That wasn't HIS choice. That was my choice. He didn't setup the interview; I did. I was, however, interested in his viewpoint, from a developer's standpoint, on what these companies had done wrong.
Hi. I'm Rick Chapman, the guy who runs http://www.softwaremarketsolution.com and the person who put the interview together with Joel. I'm also the author of "The Product Marketing Handbook for Software" and am currently working on my next book "In Search of Stupidity: A Look Back at the Biggest High Tech Marketing Disasters of the 80s and 90s." I've read the statements here with a great deal of interest, and have a couple of comments to make and some info that may be of interest.
First, I'm interested in compiling some of the best observations made about the interview and feeding them to Joel for comment. I think this would provide an interesting counterpoint to his views and provide the opposition its say. I'm also going to run an interview with a prominent open source developer (from a company that is making money) to provide a further contrast, as well as explore the issue of how to make money with open source products.
However, I have to also tell you that most of the companies that have competed against Microsoft have, in the main, ONLY themselves to blame for their respective meltdowns. I went to work for MicroPro (WordStar) in 1983, then the largest microcomputer software company in the world and saw the company destroy itself via an incredible marketing meltdown in 18 months with no help from ANY of the competition. Ditto with Ashton-Tate (dBase). Ditto SPC (Harvard Graphics). Ditto, for the most part, Lotus. Ditto, for the most part, Borland. Ditto Novell. (Read my article "From Godzilla to Gecko" on SMS that covers Novell.) The list goes on and on (and will be covered in greater and more gruesome detail in "Stupidity.")
Even Netscape, where I believe MS clearly went over the line, has itself to blame for a lot of what happened. For instance, no one made M. Andreeson shoot off his big stupid mouth about how his browser was going to kill Windows to everyone who would listen and guarantee B. Gates' full and unrelenting attention. That was the equivalent of taping two raw sirloin steaks to your butt, marching into the cage of a hungry tiger, turning your back on it, executing a bump and grind, then wondering why you no longer had an ass.
In any event, if you have a particular comment you'd like to have included in the follow up interview, post it here or send it to me at rickchapman@csi.com and I'll put it in the hopper.
Thanks, hope those of you who read the article found it at least interesting!
Slashdot Mirror
Part II of the Interview with Joel Spolsky is now up for your perusal.
That wasn't HIS choice. That was my choice. He didn't setup the interview; I did. I was, however, interested in his viewpoint, from a developer's standpoint, on what these companies had done wrong.
www.softwaremarketsolution.com
Hi. I'm Rick Chapman, the guy who runs http://www.softwaremarketsolution.com and the person who put the interview together with Joel. I'm also the author of "The Product Marketing Handbook for Software" and am currently working on my next book "In Search of Stupidity: A Look Back at the Biggest High Tech Marketing Disasters of the 80s and 90s." I've read the statements here with a great deal of interest, and have a couple of comments to make and some info that may be of interest.
First, I'm interested in compiling some of the best observations made about the interview and feeding them to Joel for comment. I think this would provide an interesting counterpoint to his views and provide the opposition its say. I'm also going to run an interview with a prominent open source developer (from a company that is making money) to provide a further contrast, as well as explore the issue of how to make money with open source products.
However, I have to also tell you that most of the companies that have competed against Microsoft have, in the main, ONLY themselves to blame for their respective meltdowns. I went to work for MicroPro (WordStar) in 1983, then the largest microcomputer software company in the world and saw the company destroy itself via an incredible marketing meltdown in 18 months with no help from ANY of the competition. Ditto with Ashton-Tate (dBase). Ditto SPC (Harvard Graphics). Ditto, for the most part, Lotus. Ditto, for the most part, Borland. Ditto Novell. (Read my article "From Godzilla to Gecko" on SMS that covers Novell.) The list goes on and on (and will be covered in greater and more gruesome detail in "Stupidity.")
Even Netscape, where I believe MS clearly went over the line, has itself to blame for a lot of what happened. For instance, no one made M. Andreeson shoot off his big stupid mouth about how his browser was going to kill Windows to everyone who would listen and guarantee B. Gates' full and unrelenting attention. That was the equivalent of taping two raw sirloin steaks to your butt, marching into the cage of a hungry tiger, turning your back on it, executing a bump and grind, then wondering why you no longer had an ass.
In any event, if you have a particular comment you'd like to have included in the follow up interview, post it here or send it to me at rickchapman@csi.com and I'll put it in the hopper.
Thanks, hope those of you who read the article found it at least interesting!
rick