From: andrew@cubetech.com (Andrew Loewenstern)
Subject: Re: Poll results Re: "NeXT Developer Marketing Programs"  : -)
Organization: Cube Technologies, Inc.
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 03:40:53 GMT

In article <1992Aug16.144312.12085@cube.handheld.com> jmd@cube.handheld.com (Jim De Arras) writes:
>In my opinion (only), this sort of incident will continue as long as the focus
>at NeXT is mission-critical apps.  NeXT spend maybe a year or so trying to  
>develop the market in general, pushing developers to create the apps that will
>make NeXT great in the market.  NeXT got tired of waiting, and has now changed
>it's focus.  Developers, independent and small, anyway, are not needed in the
>current picture.


I think you are totally wrong.  Small, independant developers _are_
needed in the cuurent picture.  However, developing shrinkwrap
software is the wrong way to go at this stage of the game.  Major
software holes have been patched by Stone Design, Lighthouse,
RightBrain, AppSoft, etc...

Developing a shrinkwrap application is a big risk for a single
developer.  It's very expensive, and it may not sell.  But what if you
could write a lot of core objects and code that could be assembled
into shrinkwrap applications, and get a company to pay you to do it at
the same time?  That would be great wouldn't it!

Enter mission-critical custom application development.

Although I don't totally agree with the fact that the only direction
NeXT is taking is MCCAs, I do know that try to fight the people who
are buying the machines doesn't help.

If you are pretty good at AppKit hacking, you can make a decent living
by writing MCCAs for companies.  Hire a really good attorney, and you
can get other companies to pay you to write your shrinkwrap
applications.

Depending on how custom the app is, you can't write an MCCA for a
company and sell it shrinkwrap.  But a lot of the objects you create
for the MCCA can be used in other apps.  That's why you need a good
attorney;  to make sure you retain ownership to the objects you write
and make sure you don't sign anything that restricts what you can do
with the stuff even if you own it.

Once you have a good object library, each sucessive MCCA you do
requires less time and can become more profitable.  The trick is to
learn really good object-oriented design so your objects are reusable.

With regards to tech-support, if you are writing an MCCA for a
company and you need to consult NeXT-edge, that is an expense, and the
company should pay for it.


MCCAs are the way to go for all but the best of us (Andrew Stone, All
of the guys at Lighthouse, etc...).  It's NeXT strategy now, and NeXT
is willing to help.  And, as Glenn predicts, when NeXT reaches its
critical mass and companies start buying slews of NeXTs soley for
shrinkwrap apps, you'll be ready with a good object library, and
hopefully enough capital to deliver without much additional initial
funding.


This is the strategy that I am taking, and it's working.


andrew
-- 
andrew@cubetech.com     | "We shall not cease from exploration
Andrew Loewenstern      |  And the end of our exploring
Cube Technologies, Inc. |  Will be to arrive where we started
                        |  And know the place for the first time." -T.S. Eliot