Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!ukma!gatech!hubcap!disd From: disd@hubcap.UUCP (Gary Heffelfinger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Mr. Pournelle is brain-dead. News at 11:00. Message-ID: <3072@hubcap.UUCP> Date: 27 Sep 88 19:22:04 GMT References: <70319@sun.uucp> Distribution: na Organization: Clemson University, Clemson, SC Lines: 86 From article <70319@sun.uucp>, by cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis): > 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 Indeed. I don't disagree with this assessment of EA. I'm constantly annoyed about how they seem to go out of their way to cripple otherwise wonderful programs. (Case in point. I installed Bard's Tale II on my hard disk last night. It runs real well from the HD, but upon exiting the program, I get munged. I'm forced to reboot. Not a guru, but not a useable situation either.) But, given Jerry's past antipathy regarding the Amiga, any statement he makes about software that runs on the Amiga is taken as a condemnation of the machine and not necessarily of the author of the software. It's become too easy to bash the machine, even though it's often the software that's at fault. I just get tired of his attitude. And while I have no wish to defend EA, I feel that his statement does more to reinforce the belief that he has nothing between his ears, than it does to criticise the authors of the software. > 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 True, but I think the skills necessary to operate the device are well within the abilities of your average stupid person. The thing that annoys me the most about his diatribe is that he says that the "copy protection" is hard to use. But nowhere does he explain what it is about the code wheel that confuses him. He merely states that it's harder than the game. Which is an exaggeration that does nothing but confirm our suspicions, and cause the Pournellians to continue to say "By Golly, I'll never buy one of those evil Omega computers. Jerry says I shouldn't." > 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 Yes, I hope Mr Hawkins is made aware of it. I just wish that Amiga wouldn't get bashed in the process. And yes, Jerry's views on copy protection are among the few things that I agree with him about. > 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. Are there really lots more like him out there? I guess my view of the user community is skewed towards the smart end. I deal with both computer professionals and computer amateurs of varying levels and I just don't see that kind of stupidity. It's so fishy to me that the same guy who can write a whole column praising a widget for his clone which he toils over for weeks to set up, dismisses, in a few ill conceived sentences, a relatively easy-to-use game. And just so you know this, Chuck, I'm not at all wanting to argue with you about this. I know that you don't love Jerry any more than the rest of us do. I just needed to bitch. I don't like to be in the dark about inaccurate things that are said about the Amiga, and I thought that others might be interested in his statements. Gary -- Gary Heffelfinger --- Employed by, but not the mouthpiece of Clemson University. ---=== Amiga. The computer for the best of us. ===---