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From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: No employment available for mathematician/genius/programmer(LISP)
Message-ID: <nagleD3A5xA.3nx@netcom.com>
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References: <demos-290195143119@chem-31.chem.utah.edu> <3ghtdv$p8e@panix.com> <3gjr9f$epi@lute.gcr.com> <osterD39L28.DnA@netcom.com>
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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 1995 17:29:33 GMT
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oster@netcom.com (David Phillip Oster) writes:
>But, a few years a go, I got tired of being
>employed. I noticed that Silicon Graphics users, often needed scanned images
>to texture map their 3-D models, and that it wasn't easy to connect a scanner
>to a Silicon Graphics workstation. I made a deal with a scanner vendor to 
>get scanners wholesale, burned new ROMs, and shipped them with a scanner
>driver I wrote. ...

>A year later, my scanner vendor switched to a new model that could not be
>made compatible with Silicon Graphics workstations (since fixed in even
>newer models) and Silicon Graphics itself realized there was a problem 
>connecting scanners to their workstations, and came out with their own, 
>competing, scanner connection product.  I figure this is the universe's
>way of telling me it is time to move on.

>My problem:
>How can I get better at analyzing markets, to discover niches that I can
>fill at a profit?

      That's about typical for a niche compatibility product.  Such niches
are profitable while they last, but they don't last forever.

      When the PCI bus Macs come out, there may be a niche market writing
drivers for PCI cards designed for the PC market.  That's probably good
for about a year.

      How about software that makes a PowerMac with a Connectix "eyeball"
camera and an ISDN board emulate a high-end video conferencing system?

      Another niche is to work with a Mac clone vendor and put together
"video Macs", with everything you need for video editing, including 8mm
videotape drives, in one big tower case.  

					John Nagle
