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From: squibby@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Clark L. Breyman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Marketing Kibbitz--Not Technical
Message-ID: <19140@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>
Date: 5 Feb 90 15:29:54 GMT
Sender: news@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Lines: 28


	It struck me that NeXT's practice of including copious software
	and especially gnuware with their computer as adding enormous
	value to their product: It can function out of the box and one
	need not A)get a net connection nor B) try to find a NeXT dealer
	with software to have a perfectly functional computer with good
	software. When I got my original ST (I traded it in after th ASIC's
	died), The inclusion of 1st Word, Neochrome, BASIC and LOGO was
	a nice bonus and saved me from dealers more than I had to. 

		Considering the amount of net traffic devoted to finding
	reliable dealers, wouldn't it make sense for Atari to adopt a 
	similar policy and secure rights to distribute the good Atari
	PD and shareware ( FSF software, Sozobon, ARC, ZOO, Gulam, TeX,
	Uniterm...) with the computer. It would be a hit to their compiler
	set (Alcyon tools), but wouldn't it they make it up in computer
	sales?  It might also be a convenient way to distribute that
	portion of documentation that is publicly available (gemdos.arc on
	terminator, progem articles, pexec cookbook...) and a listing of
	all registered commerical software for the ST. It would enlighten
	the community regarding the true potentials of the machine.

		Just an Idea,
		Clark Breyman
		squibby@dartmouth.edu

	If this is not the forum for this sort of posting, please flame
	me by mail and I will refrain from further such postings.