Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: One program to read, another to write

Author:Joseph Cerro
Posted:6/28/1999; 7:30:04 AM
Topic:Hidden failure of Win2k
Msg #:7861 (In response to 7742)
Prev/Next:7860 / 7862

>In general, I find that small programs that each >concentrate on doing one thing well, and communicate >with each other through an open, non-proprietary >standard, work better than bloated swiss-army-knife >apps that try to be everything to everybody.

In general, I agree. However, the market carries more weight with developers than I do. Witness the dismal sales and/or failures of Microsoft Write, OpenDoc, Nisus Compact, and a host of others. I suspect this even affects "Works" applications-- how many copies MS Works, ClarisWorks, are sold at RETAIL, e.g. NOT pre-bundled with a new PC. Which consumer will choose a "crippled" product when they can have "more power" and "industry standard" tools for a bit more $$? Which company's I.T. group or Purchasing Dept would prefer ordering multiple small apps over one monolithic app? I am sad to say that nearly all moderately sized companies will prefer a single, sluggish, bug-ridden app than deal with the idiosyncacies of Swiss Army Knives.




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