Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!pepper!cmcmanis
From: cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Mr. Pournelle is brain-dead.  News at 11:00.
Message-ID: <70319@sun.uucp>
Date: 27 Sep 88 06:08:18 GMT
References: <3060@hubcap.UUCP>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Distribution: na
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 31

In article <3060@hubcap.UUCP> disd@hubcap.UUCP (Gary Heffelfinger) writes:
[Complains about Jerry Pournelles troubles with F/A-18 and draws the following
 conclusion.]

>Geez!  How tough is it to spin a few wheels?  Annoying, maybe, but
>rocket science it is not.

Actually, his comments are quite to the point and show up a really poor
policy on the part of EA. Here, their biggest competition is Jet from
SubLOGIC and *that* isn't copy protected. So what's their problem? The 
fact that Jerry has trouble running a text editor without some serious
handholding is well known. The problem is to assume he is unique. He isn't.
Really stupid people use computer programs every day. There is no reason
that it has to be any more difficult for them than it does for the rest of
us computer "pros". Now EA reads his column and maybe Trip Hawkins says 
"Gee, we really got blasted for using the codewheel, maybe we shouldn't
copy protect these things." And what is important is that when Jerry says
it, 200,000 stupid people read it and say "I won't buy that program, my
buddy Jerry can't even figure out the copy protection on it." And if 
EA could even sell 100,000 copies of F/A-18 they would be wildly happy. 
So Jerrys comment is a couple of orders more powerful than you or I 
bitching about copy protection. And that is a *good* thing. Hey, I don't 
agree with Jerry's opinions anymore than you do but it actually is a 
pretty good reflection on how the less understanding computer community
views the Amiga. And if you can make it clear to Jerry, then you can
make it clear to a lot of other people and *that* will increase sales
of the Amiga. 

--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.