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From: ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank)
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari
Subject: Re: facts about marketing
Message-ID: <14625@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 17-Jan-86 11:16:22 EST
Article-I.D.: rocheste.14625
Posted: Fri Jan 17 11:16:22 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 20-Jan-86 04:50:03 EST
References: <12174475176.8.MRC@PANDA> <303@yetti.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 36

> >This is fine for throwaway computers (a.k.a. toy computers), but
> >not for serious computers.  A software developer writing a
> >serious application is going to want the machine to be on the
> >market for some time so his software product would be saleable.
> 
> 	Are you saying that if there is 5,000,000 ST's out there,
> 	than a developer will ignore it simply because it somehow
> 	appears to be a throwaway computer because of its cost ??
> 	How about the market forces exerted by a product like ST ??
> 	Or did atari make a mistake by not pricing their hardware
> 	in some inflated fashion ?? And just what is a throwaway
> 	computer ?? C64 ?? Apple ][ ?? Perhaps our stance from
> 	VAXinated ivory towers does not quite mesh with what
> 	that 13-year-old thinks of "throwaway" computers. I have
> 	a feeling that how the ordinary folk think about a computer
> 	is much more important than how this entire net thinks about
> 	a computer.
> Oz
> 	
Here, here, right on.

I know personally a software developer who wrote an application for the
so called throw away machine; 400, 800, 800XL, etc.  He wrote Action! and
his name is Clinton Parker.  I don't know how much longer the old Atari line
is going to be around, but I can tell you first hand that good ole Clint has
done alright financially with his Action! and is continuing to do alright.
There were approximately 2,000,000 machines out there who could use Action!
If only one percent of them purchased Action!, there would be proceeds from
20,000 sales and at ten dollars commission per sale, this could be $200,000
bucks.  Of course if you were really a good programmer and came up with a    
really good application you could perhaps reach 10% or more, really big bucks.
Of course the catch here is you have to be good and write something the people
want.  No easy task, but don't blame the type of computer you are writing for 
if you don't hit it big, after all it only does what YOU tell it too. 8-)

ray