Yes, I did think this through before posting. I see, from what has been
posted to the list, that very few people are actually purchasing the ATA
driver because they need it, but solely to pay Paul for his efforts.
That's fine, really. He deserves to get something for the effort.
I just can't see it as altruistic in the slightest. He knows you'll all
pay for it whether you need it or not, and he's milking you all for what
he can get. This is a problem with any fanatic user base. The laws of
supply/demand/need don't apply. I'm just sorry to see that greed does.
It's a shame, because as I said, it could have become ubiquitous, a true
testament to community spirit, but now it won't. I honestly don't care
whether Paul is discouraged or not, though it's quite clear from the
reaction here that his ego's gotten quite the boost from this. He's
getting people pledging to send him money. One voice standing out from
the crowd shouldn't harm any but the most fragile ego.
If you'll all pay him $50-75, good luck to you. Good luck to him, it's
just sad to see a great program turn into a luxury item. Let's just hope
that Hiroshi doesn't take the lead and jack up his price for the WLAN
driver since it'll be proven that people will pay anything.
-----Original Message-----
From: newtontalk-bounce_at_newtontalk.net
[mailto:newtontalk-bounce_at_newtontalk.net] On Behalf Of Adam Macks
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2002 6:33 PM
To: newtontalk_at_newtontalk.net
Subject: Re: [NTLK] [ANN] ATA Support 1.0b13
On 29/7/02 4:10 AM, "Joshua Johnston" <flagg_at_midmaine.com> wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, it looks like Paul is going for the die-hard
> pay-any-price type, instead of really contributing to the Newton
> community. I'm sorry, but $50 for a product that'll only be truly
> -useful- to a small fraction of a percentage of the Newton community
is
> price gouging, particularly when it could be a lot more useful to a
lot
> more people, simply by lowering the price significantly.
Joshua,
I have been a lurking reader of this newsgroup for 4 years or so.
I have enjoyed using Apple's Newton MessagePad since their first model
in
the early 90's, the Original "MessagePad". I am the proud owner of a
MP2100.
I have a collection of linear flash cards, and a CF adapter card I
bought a
year ago in anticipation of Paul finishing his ATA driver...
A lot of us here have felt with Paul the ups and downs of his efforts in
getting this driver up and running. We have offered moral support,
donations
(rarely) people have lent him Newtons to continue his work while his
equipment was down etc. - he is short of funds and financial support
like
any other student who is also a programmer...
We also doubt that Paul will be raking in thousand of sales when he does
complete his driver. His choice to set a price is his own and should be
accepted by the Newton User Community as fair and equitable based on the
effort he has put into it.
Your comments distress me greatly and make me feel that little care and
though have been taken before you committed your fingers to the
keyboard.
Please consider what you say more carefully in future, so as to avoid
making
people like Paul feel discouraged from ever again embarking on projects
like
his ATA driver!!
Thanks for your time.
Adam Macks
Townsville,
North Queensland
Australia
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