#Who owns PDraw?
29 messages in this thread
I'm trying to get a handle on how many people out here in CISland use
Professional Draw. First, how many non-PPage owners (PageStream, Saxon) use
PDraw? Second, how many PDraw users use PDraw text on a regular basis?
Obviously, I'm trying to figure out who needs what as far as PDraw fonts
go, as we are currently selling a Type1-to-PDraw font converter
(MIoutline), but I'd also like to know how many people would be willing to
purchase Adobe fonts ALREADY converted to PDraw font format. A inexpensive
collection could be in the works if there's enough interest.
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!
I use Aegis Draw (2000). If Pro Draw works with fonts in the same way, you
could count me as a Draw owner.
Mike
Michael:
These fonts are strictly for use with PDraw (unless there's some sort of
PDraw font-to-Aegis Draw font converter I don't know about:)
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!
In my experience, you don't get useful marketing statistics by querying the
CIS user base. If twelve people raise their hand here, it means you'll
sell to some of them. In some ways, online people are very typical. In
others, they are very non-typical. When it comes to relatively esoteric
things like Pro Draw and 3D programs, you're going to encounter some very
specialized, very technical people who will gladly lead your marketing
ideas astray, in order to satisfy an obscure desire of their own. 🙂
John:
CIS users leading me astray to satisfy obscure desires of their own?!?
Sounds positively sinister! But they LOOK so harmless!… (And I know that
the user base is not necessarily the leading indicator for what's hot and
whatsnot, but if 500 people leap through my monitor screaming "Gimme!
Gimme! Gimme!", it'll help me figure out my next move a bit better.:) BTW,
aside from door-to-door canvasing, what is the best way to do Amiga market
research? 🙂
Careful John, The desire may not be obscure. It might be right up front.
The problem you are siting is that CIS AMiga Users do not comprise a
representative sample of the target market. NOt because we have horns
growing on our backs, but because we do not represent a large enough sample
to be representative cross section of the market.
Man, can't believe someone wants to even take awaymy obscure desires….
whats left!!?? ;^}
wmc
Someone who owns a modem, knows how to use it, and is willing to spend
$5-10 an hour to chat with like-minded individuals is NOT a typical Amiga
user. What's the best way to do Amiga marketing? Hmm. Let me think. How
about, study the PC and Mac markets. There are dozens and dozens of product
categories for those machines that don't even exist on the Amiga yet. What
Amiga developers are fighting for is a product that makes *money*. This
market is darn small… you've got to have a hot idea to make a living at
it.
John,
How can you make a living if CBM won't market the machine? FOr every
package you (not you literally but as in "developer") put out, only a
certain precentage of users will be interested. So the emphasis has to be
on broadening the user base.
Since CBM wants so badly to keep the Amiga a secret, maybe the developers
should form a strong group, and pay a percentage of every sale (passed
along the to consumer, of course) to mount there own national Amiga
advertising campaign. Maybe they would only have to do it for a year or so
before CBM became such a public laughing stock (not that they aren't now)
that they decide to advertise a little on a constant basis and begin to
attract some of the respect, sales, and developers needed to sustain the
Amiga as a viable general purpose machine in the future.
As for the best way to do Amiga marketting – the game devleopers have it
down. Do a PC &/or Mac version then a sloppy conversion to the Amiga (a la
BattleHawks or Their finast hour) if you get a spare programmer, and a
little time between products that acutally make money.
wmc
Nice idea, but it won't work. Amiga developers aren't known for wallets
thick with extra cash. For every developer I know, I can think of at least
three other developers that they truly despise, some are their competition,
others are just slimes, from their perspective. 🙂 Ads cost a *lot* of
money. I'll make an alternative proposal. How about: CBM *pays* me to
develop for their machine. Too hard? How about removing the fees for
developing. Developers are free labor for promoting a product. Don't
propose charging me for something else…
John:
Here! Here!
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!
John, Your idea is good. However it assumes CBM is going to wake up and
act like a real company. I've given up on ever seeing that in my life time
unless someone else (developers?) forcee them to.
On another topic, if I own Interchange, how much would it cost to get the
InterFont package? I understand that if I go to my not so local dealer and
get interfont that it includes Interchange. I was hoping there is a way to
just "add on" interfont w/o having to repurchase Interchange too. What
about the Imagine module (or is it the TurboSilver module that converts
Imagine images)?
Thanks for info. wmc
We've always had an InterChange to InterFont upgrade offer. Give us a call
at (608) 455-1422 for the details. Our current Turbo Silver Converter will
load Imagine objects… if you have any trouble, just affix the object to
an axis before saving it, then convert it. Imagine loads Turbo Silver
objects, of course.
