a flame
into an electronic message thread without thinking too hard about it.
Most people think a little harder before putting something on paper and
mailing it.

| I have offered to help writing some demonstration programs to be put
| on the STE language disk. I haven't even got a reply.   Atari Corp. was
| obviosly not interested.

This concerns me.  To whom did you send the offer?  Where did you send
your letter?  Did you send an example program along with your offer?

| I do not want Atari Corp. to die [...]

Nor do I.  I hope you are able to get the information you want to program
your STE soon.  But remember, Atari gives registered developers special
treatment, and they deserve it, because they write the software that
sells Atari computers.

-- 
   |||   Ken Badertscher  (ames!atari!kbad)
   |||   Atari R&D System Software Engine
  / | \  #include <disclaimer>