Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!ncar!ames!pacbell!att-ih!ihnp4!ihuxy!rnss
From: rnss@ihuxy.ATT.COM (Ron Schreiner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Standardization
Message-ID: <2460@ihuxy.ATT.COM>
Date: 21 Mar 88 21:15:36 GMT
References: <8803172142.AA00829@TIS.COM> <187@bdt.UUCP>
Reply-To: rnss@ihuxy.UUCP (Ron Schreiner)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 46

In article <187@bdt.UUCP> david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) writes:
>In article <8803172142.AA00829@TIS.COM> dmb@TIS.COM (David M. Baggett) writes:
>>   Personally I think that the lack of standardization is the one thing that
>>has kept the ST from being major competition with the Mac.  Atari is very
...
>I agree wholeheartedly.  I find it even more amazing that it was
>Atari policy (offical or otherwise, I don't know) to actually PREVENT
>information from being released to developers.   I and several other
>developers have attempted to gain information regarding standards, and
>have even proposed standards to Atari.  No response, Yes, No, or otherwise.
>
...
>We need to form some sort of a developer association with developers
>agreeing to support each other and working together to provide mutual
>compatibility.  It worked for MWC and BDT, I think it can work on a
>larger scale.
>-- 

David Beckemeyer has a good idea hear, but I don't think it will work
unless the "association" supports all new software, from the ROMs up.
Otherwise it would just become a collection point for bugs that don't
get fixed.  If the end user had a choice of who's ROMs he wants, he
could tell Atari ( thru his local dealer ) that he would like a ST, but
keep the ROMs and yes I do expect a monetary credit for them.

If major players in the software publishing world put a sticker on the
package that read, "Requires Color Monitor and ROMs by BDT", people
are going to want the "ROMs by BDT".

In general publishers that use a supported OS are going to provide
better products.  Can anyone tell me why companies like SubLogic have
had products like "Jet" on the comming soon list for over a year?
Or why Generic Software has not bothered to port many of there PC
products to the ST, or for that matter release a new version of
"First CADD", the only real ( bugs included ) thing they do for the ST?

Given the current "TOS",..  ah forget it.

Mr. Beckemeyer, put your stuff into ROMs and make them available, hey
I'll even give you a great promotional slogan;

  "When it comes to ROMs for your ST, if they arn't BDT, TOS them back"


-- 
Ron Schreiner   AT&T Bell Labs  ...ihnp4!ihuxy!rnss