159 lines
6.5 KiB
HTML
159 lines
6.5 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
|
|
<HTML>
|
|
<HEAD>
|
|
<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
|
|
<TITLE>Commercial Port Advocacy mini-HOWTO: My standard contact message</TITLE>
|
|
<LINK HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-8.html" REL=next>
|
|
<LINK HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-6.html" REL=previous>
|
|
<LINK HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy.html#toc7" REL=contents>
|
|
</HEAD>
|
|
<BODY>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-8.html">Next</A>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-6.html">Previous</A>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy.html#toc7">Contents</A>
|
|
<HR>
|
|
<H2><A NAME="s7">7. My standard contact message</A></H2>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
Dear Sir or Madam:
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
If I've sent this to the wrong address in your
|
|
organization, I
|
|
apologize; could you please forward it to the appropriate
|
|
person? Also, could you let me know who that appropriate person
|
|
is
|
|
so I can direct future communications to him or her? Thank
|
|
you.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
I know that [insert company name here] has fine
|
|
educational
|
|
software programs for both the Macintosh and Windows PCs.
|
|
However, I'd like to speak on behalf of a computer community that
|
|
has heretofore been overlooked by the entire educational software
|
|
industry; the Linux community. I'd also like to call your
|
|
attention to porting tools that can make moving Windows and
|
|
especially Macintosh software to Linux nearly trivial.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
Linux is the fastest growing operating system in the world. It is impossible to put
|
|
exact numbers on how quickly it is growing because it can be downloaded for free
|
|
off of the internet. The last attempt to estimate the total user base in early 1998
|
|
came up with 7 million users world-wide in early 1998 with over 100%
|
|
growth/year. The explosion of Linux publicity since then has undoubtedly kept that
|
|
growth rate alive, putting the current market at around 20 million with rapid
|
|
expansion for some time to come.
|
|
That's more than the worldwide total of OS/2 users and is near
|
|
(if not more than) the number of Macintosh users. In addition,
|
|
these numbers should probably be in some part subtracted from the
|
|
Windows and Macintosh user figures, as almost all of the
|
|
computers Linux is used on initially had Windows or MacOS
|
|
installed.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
Just who are these Linux users? They are primarily male,
|
|
technically educated, and in their early twenties. The first two
|
|
traits are more standard than the last; Linux users range from
|
|
the teens to probably the mid-40s in age. (I'm 46, so I had to
|
|
extend the range at least that far.) This is a prime demographic
|
|
for the educational software market. These are people who
|
|
generally have or will soon move into well-paying jobs in
|
|
technical fields, and who are often just starting families.
|
|
Linux users are usually not very patient with MacOS or Windows,
|
|
and so tend not to see or to consider software offerings for
|
|
those operating systems.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
To the best of my knowledge, there are currently
|
|
<EM>zero</EM>
|
|
educational software programs available for Linux. While many
|
|
Linux users will write their own programs if they can't find
|
|
anything to fit their needs, that has so far not been the case
|
|
with educational software. This may be because Linux only
|
|
originated in 1991, and has only experienced explosive growth in
|
|
the last 2-3 years. The market is completely open.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
This has only recently been noticed by the Linux
|
|
community.
|
|
As more of us have young children, the awareness of the need for
|
|
educational software for Linux is growing. I'm sure it will only
|
|
be a matter of time till someone begins to address this
|
|
need.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
What is the easiest, most cost-effective way to enter this
|
|
market? It's certainly not impossible to start from source code
|
|
and rewrite the operating-system-specific routines to work with
|
|
Linux. That's what many Macintosh ISVs did when they wanted to
|
|
enter the Windows market. However, there are easier
|
|
ways.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
There are "wrapper" programs available for both Windows
|
|
and
|
|
Macintosh programs, which enable them to run on Linux without
|
|
having to be rewritten extensively. For Windows, there is the
|
|
TWIN library from Willows Software
|
|
<http://www.willows.com>. I
|
|
don't have any direct experience with TWIN, but the Willows
|
|
website gets quite specific on what Windows routines move across
|
|
cleanly and what ones need some touch up. The WINE Project
|
|
(<http://www.winehq.com>) also has Winelib, a similar set
|
|
of libraries that Corel is planning to help develop and use in
|
|
porting its office applications to Linux.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
For Macintosh programs, Abacus Research & Development,
|
|
Inc.
|
|
(ARDI <http://www.ardi.com/>) has rewritten a substantial
|
|
fraction of the Macintosh OS and toolbox routines, and makes this
|
|
technology available in two different ways. Executor is
|
|
available both as a Macintosh emulator for end-users and as a
|
|
porting tool for Mac ISVs. Executor is available for Linux, DOS
|
|
and Windows. A demo of Executor for Linux is included on the Red
|
|
Hat 5.1 Linux distribution, the most popular commercial
|
|
distribution. The engineers at ARDI are fluent in Macintosh and
|
|
Linux and can evaluate how hard it would be to make a Linux
|
|
version of your Macintosh software. In many cases it can be done
|
|
without your needing to change a single line of code. A Linux
|
|
version of your program created in this way can easily fit on the
|
|
same CD-ROM as your Mac and Windows executables, thereby giving
|
|
you a three-OS program on one SKU. The expenditure required to
|
|
open up this potentially lucrative new market is relatively
|
|
minor; certainly much lower than the cost of the ports many
|
|
companies made in expanding from the Mac-only market into the
|
|
Windows and Mac market.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
Finally, a personal note. The reason I'm moved to write
|
|
to
|
|
you proposing that you enter the Linux educational software
|
|
market is my 6-year-old son. I run Linux because, of all the
|
|
operating system choices available, it best fills my needs and
|
|
desires.
|
|
If there were good educational software available for Linux, I'd
|
|
snap it up. I know I'm not alone; I've heard from other parents
|
|
every time I've mentioned the problem in various Linux forums.
|
|
There's a market out here waiting to buy your product. Please
|
|
don't disappoint us.
|
|
</BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
<HR>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-8.html">Next</A>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy-6.html">Previous</A>
|
|
<A HREF="Commercial-Port-Advocacy.html#toc7">Contents</A>
|
|
</BODY>
|
|
</HTML>
|