Re: Desktop Linux Summit thoughts....

From: Matt (not_at_chance.org)
Date: 04/26/04

  • Next message: Matt: "Re: Desktop Linux Summit thoughts...." 
    Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 06:07:04 GMT

    Harry Phillips wrote:

    > PacManFever wrote:
    >> Beta was superior to VHS, both in sound fidelity and
    >> picture quality, but mainstream users chose VHS for some reason. It
    >> doesn't make VHS any better, obviously, but that's what they chose.
    >
    > My understanding of the Beta V's VHS is this:
    >
    > 1. The Beta patent holders required the player makers to pay a royalty.
    > 2. The VHS patent holders allowed the player to be made with no royalty.
    > 3. The VHS patent holders required a royalty on the tapes.
    >
    > If you were a manufacturer and had to pay royalty's on Beta machines or
    > keep every cent when you made a VHS machine, which would you make?
    >
    > That's why eventually the only machines made were VHS machines, since
    > the only available machines to buy were VHS what did the consumers
    > "choose" to buy? Not much choice was there?
    >
    > The VHS people were smarter than the Beta people, the recognised and
    > used the principle that was coined by Mr Gillette
    >
    > "Give the razor's, sell them the blades"
    >
    > In other words, make your money on the mass consumption items, ie the
    > tapes, look in your lounge room, or the video store. Compare how many
    > tapes there are to the amount of players.
    >
    > Don't believe the myth "Build a better mouse trap and the world will
    > beat a path to your door", it's crap. The reality is "Put a half arsed
    > product into glossy magazines and you will become a monopoly".
    >
    > Microsoft are a marketing company, they knew that the people making the
    > decisions were not you and I at the coal face, they targeted the PHB.
    > They took over Novel's market because they had better marketing
    > processes not because of a better product.
    >
    > The usual process is:
    > 1. Take em to lunch,
    > 2. Tell em a bunch of lies,
    > 3. Reel them in,
    > 4. Blame the tech's when the product doesn't do what they said it would
    > do, 5. Tell them that feature is in the next release.
    >

    My point on this was PMF was trying to draw parallels between the Beta/VHS
    debate an the current Lindows/other distribution debate without
    understanding the backgound of the two issues. Clearly, by your
    understanding, there is no parallel. Again, it seems PMF is making baseless
    claims.

  • Next message: Matt: "Re: Desktop Linux Summit thoughts...."

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