User interfaces
As old as I've admitted it to be, ICP's interface was once one of the
"standards" that someone held up for review. I wish I could "wish" it away, too
– but the dank reality of it is that it would take a month of work to revamp,
start to finish, and I don't think it's worth the effort. That's not counting
the time to re-write the manual, and the cost to reprint it. I know I'd start
to cry when after the new interface shipped, I'd get those phone calls from
users asking me why the H*l did I change it, they liked the old interface, and
now they curse me because they have to learn a new one.
As for 2.0 to 3.0 upgrades, I'm very accomodating. It's tough trying to keep
everyone happy. We announced v3.0 about a year after 2.0. Not a blistering
release schedule, but there's always going to be people who bought it two weeks
before. ICP v3.0 has not yet shipped, so you certainly didn't get it a week
before it did. 🙂 We usually have a kind of grandfather process, where if
you bought it within a certain time before the new release, we send you a free
upgrade. Because we haven't shipped yet, I haven't looked through the database
of direct sales to see if you're within whatever limit I'd pick. Now if you
have more wisdom about how to solve this problem, I'm all ears. You must
release that some Amiga dealer, somewhere, still has IC v1.0 on the shelves in
the 1989 package.
Again, I don't know why you think I have no concern for user's opinions about
our interface. I feel like I'm arguing with a bunch of teenagers; who define
"not listening" as "not agreeing with me and immediately carrying out what I
want." First of all, I'm here talking to all comers. Is my competition here?
Have they ever been here? And just how many Amiga developers *are* still here,
talking about their product? Second, that flyer you got in the mail has a
"survey" blank on the bottom. Every time we do a mailing, I always make a spot
for people to jot down their comments, and I read every single one of them.