From: kennys@terapin.com (Kenny Sequeira)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: CWAN-APPS
Date: 1 Jan 93 20:20:34 PST
Organization: BBS

I'm having a hard time understanding the logic of people continuing to 
mutter, about the need for the Amiga to have high profile productivity 
software like Word, Excel, 123, and PageMaker to be a successful computer.  
Personally the Amiga has done very well without these products, which 
IMHO shows the Amiga does not need these programs to exist as a computer 
platform.

While many will disagree with my following assumptions, there is no 
market for the above products in the Amiga community now.  I'm not 
saying the above programs are not good products, they just would 
not sell.

Here are some of my reasons,

Most good PC or MAC word processors cost $400.00 US retail or $200-$300 
street price.  The three top Amiga word processors excellence!, ProWrite, 
and Final Copy II can be bought for less than $100.00.  All three of 
these programs are very good programs and only lack high end features 
like outlining, automatic table generation and a few others.  If Word 
or AmiPro where released tomorrow for the Amiga they would not sell in 
enough quantity at those high prices, now if Micro-Soft or Lotus would 
sell their products for $100 they might have a receptive Amiga market.  
Of course, that will never happen because, 60 million PC users would 
rape and pillage the HQ's Micro-Soft and Lotus.  What the PC community 
needs is more $100 word processors, than the Amiga community needs 
$300-$400 word processors.

I could take this argument in the DTP world, good PC DTP programs cost 
$700.00 retail or $400-600 street price.  The top three Amiga DTP 
programs on the Amiga PageStream, ProPage, and Saxon cost less than $200.00 
and again these are very capable programs that stack up well to their PC 
counter parts.

I know many spread sheets users will hate me for this one but, who 
really needs them.  What PC user really needs the far reaching 
capabilities of 123 or Excel.  I totally understand the need to take work 
home, but how many in the Amiga community are going to pluck down 300-400 
dollars for a spread sheet, hell I can't even understand why any PC use 
would do that.  I believe spread sheets are a specialized piece of 
software that require some expertise to get any benefits of the program 
potential.

When I first my got my Amiga I bought a spread sheet called Analyze for 
like $89.00, I thought I needed a spread sheet for my computer to be a 
serious user, and I fell for the hype.  I took the program home and 
started reading the manual, 32,000 rows, 1800 columns, 36 formulas etc... 
after about a week, I tossed it out and found a PD program that did what 
I wanted to do with 90 % less effort.  I'm not against a high power 
spread sheet for the Amiga, I just don't see much of a market for one.  
To verify this go to any Amiga user group meeting and begin to explain 
the merits of spread sheets, you will probably get these results,

1.  By the end of the night you will be by yourself.

2.  Huh!!!!

3.  Your in the wrong meeting sir, the PC clone meeting is across the      
    hall.

4.  Check out this MOD,  Dude!

5.  Excuse me, I got to take a leak.


Some final notes, it has been obviosly stated in this newsgroup before 
that the Amiga and PC are very different markets, accept that fact.  
If you own a Amiga and continually whine about the lack or Word, 
AmiPro and 123 for the Amiga, sell your damm Amiga and buy a PC, because 
if your waiting for PC productivity to come to the Amiga you will soon 
die of CWAN-APSS 

(Continually Whining About No Amiga Productivity Software Syndrome) 

this is a very serious illness Marc Barrett, currently suffers from this 
syndrome, and as you can see it is a very debilitating.

I'm currently satisfied with all the productivity software I use, every 
task I have thrown at them, they got the job done, that's all I ask 
from software.

Kenny I want a SIG but I'm somewhat shy
Xref: sparky comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:32514 comp.sys.amiga.graphics:8341