paul moshay wrote:
[snip!]
>
> > > there has to be the potential
> > >of selling 5000 copies of a sync utility, at even
> > >$40 a pop, that represents a nice chunk of change.
> > >
> > >whom do we lobby to demonstrate the size of this
> > >market ? there mustbe an apple/newt programmer
> > >interested in this kind of cash.
> >
> > there aren't a lot of Newton programmers still
> > around
> > who could do this sort of thing well. and I just
> > don't see the market. but I suppose one approach
> > is to
> >
> > 1) query users
> > there are > 1000 people on this list.
> > perhaps you could collect support from this list,
> > then check on comp.sys.newton.misc.
>
> Hey I'd put $100 in a trust for the developer that
> comes up with a real pc/mac os sync utility.
>
> I love using the Newt but as life gets busier, dealing
> with its limited sync functionality makes me lean more
> and more towards throwing in the towel and ordering a
> Visor !
>
> > 2) list specs of what's needed. for example if
> > X-Port is missing a few features, and you
> > could demonstrate that 5000 new people would pay
> > for it (and others for an upgrade), perhaps
> > Dan Rowley would be interested (if he has time).
>
> Shall we do a Poll on the list... I hate proposing
> one how many people would pay
>
> a) $50 for a great Mac and PC sync utility ?
> b) $ 100 for a great Mac and PC sync utility ?
>
> "Great" is defined as being able to sync fully address
> bk, notepad, todo's reliabily on both PC/MAC.
>
> It should work from "major" PIM and groupware software
> in use out there. Those would be up for definition.
>
> Nutty proposition ? Maybe, though its interesting to
> me to always try to harnass the combined, shared
> experiences of individuals on a list like this rather
> than going on and going about the same frustrations.
Hi Paul!
I don't know if you realise this, but that is a *lot* of work.
Supporting the file formats of various "major" PIM and groupware
softwares is, by itself, already a huge task, considering that most
companies have their own file formats that they don't publish. Sure, you
can do reverse engineering and find out how it works, but it is really a
huge piece of work.
Then, there is the writing of the application. Supporting both Mac and
PC platform requires careful planning, if you want to re-use most of the
code. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for a cross-platform
framework for Macintosh and Windows.
Just my thoughts. Also, you should set up a web site and encourage
people signing on it. Then, you could post in comp.sys.newton.misc to
ask people interested to sign, and post here, on NewtonTalk, from time
to time. As far as I can tell, there were not a lot of people that said
they would pay for such software, maybe because it was holiday for most
people, so your message got unnoticed by many people.
I would maybe work on such project *if* I had the collaboration from an
old timer, like Dan Rowley, to provide guidance. If we could make some
arrangements regarding the distribution of work and profit (if any), I'd
be willing to give it a try.
-Laurent.
=====================================================================
Laurent Daudelin
Developer, Object Factory, Substrate Fannie Mae
Phone: 703-833-4266 mailto:Laurent_Daudelin@fanniemae.com
Fax: 703-833-7555 Usual disclaimers apply
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