Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!elroy!gryphon!jdow From: jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM (J. Dow) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Mr. Pournelle is brain-dead. News at 11:00. Message-ID: <7436@gryphon.CTS.COM> Date: 1 Oct 88 22:30:58 GMT References: <3060@hubcap.UUCP> <70319@sun.uucp> Reply-To: jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM (J. Dow) Distribution: na Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA Lines: 63 In article <70319@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes: >In article <3060@hubcap.UUCP> disd@hubcap.UUCP (Gary Heffelfinger) writes: >[Complains about Jerry Pournelles troubles with F/A-18 and draws the following > conclusion.] > >>Geez! How tough is it to spin a few wheels? Annoying, maybe, but >>rocket science it is not. > >Actually, his comments are quite to the point and show up a really poor >policy on the part of EA. Here, their biggest competition is Jet from >SubLOGIC and *that* isn't copy protected. So what's their problem? The >fact that Jerry has trouble running a text editor without some serious >handholding is well known. The problem is to assume he is unique. He isn't. >Really stupid people use computer programs every day. There is no reason >that it has to be any more difficult for them than it does for the rest of >us computer "pros". Now EA reads his column and maybe Trip Hawkins says >"Gee, we really got blasted for using the codewheel, maybe we shouldn't >copy protect these things." And what is important is that when Jerry says >it, 200,000 stupid people read it and say "I won't buy that program, my >buddy Jerry can't even figure out the copy protection on it." And if >EA could even sell 100,000 copies of F/A-18 they would be wildly happy. >So Jerrys comment is a couple of orders more powerful than you or I >bitching about copy protection. And that is a *good* thing. Hey, I don't >agree with Jerry's opinions anymore than you do but it actually is a >pretty good reflection on how the less understanding computer community >views the Amiga. And if you can make it clear to Jerry, then you can >make it clear to a lot of other people and *that* will increase sales >of the Amiga. > I was THERE at that party. It was indeed very hard to use that blasted wheel in the half light of the room. Nay - it was nearly impossible. It was also rather inconvenient to have to do it so often. That program is fun to play with but it is a real pain in the to use in the press of a party. I suppose here at home it'd be no problem to run - if I could find that f**king code wheel when I need it. (You'd have to see this mess to believe it.) A desk made out of a door and two 2 drawer file cabinets is not big enough to hold the two Amigas, notes, Digiview, Zenith monitor, unmpty million floppies, four hard disks, and other miscelaneous junk. I don't know where I would put that code wheel that I could find it right when I wanted it. Anyway -*I* certainly will not try to play with that code wheel game during the general confusion of a party with several partly sloshed guests all trying to pilot that fool plane around the area. They just do not have any empathy for the scenario set by the code wheel or such stuff. They want to shoot something downor fly under a bridge instead. {@_@} >--Chuck McManis >uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis BIX: cmcmanis ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com >These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you. -- Sometimes a bird in the hand leaves a sticky deposit. Perhaps it were best it remain there in the bush with the other one. {@_@} jdow@bix (where else?) Sometimes the dragon wins. Sometimes jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM the knight. Does the fair maiden ever {backbone}!gryphon!jdow win? Surely both the knight and dragon stink. Maybe the maiden should suicide? Better yet - she should get an Amiga and quit playing with dragons and knights.