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Why hasn't anyone produced a good database management program for the TI?
While I'll accept written answers throughout the month, I can't think of many good reasons. Not when you look at the growing proliferation of word processing programs available for the TI. Why so many word processing programs?
It doesn't make any sense. More computer users could put a good database program to work than will ever use a word processing program.
Why?
Economics. It's cheaper. Word processing requires printers, and printers are expensive. Database programs can print to the screen and everyone with a keyboard has a screen of some sort.
Part of the problem may lie in the
fact that a good database program
requires at least 48K of memory. With
databases, the more memory the better.
Even so, it's a good bet that there ·
are more TI owners with memory
expansion cards than there are owners
with printers.
WHO'S PRODUCING WHAT?
The next several months will be very
interesting for TI users in the market·
for hardware and hardware producers
in the need of a market. Cor-Comp and
Mikel Laboratories Inc. are planning
to produce expansion boxes. There are
already several sources for memory
expansions and RS 23 2 interfaces. Disk
drives have never been a problem,
though obtaining disk drive manager
cartridges may be. There's no shortage
of monitors to choose from, color,
green, amber or black and white. And,
I predict there will not be a shortage of
new software for the TI, though obtain
ing it is probably going to get more
difficult as tirne goes on.
But how long will the hardware producers
hang in there? Producing
hardware calls for a significant
investment, both in time and money,
and the big question now is whether
there is a market large enough to
make it worthwhile.
There are essentially two schools of
thought on this issue: One, that everyone
who has any intention of having
a fully configured TI system already
has one. Two, that as long as a manufacturer
can produce affordably
priced hardware there will be no shortage
of people to buy it. If the market is
firm, the real problem will be in reaching
it. But that could be a bigger problem
than anything that occurred during
R&D.
This is where TI retailers come in.
And I'm not talking about the K-Marts,
Sears and department stores that TI
relied on. I'm talking· about the local
businesses scattered all over the country
that have dealt largely, if not
exclusively, in TI home computer products.
We'll be publishing a feature
next month about these businesses so I
won't go into great detail now. But it is
my belief that anyone who is serious
about marketing products for the TI
dealers' shelves. TI users may buy
their software at the nearest discount
house, but when they need to have a
problem solved or want to see a piece
of software that doesn't have the mass
appeal of Donkey Kong, it's to these
businesses they must turn.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Now that we've published our third
edition, it's time to ask what you the
reader would like us to write about.
We're not asking this question because
we have run out of ideas. Far from it.
Rather, we're more likely to run out of
space. So we'd like to know what you
want to see covered in these pages. As
you already know, we tend to focus on
product news, reviews and features.
Tell us what you think. It will be of
considerable help.
And while I'm on the subject, I
appreciate the little notes many of you
have included with your subscriptions,
particularly the ones which give us
ideas for stories, or questions to ask. In
a way, that's what our job is-to ask
questions for you. And the better the
questions, the better the answers. So,
if there's something you'd like to know
about, let us know what it is and we'll
do our best to find out for you.
-JK
