a general question that everyone asks himself... about Parallax
rjo_
Posts: 1,825
I see a Parallax product... on the other hand I also see a way to do it myself... which might equally benefit Parallax... but I don't know for sure... how do I ask without bothering anyone?
I'll·give a hypothetical example... Viewport.· Never would I do anything that would touch Viewport right now because I know that both Parallax and Hanno have a deep vested interest in this product... but that won't always be true.· Someday, Parallax will have its investment back and Hanno won't really need ViewPort for his livelihood... and there are companies out there that want to do it for themselves... that would be time for "FreePort."·
My idea... would be for Parallax to put a little icon on the product page... which basically means...:"don't touch this... we need it right now."
Rich
Post Edited (rjo_) : 5/19/2010 5:49:41 PM GMT
I'll·give a hypothetical example... Viewport.· Never would I do anything that would touch Viewport right now because I know that both Parallax and Hanno have a deep vested interest in this product... but that won't always be true.· Someday, Parallax will have its investment back and Hanno won't really need ViewPort for his livelihood... and there are companies out there that want to do it for themselves... that would be time for "FreePort."·
My idea... would be for Parallax to put a little icon on the product page... which basically means...:"don't touch this... we need it right now."
Rich
Post Edited (rjo_) : 5/19/2010 5:49:41 PM GMT
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- Stephen
Rich
They appear to have misplaced their corporate greed - how is it that they act like they are profitable???
Rich H
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The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
In business, the company I work for buys competitor's products and our competitors also buy and resell our products.
·
About profit. You're right - we want to make a profit and I'll tell you why: reinvest! Are you familiar with the Federal Government's Section 179 (part of the Economic Investment and Recovery Act)? This allows small companies to depreciate capital equipment purchases (manufacturing equipment) up to $250K (or thereabouts) in the year they were purchased. But there's a hitch: this tax deduction is only useful if you have a profit! In other words, a $100K machine may only cost you about $50K if you can depreciate the whole expense. . . . but you must have a profit to benefit from the expense and reduce your net income.
Profit is also necessary to provide a financial statement to lenders (Propeller shuttles and some inventory can be very expensive), bonuses to staff, etc.
We're here for the long term and profit is absolutely necessary to maintain a solid business with some moderate growth. It's a necessary component for a business simply for the reason that it enables a new product line that inspires customers and allows them to create innovations from which they can also profit.
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Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/ParallaxKen for some insider news.
gets better and cheaper.
Parallax seems to be an exception to the general rule that profit
is all that matters. They really do seem to have a zeal
for the technology for its own sake and treat customers well.
I don't think we will be seeing a site like parallaxsux.com anytime soon.
Most businesses end up with a ...sux.com site sooner or later, generally
well deserved.
Competition is not good for everyone. In every competition there is a winner and a loser. Everyone else might benefit but not the loser.
The way to avoid competition is to seek a niche for which there is no competition. The fact that you got to that perch first doesn't mean that perch will always belong to you... So, you always need to be thinking about where next to go.
In medicine we have a dictum... "first, do no harm." If we have to benefit ourselves by harming someone else... it is just a miserable zoo that we live in.
I have rarely competed for anything... and when I did, I was always surrounded by people, who were cheating.
If you like competition... go at it. For me... point me to that un-seated perch. I have always found a comfortable place to sit. And I have never had to look back and wonder what happen to that poor guy I just ran over.
Rich
Many "inferior" products win. Remember BetaMax? Better Quality image, smaller tape cartridge, better underlying technology, better slo-motion (and who at that time didn't want to play with slo-mo). It lost, largely because of Sony's choice not to license the technology to third parties until it was too late. They chose to lose to VHS. VHS did not "win", Sony chose to lose.
You design/build/sell something. The guy down the road does the same, and better. How does this hurt you? It only hurts you if you choose to do nothing, and say "poor me". For the "winners" it is incentive to take things to the next level, and beat the guy down the road at his own game, or find a way to change the game.
If I was a small town mom and pop retailer, would I fear Walmart? Most do, but I would not. I would do the one thing they can't do (actually two things), I'd charge more, but service the customer with quality and service like they've never seen before. I would choose not to lose. If my product couldn't be sold that way (higher quality and service) I'd go USMC (Improvise, Adapt, Overcome) and find another set of products.
