Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!usc!apple!agate!shelby!rutgers!njin!paul.rutgers.edu!remus.rutgers.edu!declan From: declan@remus.rutgers.edu (Declan McCullagh/LZ) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: How to get Improv... Keywords: improv free copy Message-ID: Date: 19 Dec 90 11:07:30 GMT References: <1033@tokio.cs.utexas.edu> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 65 In article <1033@tokio.cs.utexas.edu>, garnett@cs.utexas.edu (John William Garnett) writes: > In article declan@remus.rutgers.edu (Declan McCullagh/LZ) writes: > > > >HOW DO I GET MY FREE IMPROV? > > > > All distribution of the application will be on floppy disks. > > This is great! Talk about abandoning existing customers... > > So, for those 030 cube owners who go the upgrade route (and of course > who do not have a floppy drive), the only way to install Lotus Improv > is to copy it from another machine having an optical or from a machine > on the Ethernet (assuming you are lucky enough to have access to > another cube via a network). Even these methods probably won't work > if Improv uses some kind of CPU serial number copy protection. So, > I guess the message from NeXT to 030 cube owners is: "If you want > a free copy of Improv, go chunk down some cash ($499?) for a floppy > drive." Perhaps I should join the boycotters :-). Unfortunately, > this is probably just the beginning of a trend. You have a point; it is probably the beginning of a trend. However, I don't think that NeXT is "abandoning" their existing customers. * Distribution on ODs has proven to be too costly, and only a very small portion of new machines will have the Canon drive. * Floppies seem to be the software distribution method of choice for NeXT and third parties (remember the agreement with DiskCopy Labs?). I'd imagine the primary reason NeXT moved to the 2.88 MB drive was to provide better and cheaper third-party distribution techniques (especially with the new cost of ODs). * Pushing the Canon drive on customers, especially as their primary storage device, has been one of the few - but major - errors NeXT has made. They admit that, and there's little sense in gratuitous NeXT-bashing. For instance, in a letter that went out to all third party developers, NeXT basically said this: the price and speed of currently available optical technology just didn't drop and grow (respectively) as quickly as NeXT had wished. * I've seen prerelease copies of Improv for a while now, and none has had any sort of serial-number protection, so please don't start any rumors or spread any misinformation. Unfortunately, that's the way things go in the computer industry. NeXT, as the dominant player in the NeXT community, is able to set and change standards, but this is a doubly-edged sword, as new standards can be embraced more easily, but existing owners can be left out in the cold unless an upgrade path is provided. In this case, it has been. (though a rather expensive one) $-( Basically, the same thing happened with the Macintosh. In moving from the 400K to the 800K drive media (first introduced with the 512KE, no?), software houses knew that the Mac owners with only a 400K drive would not be able to read their software. The reason they could do this, though, was that the installed base of 400K drive-sporting Macintoshes was significantly less than the installed base of 800K drive-equipped ones. Of course, the situation is a bit different, and - agreed - it would be _very_ nice if Lotus would let you send in your OD to receive Improv. Perhaps someone at Lotus will see this and reconsider. Declan McCullagh Independent NeXT Developer