MICHAEL MARTINEZ <Michael_at_xenite.org> WROTE:
>But the marketing behind the shoddy software is superb,
>second-to-none.
The shoddy software, as I made clear in the original
message, was the Windows operating environment, not
any specific programming language, which would have
only niche-market appeal.
TO WHICH BRAD ELSTORE <brad_at_elstore.com> REPLIED:
>Basically it looks like the C development group within
>Microsoft did a political power play and sabotaged the
>VB development process in the name of 'something' that
>sounded great there. The attitude within Microsft at
>some level seems to be that VB6 is a 'toy'language and
>any programs in it are short and trivial and can be
>rewritten in minutes to program around Microsoft's latest
>feature crusade.
Microsoft is famous (or infamous) for its discombobulated
product strategies. That doesn't change the fact that
they have monopolized PC operating systems and drive
multiple application sales through that monopoly.
I agree that Microsoft's way of doing things will cost
its customers a lot of money. We don't seem to be
focusing on the same reasons for those costs, but we seem
to be agreeing that the costs are there.
Microsoft has built its business on a sound marketing
principle that even Wal-mart has been known to use.
Both companies utilize loss leaders to bring customes
into the store. They they make their pitches to sell
other products. Wal-mart does (or did) have a reputation
for providing decent quality, of course. But the
marketing behind the business doesn't determine the quality
of the goods and services being sold.
The real question people should be asking about online
marketing is probably this:
Is the Web site part of the marketing effort or one
of the goods and services?
I don't believe it can be both, unless it's something
like a loss leader.
Michael Martinez
Science Fiction and Fantasy info_at_xenite.org
Visualizing Middle-earth, a book for all Tolkien fans
http://www.xenite.org/
Received on Fri May 25 2001 - 10:14:02 CDT