I suggested this at the initial meeting of the Amiga Developer's
association. The emphasis there was on forming committees, not getting
anything done. So far, nothing has been done, and it's been about two
years. I am no longer interested in the ADA, my initial instincts seemed to
be on target: No Balls.
–Ben
Ben
ADA stands for American Dental Association. Ada is a girl's name and the
official registered trademark of the DOD programming language :^}
Since you are not interested in Unix, I suspect you would not be interested
in Ada. Its focus is large integrated systems and would probably be
overkill for most single user systems/programs. However, If CBM were to
really try to sell Unix, having their own or an AmigaDos/Unix compatible
package and cross compilation capability at a reasonable price would
enhance the standing of the Unix box. It would also provide rational for
some people to get an Amiga for home. DO the Ada at home, bring it to
work to recompile and integrate under Unix.
wmc
I certainly use PDraw (and PPage and PStream) … but I have a large enough
collection of Type-1 fonts to keep me going and MIoutline converts them
superbly well!
Mike (Whapping from the UK)
Gary,
To answer your second question, I use PDraw only rarely and PDraw text even
more rarely. That may well change with time as I start doing other kinds of
work but, for now, it's not high on my list. Course, it's virtually certain
to move up the list.
Malcolm
Gary:
I use PageStream for all of my DTP stuff, but often use ProDraw to work
with some tricky graphics stuff… although, I have yet to use a text
object in prodraw… so far, my text needs have been met by PGS.
Michael
Gary,
I use ProDraw regularly for fonts, both scanning them in and using
Trace and warping the Compugraphic fonts. I used to use ProDraw
hand-in-hand with ProPage, but about eight months ago I defected to
PageStream 2.1 and have never touched ProPage again. Your program has my
interest…in fact, any program that would assist ProDraw would be welcome.
I received your info and will be placing my order soon!
J.R.
Gary:
How about a program that converts PS fonts to CompuGraphic (or Bullet)
outline fonts for WYSIWYG typesetting on PPage.
By the way, I use PPage and PDraw extensively.
Roger
Gary:
Count me in for the completed conversions. I use ProDraw regularly
Regards Charles
I use both Pro Page and Pro Draw, and could always use a new font -as long
as they are different than what I already have & not just a slight change
with a different name. I have the Compugraphic Outline fonts from Gold
Disk. Are Adobe outline fonts? – Joe – via Whap! from the WEST SIDE –
Buffalo, NY
Joe:
Adobe created PostScript; they basically wrote the book on outline fonts
(that might get me into trouble with some CGphiles, but what can I say? I'm
a big Adobe fan:). What MIoutline does is convert POSTSCRIPT outline fonts
into PDraw outline fonts and Adobe is just one of many vendors that sells
PostScript outline fonts. Their current collection is up over 1000 (and if
you wait a week or so for me to finish it, you can use my "View Library"
utility to see what most of them look like!)
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!
Gary,
Just for the record…..CG was selling VERY big photo-typesetters FAR
before Adobe ever thought of PostScript.
And I've heard IBM was in the computer business before the advent of the
IBM PC. Wow, 60 percent margin in the mainframe market. Sometimes, I bet
IBM wishes they never touched the PC market. 🙂
As for CG vs. Adobe, it would take a startup like Adobe to kick a behemoth
in the butt, to get them to switch to new, low-cost, low-margin equipment.
John,
I bet IBM regrets entering the PC market too. Once they did that we found
out they don't know what they're doing. 😀 Before that, everything was
accepted from on high cause they were IBM.
It's as though they were an aircraft maker who decided to build cars. And
everyone expected the greatest cars. And then they gave us the Sprint and
ordered us all to drive them.
Glass and wheels optional but the chassis will support an aircraft engine.
<yawn> wow… I'll walk, thanks.
Malcolm
Vic:
Re: CG photo-typesetters
I know: I used to run one for a living. 'Course, I kept wrapping the font
filmstrips around my head by accident, so they let me go 🙂
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!
Gary –
I use ProDraw with Propage. And you can count me in as interested in
Adobe fonts for the program. I have use Prodraw fonts alot to spruce up my
Ppage projects. Those fonts though are a real bitch to work with.
– Roy Pahnke – Casper, Wyomin'
Roy:
True, the PDraw fonts are kind of a pain to work with. Gold Disk certainly
could have done a better job on PDraw's text handling capabilities, but
then again, look how long it took for any Mac drawing program to get around
to using actual outline fonts, and it's amazing Gold Disk had it going so
soon. As well, with our PDraw Font Previewer that comes with MIoutline,
it's much easier to find characters and see what they look like before
going through the "PDraw Shuffle". 🙂
Gary
– Mirror Image Prod. (416) 495-7469, via WHAP!