Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!ucsd!sdcc6!calmasd!jnp From: jnp@calmasd.GE.COM (John Pantone) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Report on the Expo Message-ID: <15@calmasd.GE.COM> Date: 19 Aug 88 15:53:43 GMT References: <639@stech.UUCP> <4710@claris.UUCP> <8189@cup.portal.com> Organization: GE/Calma, 9805 Scranton Rd., San Diego, CA 92121 Lines: 29 In-reply-to: jwhitnell@cup.portal.com's message of 16 Aug 88 18:24:27 GMT Jerry Whitnell writes: >VaporWare is anything annouced but not yet shipped. Hence Wingz is definitly >vaporware. It doesn't matter whether they've slipped a delivery date or not. >And it's the worst sort of vaporware, a company's first product. You have >no idead whether or not they will ship on time or a year late or whether >they'll go out of business before they ship. That is what is wrong with >vaporware annoucments. It's the old IBM ploy of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and >Doubt). A little harsh, aren't we Jerry? I think that you will find agreement among most people in the industry (and particularly those in the media) that Vaporware is software announced, and slipped. The monetary realities of this world require that software be announced prior to its first customer ship. Most firms announce during the final integration or first q/a cycles. This allows the distribution channels to begin to adapt to the new product. It is usually impossible to wait for the final q/a to be finished before announcing the product - it just doesn't pay to have all those people sitting around on their hands waiting to get to work. Only a company with IBM's (past) strangle-hold on its customers and the industry could get away with the FUD business - and for years they did just that. FUD was, however, principally a strategy aimed at their potential competitors, not their customers. -- These opinions are solely mine and in no way reflect those of my employer. John M. Pantone @ GE/Calma R&D, 9805 Scranton Rd., San Diego, CA 92121 ...{ucbvax|decvax}!sdcsvax!calmasd!jnp jnp@calmasd.GE.COM GEnie: J.PANTONE