CompuServe Messages

John, <I, for one, hope NewTek sues.> Where I certainly agree with your position about Newtek's right to protect their software, I also feel that LightRave offers those legitimate registered users of Lightwave an oppourtunity to render their frames on multiple Amigas (ala render farm) without the additional expense of more Toasterboards (to those using it for Lightwave exclusively it's like an expensive dongle). IF Newtek had made this possible by way of a paid multi site license, (as many people had requested) the Warm & Fuzzy product would not have had a chance, especially in light of their own dongle policy. BTW, I completely understand the need to protect the livelyhood of those at Traz by insuring a certain level of development cost over the life of a product. The traz team has made tremendous strides in upgrading the software, but here again Newtek has reaped quite a bit of profit in sales of upgrades, so I still feel that the multi site license concept would have been (and still could be) a viable alternative in tapping a large market of people that cannot afford multiple Toasterboards or a Screamer. No disprespect to your opinion intended, just my own observations. I am a firm believer in finding compromise instead of leaping into the laps of lawyers. The simple fact remains that there wouldn't be ANY market for a product like LightRave if there wasn't a demand. Newtek could have responded by taking advantage of this market via multi site licenses instead of stonewalling it. This would have prevented incursion into what should have been their rightful slice of the financial pie. In the realities of today's marketplace, you have to anticipate market demands. Newtek has been used to creating those demands by virtue of innovative product ideas. The time has now come for them to realize the benefits of ancillary market prospecting to achieve more profits. They can't go around acting like Microsoft just because of a splash of success. The time is coming in the not too distant future when competing products will invade their primary market share of those looking to upgrade or invest in new systems. All profit areas need to be examined for potential. The Warm and Fuzzy entre is nothing more than an early wake up call to Newtek. If they heed the signals, they might benefit from additional cash flow without having to spend their already hard earned dollars chasing people around in the courts. I have observed that over the life of the Toaster product, the perception of Newtek by Toaster customers has evolved from that of a "cool" "friendly" "hip" group of folks who really care, to a monolithic, cash hungry, indifferent, retentive, and altogether disorganized mess. This product forum speaks well to that issue. In the beginning there was a friendly helpful presence of Newtek staffers who enjoyed interacting with Toaster owners. Now it is rare in the extreme to hear from anyone from Newtek on this, their own forum. Frank