Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
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From: fehrja@iscdcvm3.cdcgate.dupont.com (John Albert Fehr)
Subject: Re: Why is Smalltalk so expensive ?
Message-ID: <1996Jan19.115924.15672@es.dupont.com>
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Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 11:59:24 GMT
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In article <1996Jan11.081052.10122@news.unige.ch>, <> says:
>
>Is Smalltalk technology only reserved to big companies ?
>to professional developers working on big projects ? 
>Since many years i have a love affair with Smalltalk
>but time is come now for a very sad separation.
>I have bought many years ago the first release of
>Digitalk Smalltalk/V (called Methods) for under $100.
>Until now, i have always update the product, but i can not
>afford to spend $500 of personal money on yearly updates !!
>As an "hobbyist" programmer, i am really shoked by the price
>politic of the providers - should i say provider ?
>Time is come for another Philippe Kahn selling a
>Turbo-Smalltalk for 49$.
>
>Xavier Bouvier
>Conservatoire de Musique de Genve
>bouvier@uni2a.unige.ch

greetings,

i collect computers and software.  do you still have your copy of Methods?
i have been looking for a copy for some time.  please respond if you are
interested in parting with it.

regarding your posting -- the answer may have to do with the cost of supporting
a non-procedural language with a limited distribution.  if one could 
inexpensively staff a technical support department, the license fee would
be less than we have been seeing.  the alternative is a low license fee coupled
with a pay-for-technical-support solution.  

are the vendors listening to the marketplace, Xavier, or are they looking for
the revenue up-front (short-term versus long-term thinking)?  i fear that they
are deaf and are pursuing the latter.  the reality is that not everyone can be
like Netscape when it comes to financial windfalls.

regards,  -John F.
