SPC Selling Superbase
21 messages in this thread
I HAVE JUST RECIEVED WORD FROM A RELIABLE INSIDE SOURCE THAT SPC IS
FIXING TO AXE SUPERBASE 4 FOR THE AMIGA!!!
Let's get our Word Processors out, start writing letters and give them
a Word Perfect campaign, if we get them enough letters maybe we can stop
this nonsense again. When are these software giants going to realize they
can't treat us like this, we have more printers humming than they have
people to handle the paper work! You can also send E-mail to SPC here on
CI$.
This is the only high end, general business product available for the
Amiga. It is also read and write compatable with thier MSDOS product.
My source tells me that SPC has already set in motion the processes to
sell off the Amiga version, so we can't delay.
I will try to get a user ID to send Email to, but you can go right now
to the SPC forum (Go SPC) and state your support. Do it.
You can mail your support for SB4 Amiga to Precisions home office at:
Precision Inc. or Precision Software Lmtd
8404 Sterling Street 6 Park Terrace
Irving, TX 75603 Surrey
England KT4 7JZ
ph # (214) 929-7166 (081) 30 7166
Let them know that you don't like what they're doing but that you can't
live without SB4 Amiga.
Steve Setzer
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
If SPC sells the Amiga version of SuperBase, then why worry? If an
Amiga-loving company picks it up, then you're safe. On the other hand, I
doubt SPC can sell the Amiga version. What company would buy it if they
didn't get the source code? Why would SPC sell the rights to the source
code, if it would somehow endanger its PC product? More likely, SPC can't
see any use for the Amiga version. It's probably not profitable. SPC has
had a rough couple of quarters. Last quarter had a large expense of buying
Precision; this quarter, they wrote off several million dollars' worth of
lease on an old building. SPC has terminated projects with huge installed
bases; they prefer products that make $20 a year. Like any company, they
like a return per employee of around $200K. You can't get that with an
Amiga product. They can't sell it to corporations like Harvard Graphics. My
guess? They put the source code to the Amiga version in a box and forget
about it…
John,
You may be right but if they know how vocal the Amiga community can be
they might take a good look at us and our platform (regardless of C=)and
see the potential here. IMHO what is holding the Amiga back in the general
business envirement is the lack of networking….I know the hardware is
available but what software is there for it??? We have no power
spreadsheet, business graphics, ect. SB4 is the only general business
program that we can show the boss to encourage corporate use of the Amy
(and the networking version of it is close to done but not released yet).
I just asking users (and potential users) to state their support and ask
for SPC's continued support.
..Steve
Whap!ping from beautiful coastal South Carolina
SPC is undergoing serious belt-tightening, like many software companies.
They're still reeling from a misguided plan to jump into the OS/2 market,
and only recently caught up in the Windows market. Frankly, I don't think
they care about the Amiga version. Why should they? It makes *no* money,
as compared with the kind of products that a company like SPC likes to
have. A letter campaign won't make a whit of difference. Although you're
free to write… my initial report in Info magazine included SPC's
address, but they've since moved to a new location. I'm sure their mail
gets forwarded, of course.
John…
"A letter campaign won't make a white of difference."
Bushwah. Hogwash too.
First, saying that SPC makes NO money on the product is something that you
couldn't possibly know for a fact, unless you have incredible connections
with these people. Having some official offer up a zero profit margin on a
product as an explanation for dropping it, should be treated with
skepticism for a product like this. After all, it IS the best of it's kind.
I find all too often that companies wanting to drop a particular product
really DO make money on it, just not as MUCH as they could if they
concentrated their efforts elsewhere.
Frankly, I don't like to see people saying that a letter writing campaign
will be of no use in a situation like this. We should encourage a proactive
attitude when it comes to getting software companies to shape their
policies on what platforms to write for, and which to ignore.
An apathetic attitude that says "why bother?" is truly a sad thing indeed.
Jim
– Signed, sealed, Whapped!
all those in favor of renamimg Syndesis Corp. "Synical Corp." raise
your hands… 🙂
– Whapping from the North Coast Michael
AND, it was a letter writing campaign that kept WordPerfect happnin' (such
as it is).
…Dave
Well, about two years ago I started Windows programming with a few friends,
working on a project in our basements. A year ago, we sold the product to
SPC. It was just launched at the Seybold show, it's called Harvard Draw.
For the past year, I've been putting in about 20 hours a week at the
Madison SPC office. I've done a lot of talking with the guy in the Madison
office who *initiated* the Precision buy-out by SPC. I've been privy to a
lot of SPC's internals, but I'm only saying things in public that you can
determine from SPC's quarterly reports. In other words, I can't tell you
what I know; I can only tell you what you might be able to know if you
really kept tabs on SPC.
