>Why do you say that? Because of NT4.0? I don't know if the average home
>computer user would run it, but I have (and many other people serious about
>developing) a development machine running NT4. Another thing, prorgamming
>it is going to be easier then programing the OGO, because if you already
>know Win32 programming, you're pretty much all set. The main reason I
>bailed on writing GEOS apps, was 2 reasons: the SDK is not at all
>convenient, and I didn't have the time to completly learn GOC. But since I
>already know the Win32 API, I could start messing around with WinCE apps as
>soon as I got the SDK.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that there will not be enough
developers for
the WinCE platforms. If the PDA market takes off, there will be developers.
It is
just that I (and probably many others) will not be doing the development.
Take me for example:
I don't use NT4.0. I have Win95 at home for my wife on one computer, OS2 on
the
other, PowerMACS and Workstations at work. Oh yes, I have an OGO120 also.
This I use for the phone, database, quicken, email and agenda. I program in
C(++),
Pascal, Fortran and Basic for everything from data acq & control to
simulation of fluid
flow, heat transfer and mechanical deformation. I do not generally write
programs
for sale in the consumer market. [ I do have a great idea for a new kind of
computer
game, though. :-) ] I will probably write a program or two for the OGO if I
can't find
what I need already written by someone, and suppose that I will make it
available on
the net, but would not invest the time or money to program in WinCE (or
WIN32 for
that matter) unless I needed to learn it for work (which I don't). It would
certainly be money that would stop me before time would (I enjoy
programming and
can always find a little time). But couldn't see shelling out big bucks for
NT workstation
with compiler and utilities to write a few utilities or a small application
program.
(Now if I ever start developing that game, it is another story. ;-) My wife
wouldn't
like NT on her machine (she still has a learning curve with 95), and my OS2
machine
is a 386. Well, you can see that I am not going to be writing WinCE code
anytime soon.
>From what I see available for the OGO, their are not a large number of
people willing to
pay for software for PDA's unless it carries a Microsoft, HP, Quicken or some
such name on it, and it is targeted at business people who need it when
they are away
from the office. The best utilities and apps are written without a
realistic chance of
seeing anywhere near the return one would need to pay a decent hourly wage,
much less
buy an NT workstation for programming. It is a real opportunity for
midnight engineering.
WinCE developers are going to have to compete with Microsoft with all of
their built in
advantages: money, marketing, familiarity with the op sys. If the market
either does not
stay small or does not become very large, midnight engineers will be
squeezed out. Take
communications programs. Tell me that Microsoft won't port a MMail/Explorer
version to
WinCE if demand warrants it. And people will buy it sight unseen, because
it will be marketed
(or bundled) like the product they use on their PC. I am not going to be
able to compete in
that market.
Content providers might be better off. Maps and travel resources are a good
bet. A
connection to the internet could provide up to the minute additions to
content on a
PCMCIA card or minidisk. Cellular connections and GPS could even be integrated
with the product. Although if it makes money, you will soon have unfriendly
competition.
Well, those were my thoughts or rambles. Remember you asked.
Ciao,
Chris
Christopher Paradies, Ph.D.
internet: paradies@epfl.ch
member: TMS, Sigma Xi
address: EPFL, LMPH, DMX-G 333, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland