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- Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!paladin.american.edu!auvm!MACH1.WLU.CA!RKELLY3
- X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.2 PL13]
- Message-ID: <9209042324.AA15356@mach4.wlu.ca>
- Date: Fri, 4 Sep 92 19:24:43 EDT
- Sender: Nota Bene List <NOTABENE@TAUNIVM>
- From: robert kelly F <rkelly3@MACH1.WLU.CA>
- Subject: Sell Out
- Comments: To: "Nota Bene E-mail Group" <mamut!notabene@vm.tau.ac.il>
- Newsgroups: bit.listserv.notabene
- Lines: 39
-
-
- The following could be interpreted as a flame, so read at your
- own risk.
-
- Robert D. Hoberman wrote:
-
- >As for the future, it seems to me that what we all should hope for is that NBI
- >would be taken over by some better-capitalized company that would keep NB going
- >as a specialty item, alongside its other products, and would advertise and
- >promote it more vigorously. The present owners of NBI would probably get more
- >in the sell-out than they're taking home now, presumably the programmers would
- >be kept on, we'd get updates, and no one loses. The company that bought NBI
- >out would get a superb product, a loyale clientele, and, I think, a large
- >potential academic market.
-
- I wonder if this would be the best of all possible worlds. I bought NB
- because of things like Textbase, Ibid, etc. which were in an integrated
- package that WP (our local standard--I'm not the only NB user on campus,
- but we are not exactly the majority) could not offer. BUT, one thing that
- keeps me using NB is the Xy-Write based editor which works much more
- quickly and easily for actual writing. Since I use both WP for unix
- and NB everyday, I think it safe to say that NB is far and away a better
- instrument for writing. Now, if NB is bought by some software Sugar Daddy,
- would said S.D. feel obligated to keep the XW based editor? Let's say
- that said S.D. were WP or Microsoft. How soon would NB become an
- expensive add-on to Word for Windows (admitted, I am a confirmed Windows
- hater) or WP? Like everyone else I am irritated with NBI for taking
- my money and fooling around with it for 18 months or two years or
- whatever it has been. I am much more irritated with Microsoft and
- their business practices which invent a whole operating system add-on
- just to force me to buy things I didn't want in the first place, not
- to mention the monopolistic side of trying to force all of us mavericks
- to standardize on something they make money from. And don't get me
- started on the running-dog, boot-licking capitalist lackies who
- publish computer magazines! Maybe we're better off with a company
- run by odd balls who are late with upgrades but who still believe that
- writing in and of itself is a craft worth pursuing.
-
- --
-