Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!dino!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!iuvax!purdue!decwrl! From: peters@rodney.enet.dec.com (Don Peters, CTC2-1, DTN 287-3153) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Becoming an Official Atari Developer! Message-ID: <9002141920.AA05746@decwrl.dec.com> Date: 14 Feb 90 19:20:51 GMT Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 113 Subject: Becoming an Official Atari Developer! Richard E. Covert Comments on becoming an Official Atari Developer: >I called Gail Johnson in early January 1990 to inquire about becoming an >Official Atari ST/TT Developer. I was sent a large envlope withing a >week. The envelope contained a description of the current plan which is a >single level plan costing $250.00. The Developer MUST be developing a >COMMERICAL product for the ST. The Developer MUST submit 3 copies of said >product to Atari Corp. the Developer MUST re-register annually. The >packet I received said a LOT about what the Developer must do, but very >little about what the Developer receives for his $250.00. >Basically, all the Developer gets for his $250.00 is some mailing lists >from Atari Corp. And the option of having his products (demos thereof) >being distributed by Atari Corp to all Atari dealers. . . . >So, as of Jan 1 1990 there is only one Developer Program which costs >$250.00. And it doesn't even include the MWC C compiler. It contains the >OLD OLD Alycon C compiler, which I have heard is VERY VERY bad. Maybe I can shed some more light on the situation. Like Richard, I was also confused by Atari's new developer contracts and discussions. Developers can now get good discounts on Atari hardware, but I didn't know if I qualified, since, although I was an official developer for 4 years, I had no commercial product. No one in our ST computer club knew either. So, a few days ago, I called Charles Cherry, the manager of Developer's programs at Atari (408-745-2082). Things are still a bit up in the air, since he has only been on the job for a few months, and he is still attempting to expand benefits. But here's how things stand so far. There are now TWO classes of developers - one that is developing a commercial product(s), and one that is chiefly developing for oneself. Unfortunately, there are no specific names to attach to these two classes - they are working on that. For convenience, I'll refer to them as commercial and non-commercial developers. For either class, you send in your $250 with a non-disclosure agreement, and in return you get: - a developer software kit supporting the ST, TT, and STe . Alcyon C compiler . MADMAC assembler . Debugger . Linker - a newsletter subscription - online support If you are a commercial developer, you also get: - customer registration address database - marketing support Mark Williams C is not included, but available separately for a discounted price of $99. Why become an official commercial developer? Well, mainly because you get some hefty discounts on Atari hardware, as well as extended marketing support. Atari is doing this to encourage the generation of new software products in the marketplace. You are probably wondering what you need to do to become a commercial developer. First of all, if you have been a developer, you are "grandfathered" in, and have no problem. Otherwise you have to apply fresh, following these guidelines: 1) You must have a commercial product 2) Shareware definitely qualifies as a commercial product 3) Having your program published in some magazine qualifies 4) Public domain submissions generally don't qualify 5) If you are just starting, you most likely won't have any product yet. In that case, you must submit a business plan, describing the product you are working on and the timeframe for release. Of course, you could try to lie like crazy, pay your $250, and go for the discounts, but Charles says Atari will periodically review applicants and remove them from the list of developers if no product appears to be forthcoming. (I expect policy updates here, since policing this could turn out to be a nightmare.) All in all, I got the impression from Charles that Atari was really serious about its claims of increasing developer support. I know I've received several developer updates recently, each of good quality. In fact, I'd say developer support was probably better now than at any time in the past. Charles also says to be sure to write him on suggestions. For example, he recently asked a group of developers what kind of UNIX they wanted on the TT. In spite of the wide audience, he only received two responses! Hearing this, I asked if he monitored USENET (where he would get an earfull). He said that while he didn't, there were others in Atari who did monitor it (such as Ken Badertscher). Oh, incidently, I asked him about the developer mailing that I recently received whereby I got several disks of address data of all the ST buyers that sent in their warranty cards. He said this was confidential developer info, and couldn't be given to Atari clubs. On the other hand, it was OK for the developer to make up mailing labels from these disks, and for the developer to send out club meeting announcements along with any product advertisements. Finally, while I tried to accurately convey the significant points of our conversation, I no doubt omitted an important thing or two. You may want to talk to Charles Cherry yourself to clarify some issue. Give him a call - he seems friendly enough to talk to.