Re: XyWrites 4 and 5 (was: RE: Dataviz and xyW)

[Richard Giering dick.giering@xxxxxxxx]

Hi:
 Well, Leslie, granted IBM did not buy XYQuest,
BUT, since XYWRITE was their only product and that
(the license for it at least, if not the whole
thing) was sold to IBM, XYQuest would not
continued to exist if it hadn't gotten a contract
from IBM and then was able to buy the package
back. At least this is my recollection of the
events.

 As far as what I want, you're VERY close. I
believe if TTG packaged it (XYWRITE and maybe
SMARTWORDS) in two ways: one a simple KISS (Keep
it Secretairly Simple) and the other the
full-blown version. The only difference would be
the manual and the installation/training, it would
be a "best-seller". It is my belief that Ken
Frank knows this and has made an overt decision to
stick with the business he knows best - litigation
support. He's missing a lot of dough, but thats
his business. This is true of a lot of companies
- stick with what you know and believe you do best
- don't take risks!
 Sorry, Ken, if you're offended, but this is my
belief. And this is especially true about the
fantastically GROWING market for INTERNET/HTML
editors. With what I consider to be a minor
addition, your product would run circles (it
already does) around the current set of HTML
editors.
Dick Giering

leslie bialler wrote:
>
> Richard Giering wrote:
> >
> > Hi: Mimi:
> >  Welcome to the world of XYWrite. I've been
> > using XYWrite since the early 1980's (version one)
> > as put out by XYQUEST. Later it was sold to IBM
> > (they renamed it and sold it back to XYQuest).
>
> Dear Richard,
>
> No. IBM did not buy XyQuest. XyQuest developed Signature in conjunction
> with IBM, which had hoped to use the product as a replacement for their
> ridiculous DisplayWrite product. A week before the product was due to be
> shipped, IBM decided to close down their software division. XyQuest,
> which contractually had the right to market the product if IBM backed
> out, did so. Signature, however, was a bomb: slowed down by the features
> IBM
> insisted on bloating it with, it majorly disappointed the XyWrite
> installed base. It was at that point that TTG bought the company and
> quickly put out a workable version: The XyWrite 4.0x DOS version.
>
> > TTG bought it and started using the prefix XW
> > rather than the previous XY prefix. Why, I don't
> > know, except to differentiate it from the XYQuest
> > product.
>
> The XY preface is used for the Dos product, the XW is used for the
> Windows product, insofar as I can tell.
>
> > TTG has NOt seen fit to exploit the
> > sensational advantages of the product. Why, I
> > don't have the foggiest idea, except maybe they
> > are concentrating on their other products - legal
> > (litigation) support. Maybe our friend Ken Frank
> > can answer this, I know I can't.
>
> Well, look: What I want, and it sounds as if that is what you want too,
> is a product for
> writers and editors. Word and WordPerfect are essentially designed for
> office workers--now I have no wish to denigrate them but what they need
> is an easy to use bells and whistles widely distributed program that
> they can take from job to job with them, just as their parents once took
> their typing skills.
>
> TTG develops niche products. How do you imagine they could distribute a
> niche product widely, in competition with the "majors?" If you were an
> office worker, or the person in charge of them, what motivation would
> you have to, say, expunge Microsoft Word from your system in favor of a
> product you'd never heard of?
>
> --
>
> Leslie Bialler
> Columbia University Press
> lb136@xxxxxxxx