I'm sorry, I have to agree with the (decidedly "Ms.") Holly Minkowski, competition is good for EVERYONE. (Sorry Holly, your 15 minutes isn't going to die down as fast as it should.)
(Knowing of one of the few instances that will get Ken's ire up, maybe we can clarify this with "Legal and Honest Competition".)
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John R.
Click here to see my Nomad Build Log
"Fail early and fail often!"
Those are the words of advice given by a recently retired Boeing engineer friend of mine (who has several inventions and patents to his name) when asked about the secret to his success.
Rich H
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The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
For me success is the reward for getting through failures.
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Check out the Propeller Wiki·and contribute if you can.
It isn't all about winning and losing.· It is about satisfying the customer and providing a service and sometimes it is providing a service that someone else is not providing.
..."Thomas Edison, who said, "I have not failed 10,000 times. I have
successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." REFERENCE The
World Bank. 1994. World Development Report 1994: Infrastructure for
Development. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press..."
The first one is a high-volume chip programmer that accepts rails of PIC or SX chips. This project took about $100K and it was never finished. But, here's the part that's really interesting. The engineer who was designing the high-volume chip programmer wanted to do something else because his heart wasn't in it after a year and a half. Guess what he designed next? The Boe-Bot!
And there are others, too, on the same shelf.
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Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/ParallaxKen for some insider news.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 5/20/2010 4:26:03 AM GMT
When I played Track and Cross Coutry in High School, there was a requirement that at least (about) seven people had to compete to have a team and that is risky because you have to have alternates in case someone gets hurt or your team can be disqualified for not playing by the rules.
Our coach had a college coach visit us and he told us how important that each one of us were because without us, our coach wouldn't have a job and we wouldn't have a team and it is important for a school to have a team.· He said that scholarships were available for people who just come out and join the team because colleges sell tickets to sporting events and they like to have people come out.· When people are participating, parents are cheering.· People get involved and they help the school.
It is sort of like participatory management where people feel like they are valued and are a part of it.· They feel they have part ownership so they make contributions and take care of the product more.· It is sort of what you are doing because I read that you have a customer or two helping add their imput into the next prop chip:
"Four customers/partners are participating in a focus group and are providing input along the way."
·http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=908003
So it isn't all about winning though we all like to win and winning is very important but it is about an overall experience, having fun and being part of a team that carries over towards your customers.
Chuck
It makes that product more appealing. You have more options when using that product.
I think the worst thing would be to come out with a product like the Propeller, then be "ignored" and there not be any 3rd party products.
The word is "synergy". Your product would help to make the Propeller a more attractive product for purchase. And the more people who purchased the Propeller, the more people who would be interested in your product!
The rules of the game are no copying though.
And if you could "design a better mousetrap", then as they say, "The world will beat a path to your door"!
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·"If you build it, they will come."
Why are there any rules at all ?
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"Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?"
That's my experience. Most people don't need rules. They behave themselves and respect other people and other people's property. But every once and awhile you get that one person who steps all over everyone. Then the rules signs go up!
Speaking of rules/laws, there have been some pretty funny laws on the books in the past. And the reason they were created in the first place was because of that one person, so you know someone did whatever the rule/law is saying not to do. (Like don't put the plastic bag over your head warnings.) Here are some...
http://www.speakeasy.org/~dewan/funny_laws.htm
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Couldn't agree more!!
Collaboration with project code, (made easy now with the MIT license) has created some of the finer objects we have
for the Propeller. If we build on each others ideas many more objects can and will continue to be improved!
OBC
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"In Connecticut, bicyclists traveling in excess of 65 miles per hour can be stopped by the police." This makes sense. You are speeding. I have gotten up to 65km/h when going down hill in a 50 zone. It is possible to break speed limits on a bike. Just not easy.
There is no way though that "In Memphis, Tennessee, no woman may operate a car unless a man is running or walking in front of the car waving a red flag to warn approaching pedestrians and motorists." Would be allowed to remain. There would be public uproar from feminists everywhere.
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