Viper PCI Problem
4 messages in this thread
As John T stated, there is definitely a problem with the PCI Viper and
Number9 GXE. This message was uploaded by brian today, thought it
would help…
>> [Msg#] 75313 >> [From] Brian Massey [Vibrant] 71034,2611 >> [To ] Gus J
Grubba 70673,1605 >> [Date] 10-Jan-94 16:06:13 >> [Subj] #74672-Video Boards >>
[Sect] 6/HWare/ADI/OpSys >> >>Gus, >> >>We've licked new PCI Viper/inline
driver problem. A little QA and its out the >>door (ETA 2 weeks). >> >>Best
Regards, Brian >>
Hope that helps,
Chuck
PS Tell Karen A high for me <BG>!
Chuck:
Thanks for your help. I'll give Vibrant a call and see if they can send me a
beta of the new driver.
David
David,
Always glad to be of assistance!
Just received the new CADalyst, and have to compliment you on the editorial!
While I disagree with some of the specific points you made, I do think that the
"tone" of you editorial was right on the money.
As a Dealer, you can imagine that there is one thing that scared me!<BG> You
mentioned that "… if AutoCAD is to come down in price, and sell into a much
broader market, something about the dealer channel must change." but you don't
follow this statement with any other points. What are your thoughts?
Chuck
Chuck:
I assume that you're talking about my February editorial "Chinese
Firedrill."
I've thought about the dealer question many times in the past year and spoke
at length about it with a number of people when I did the interviews with
Malcolm Davies and Scott Bentley in the November issue. When you look at the
history of Autodesk, the company certainly didn't start out with a plan to
sell its software only through authorized dealers. When Autodesk first
started, the major store chains like Computerland and MicroAge wouldn't
stock AutoCAD. But individuals started calling Autodesk to order the
software and many became dealers. Some of them included individual
Computerland and MicroAge stores. Autodesk's dealer network was born and the
company has worked and struggled with it ever since.
The dealer network is seen as one of the company's great assets, but it is
also a liability in much the same way that a large installed base is both an
asset and a liability. It becomes increasingly difficult to make a major
change under the weight of the installed base (or the vested interest in the
dealer network).
If AutoCAD were to become more of a mass-market product (ie. if the price
were dropped significantly and the product sold through wider distribution)
many existing dealers would find that they had lost their mandate to exist
in their present forms. But many would find that their role had changed to
that of a CAD consultant, able to combine the various pieces of hardware and
the wealth of third-party software to make a complete AutoCAD system. They
could become a much more vital part of a company's CAD strategy, in much the
same way as a lawyer or CPA is an important part of any company's string of
outside consultants. By being removed from the dollars spent on the actual
hardware and software, their actual consulting would become more viable.
Of course, they would then be selling a more limited commodity, their time.
But they would no longer have to grouse about the shrinking margins in
hardware and software. I think the good ones, the dealers with real CAD
knowledge, who became more expert in their clients' needs, would be in great
demand.
Just a thought.
David