Sound Ideas banned from filePro conference

[Fairlight]

Y'all catch dis heeyah?  Larry Hoover been jivin' 'bout like:
> I was told by Dave Stauble of Sound Ideas that he was not allowed to 
> present at the filePro conference because his Reface product is a 
> competitor to filePro GI.

That may seem like "good business" on one hand, but I see it as a sign of
complete lack of faith in their own product on the other side of the coin.

When you have to resort to censorship of any sort to achieve your goals,
you've already lost half the battle, and you just lost most of the moral
high ground.  I'm sorry, but that's the way I see it no matter who the
players are, from inter-company conflicts, to citizen vs government, to
media companies vs artists.

The -only- thing that gives them a leg to stand on is that it's their
conference, they can do whatever they like.  That doesn't mean it's a good
idea.  You buy a gun, you technically -can- fire it into your own foot.
That's not exactly a brilliant strategic decision.

> I don't know how other people may feel, but as the GI product is so 
> limited, something like Reface may be the only glimmer of hope to 
> keeping filePro alive in the GUI world.  I, for one, would love to see a 
> presentation from third party vendors like Sound Ideas.  I have already 
> concluded that fpgi will not suit my needs, and banning them from the 
> conference will not change my mind.  I don't see Reface as a competitor, 
> I see it as an enhancement.

I don't even see them as being in the same arena, based on every shred
of anecdotal relation that's been sent my way.  It's like trying to say
the space shuttle competes with the original Wright Brothers plane, just
because both can fly.  (Let's not get into the "flying brick" aerodynamics,
you get the idea.)

> Any comments on this?

Yeah, they're not only screwing Dave at SI, they're screwing themselves.
But why break with longstanding tradition?

The reality is, Reface can do more to make fP relevant (again?) than GI
could ever hope to do.  Period.  It's a stronger technology, backed by a
company with experience in integration work.  That experience is important.

The fact that they're willing to cut off their nose to spite their face is
their own problem, by and large.  They're looking at the small picture,
IMHO:  "We have a competing product."  (Whatever...)  The big picture in
reality is, "They have a better product.  If we let them present and people
buy into it to use with filePro, we re-solidify our flagship product's
standing within the GUI market, and both SI and fP-Tech win.  Not only
that, the users win."

Let alone the fact that John Esak went to bat for Reface, citing it as an
excellent product, but I -never- saw that kind of glowing endorsement from
him for GI at any point in time.  What's -that- say?  That tells me that
if a hardcore loyalist is in the other camp with a product line, you've
already lost the battle on that front, so cut your losses and take the
route that stands to gain you the most from here on out--not keep fighting
a war you cannot win based on past expenditures.

That's big-picture thinking.  But again, why break with tradition?

SI went to a lot of trouble to specialise Reface towards fP, from the
looks of their screenshots.  I know if I were in their place, I'd be
royally P.O.'d.  That's a hell of a payback for doing a lot for "the
competition".

Why don't they understand--yet--that the users, and the companies that
provide shimware and integration software, are a major factor in their
ability to move new product?  But nope, let's tick off the users -and- the
companies that could be strategic partners, rather than seen as enemies.

It's idiotic, IMHO.

mark->
-- 
Most people think the defining traits of human beings are intelligence,
speech, writing, or creativity.  The sad reality is that the most singular
defining quality of humanity is cruelty.  No other species appears to be so
able and willing to inflict pain on its brethren for no logical reason.