🚀 go-pugleaf

>>>>> On 2 Nov 92 13:06:07 GMT, jfreem@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Joe Freeman) said:

	JF> I am a big fan of bundled software.  But, I have been to
	JF> more than one 3rd party that said. "We're not competing
	JF> with your bundled software".  So, to get the houshold and
	JF> less famous names onto the box, the software has been
	JF> unbundled.  WriteNow and Sybase server are good examples
	JF> of that.  Individuals are the ones most hurt by
	JF> undbundling.  Companies have started buying more because
	JF> of the fact more 3rd availability.

One place where this scenario has had different results concerns lisp
for the NeXT. For whatever reason, NeXT unbundled Allegro Common Lisp
as of 2.0. Not only has no other vendor stepped in to offer a serious
lisp for the NeXT, but Franz has seemingly lost interest in supporting
the product or providing an upgrade (though I have heard rumors that
an upgrade - whose functionality is not yet clear - may be forthcoming
before too long). Even if they do, the size of the market may not make
it possible for them to sell it at a price accessible to individuals.
In this case, the loss of broad availability has resulted in a gap in
available software and not in commercial competition. Again, it's the
individual who is most hurt, but another sense it's everyone: the NeXT
has essentially disappeared as a platform for lisp development, or
even experimentation and instruction.

--Steve Anderson