I can't help but think the product will get dumped… How much could SPC
make on the Amiga version? Aside from a few fanatics, they don't know how
to plug in an Amiga. Their sales and support don't know it either. Sure,
there might be some people in the Texas office who can support the Amiga
product, but for this product to be worthwhile for SPC, they've got to
mobilize their existing sales and support forces behind it. Looking at the
potential payback, which is nil in the Amiga market, I doubt they'll keep
it. Just how many copies have they sold, and how many more can they sell?
They're not going to be selling them to A500 owners in Europe, either.
Well, John…
It's very easy to say that you know something, but can't elaborate due to
whatever circumstances. However, you've yet to actually give me any real
hard reasons as to why someone shouldn't make an effort to give the people
at SPC some positive feedback through a letter writing campaign. My point
is that I think we should be a lot more positive and proactive as opposed
to negative, as you were in your message.
The problems YOU have pointed out to me are problems that SPC must solve
for themselves, and if they get good feedback from Amiga users that their
product can do well, they might be encouraged to muster the resources to
solve these problems, if in fact they do exist as you have outlined. I am
not convinced that SBPro is unprofitable, nor am I convinced that there is
no future in such a product through new sales.
Jim
I disagree! No, I can't say everything I know, but I do want to reassure
you I have more than a passing acquaintance with SPC and the Precision
buy-out as well as SPC's internals. No, I don't know everything. But I
think I did give you a perfectly plausible reason why SPC might ignore the
Amiga line: compared to the company's other products, and compared to the
profits from their other products, the Amiga line is meaningless! This
rumor about Oxxi is interesting, and I plan to check it out. If I were
SPC, though, I'd worry about handing over the source code to another
semi-PC-based company, considering the front-line position of Superbase for
Windows.
John:
Perhaps as you've worked (and are working) with them, you might be able to
get them to allow you to save the Amiga version from a certain death either
by letting Syndesis to support the Amiga version, or perhaps you as am
agent for them. Do you have any interest? Do they? Can you even comment on
this?
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
I have no interest in picking up Superbase. Case closed.
John:
I see elsewhere that Oxxi's picked it up. Thanks for the info anyway.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
I can kind of see what John is saying, though — answer the questions for
yourself (compare Amiga with PC):
1. How many machines have been sold?
2. Of those, how many are still active?
3. What percentage of those would want SB4?
4. What percentage of those would *buy* it?
5. What is the cost of supporting SB4 on that machine?
6. What is the chance of the machine's survival (remember CBM/IBM)?
Each vendor has to evaluate these questions in their own way. The view
from outside in the Amiga market has often been that "the Commodore Amiga
has been like the smart, wormy kid on the block" that "has consistently
incorporated innovative ideas, but has never presented them with the proper
bravado to get across in the marketplace" (quotes from Computer Buyer's
Guide and Handbook).
As to a letter writing campaign, my take is that buying the product will
tell them more than a letter, but an answered letter may alleviate customer
concerns enough to get them in the market. The mileage may vary.
David – via Whap!
That's my point. No one knows the answers to the above questions with any
degree of accuracy. Anyways, my point isn't really about that at all. It's
about attitudes. It's about telling users that a letter writing campaign
will have no positive effect at all.
There really isn't a lot of room left for that kind of thinking, IMHO. We
have to be more proactive. Conditions can change both positively and
negatively, overnight.
Jim
I assume by now that you've seen Duke's message stating that Superbase for
the Amiga amounted to less than 1/2 of 1% of SPC revenues. That suggests
that a letter writing campaign by SB4Amiga owners would only result in 10s
of letters — not a lot for a company like SPC to consider if they have
other goals.
The proactive approach now seems to be to determine whether the OXXI/SPC
deal is a done deal. If so, the next question would be to determine the
type of support that OXXI will give SB4Amiga. Also, what other avenues of
support can be garnered for SB4 (will developers support it)?
David – via Whap!
I believe people are just waiting around for some kind of difinitive
statement/press release. I know I am… 🙂
Tim.
Very good questions. Given the choice between Superbase on Windows on a
standard PC and Superbase on an obscure computer, any sane corporation will
pick the PC. As for market size, it's clear. When a PC company estimates
the size of the PC market, they take the best estimate (about 60 million
worldwide) and know that a majority of those are NOT in use as game
machines by pirates. Can you say that about the Amiga? Nope. As for the
"business Amiga", nine out of ten Amigas I've encountered in an office were
brought there FROM HOME by Amigaphiles trying to convince their boss to buy
some for the company.
I've heard that Oxxi just picked up SuperBase for the Amiga.
andy
John, you may be right re the source code going in a box, but that's no
reason not to *try* to salvage SB4, if it can be done. (and rumor is true)
Losing SB4 would be a major blow to any 'serious' business users. There
aren't very many other high-end business DB's available, you know.
So, I plan on writing. And would encourage all others to as well. What's
the cost of a stamp? (note: I heard the same rumor from a 'reliable'
source as well, so it's not just Steve whistling in the wind)
–jp–seattle–