Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!imagery!f22.n282.z1.FIDONET.ORG!Eric.Larson
From: Eric.Larson@f22.n282.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Eric Larson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Inside Macintosh: Will we ever see a revised, updated edition?
Message-ID: <41.26061C26@imagery.FIDONET.ORG>
Date: 19 Mar 90 23:26:00 GMT
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Organization: FidoNet node 1:282/22 - Macintosh SmorgasBo, Bloomington MN
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 RF> Phil and Dave's Excellent CD is not, and will not be
 RF> available through
 RF> APDA. This is due to the fact that the CD contains several
 RF> unfinished
 RF> or untested items that are considered too preliminary for
 RF> general
 RF> distribution through APDA.  The CD has only been made
 RF> available to Apple
 RF> Partners who have access to Developer Technical Support.
 RF> Apple has made
 RF> a commitment to making the tools contained on Phil and
 RF> Dave's Excellent
 RF> CD more generally available when they are in a more
 RF> finished and tested
 RF> state.

<sigh>

Unfortunately Phil and Dave's CD contains many quite useful tools, such as 
the aforementioned Spinside Mac that would be of great value to us 
shareware authors who program primarily for the love of it, or to students, 
etc. who just do not have the scratch to pay for the $600 per year that it 
costs to be an Apple Partner.

It is my own, perhaps self-interested, opinion that the current Apple 
technique of withholding such information and tools from the less 
well-heeled, but potentially quite creative group of "fringe" programmers is 
doing Apple a great disservice. Totally new, "Insanely Great" ideas for 
application programs don't come from companies like Lotus et al for the 
simple reason that they can't afford that sort of gamble. They come from the 
garage programmers.

The MS-DOS world is graced with many suprisingly high quality shareware 
products in major application classes such as word processors, databases, 
spreadsheets, comm software, etc. What does the Mac world have for 
equivalents? Not one word processor or database, one rather hoary old 
spreadsheet that hasn't been updated in years, and Zterm. Programs with the 
cost/performance of PC-File, Wampum, PC-Write, Telix, As-Easy-As, Galaxy, 
and so on are totally unavailable to Mac owners.

When I talk to local individuals who are comptemplating buying hardware, one 
of the reasons they often give for choosing MS-DOS over Apple is the wide 
availability of major application software packages at very low prices from 
the shareware distribution channel. Unfortunately I can't argue with this, 
for major Mac application software often costs 10 times what is available in 
the PC shareware channel.

Apple MUST consider that it is the total cost/benefit ratio of the solution 
that is often important to the end user, and encourage this sort of work 
through the availability of as much information to programmers as possible, 
at the lowest possible cost.  
 

--  
Eric Larson - via FidoNet node 1:282/33
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