<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"><HTML><HEAD><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1276" name=GENERATOR></HEAD><BODY><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004> Hell VRFer's</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>Rod, That was great, I got a chuckle from #2. It reminded me of a drug dealer giving the free sample to get the user hooked then charging for everything after that. I love the idea of Vee becoming main stream for things other than just T & M. It could happen but for two problems I have been complaining about for years. </SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>1. VEE does not have the ability to generate an EXE or other file that runs on system OS's. The installation of the runtime and IO Libs make it difficult for an easy sell. </SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>2. The "Look and Feel" of being a real windows program keep it from being a main stream program. An example would be one of my favorite complaints, the menus and toolbars. The .Net support may lend itself to solving this, But alas I am not skilled in the ways of .net and know not how this is to be done. More examples, and some of this type of use of the .net feature would also greatly help sell VEE to the world currently occupied by NI.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>Would it really be that hard to create a compiler for VEE to allow EXE's?? Dunno, but I for one would love to see it.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>Another marketing suggestion may be found right here on the VRF. I for one would love to tout VEE to schools and colleges and would work for "VEE" or to be more specific a full licensed copy for me at home. I would donate a couple visits to a few local schools and colleges per month, if Agilent would help set this up and donate the copies for said institutions. </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>What the heck, I get every other Friday off. To spend 2 or three hours every week or two to introduce VEE and VRF to the world might just be fun. Scott And Nicole I as well appreciate and applaud all your efforts and wonder if any of the above would be possible.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>As for the support issue, maybe I am missing something but I get great support form Agilent and the VRF. I had a problem just the other day with a vee.io file not working or being saved with the program. When I called for support the T&M Call center put me right through to an engineer who post here and he was suspicious that it might be more than a little problem so he connected me to "someone at the factory" , whose name I will also not mention so as not to embarrass Scott, who took care of my questions. So am I missing something on that??</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004>Mark</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=137280918-31032004></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> ramarquardt@ra.rockwell.com [mailto:ramarquardt@ra.rockwell.com]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, March 31, 2004 9:49 AM<BR><B>To:</B> VRF<BR><B>Cc:</B> ramarquardt@tds.net; marquardt@characterlink.net<BR><B>Subject:</B> [vrf] The future of vee marketing? Another two cents (more or less) worth<BR><BR></DIV></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Hello All,</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>VEE is GREAT ! So is the Mac OS.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>The discussions so far - point heavily to VEE marketing to make or break VEE.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Apple could NOT figure out a way to out market MicroSoft, hence the stagnation of</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>an excellent OS for personal computers. Windows is an awfull OS both for the user</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>and the programmer. In spite of that we all use Windows, why? Marketing of course.</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>The biggest marketing detriment is the loss of the HP name. Once HP T&M became</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Agilent - their name became known only to those in the world of T&M and then only</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>those already familiar with HP T&M [a pretty large percentage no doubt].</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Every one in the world [even in many third world countries] knows HP.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>They should have retained the HP name and called it "HP Test and Measurement</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Corporation" or something like that.</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Some suggestions:</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>1) Work some deal with HP to get the name back. This would be worth "All The Tea In China" - so to speak.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>2) For the short term, treat VEE as a marketing tool to leverage sales.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> As long as Agilent treats it as a source of income it will languish. Once it comes</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> into common use, income could be generated by selling upgrades, features</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> and add ons.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>3) Get VEE onto to every household, grade school, high school and college PC</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> Make a non T&M version and give it away free. Include some MATLAB capability</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> for high school and college users (maybe a small FEE?).</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> Get computer manufacters to bundle it with their PC's [HP/Compaq shouldn't be too difficult?]</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>4) Sell the T&M component(s) or version separately.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> Income can be generated here but I suggest lowering the cost, give more away free.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> Sell or give away more value adds - tools & components to Test Engineers even more</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> productive. VEE is an extremely high productivity tool, better than anything out there [that</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> I know of], show the world! I would LOVE to have a copy for home use, but I won't pay</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> $100's for it when I can get lots of free stuff my kids can learn on.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>5) Advertise. Show how easily kids can learn computer programming and be able to use it</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> to automate repetitive tasks [school - home - etc]; to make games, to make internet</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> games [like the battle ship sample]. They could make their own tutoring applications</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> to execute multiplication drills, etc. Agilent needs a vision to win in the market place.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>6) For T&M make sure there are a very intelligent set of instrument drivers for both Agilent and</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> all competitors equipment. Especially for outdated instruments that many of us are still</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> stuck with. The goal should be to make your customers productive - don't make them</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> write instrument drivers [provide a good tool to teach them how in case they want to];</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> help them succeed by getting their Test Equipment into production faster. Why should</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> we have 1000's of folks all developing their own versions of instrument drivers. Develop</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> a standard than will be backwards compatible with old style drivers or driver interfaces.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>7) NEVER drop support of old products. We were burned when TDE support was dropped by</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> HP/Agilent. They lost a lot of trust as a business because we had $5M of equipment</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> running TDE with no migration path. All that was needed was for Agilent to provide</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> a VEE TDE Library to allow transition of our test software from UNIX based systems</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> to PC's. I reverse engineered my own TDE library which covered the small portion</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> my department was using but we still have $5M of equipment stuck with UNIX (too</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> costly to rewrite 1000's of test programs just to eliminate TDE). Our leadership</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> even stopped looking at Agilent for big test items like the 3070 and AOI because</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> of that. It is very likely management here will dictate us to drop VEE altogether.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>8) Provide tools to integrate test automation with VEE in manufacturing. Like Machine</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2> Vision.</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2><BR><BR>Rob Marquardt</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>One For VEE - VEE For All !!!!</FONT> --- You are currently subscribed to vrf as: Mark.Goldberg@ATK.COM To subscribe send a blank email to "join-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com". To unsubscribe send a blank email to "leave-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com". To send messages to this mailing list, email "vrf@agilent.com". If you need help with the mailing list send a message to "owner-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com".</BLOCKQUOTE>---<BR>You are currently subscribed to vrf as: rsb@soco.agilent.com<BR>To subscribe send a blank email to "join-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com".<BR>To unsubscribe send a blank email to "leave-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com".<BR>To send messages to this mailing list, email "vrf@agilent.com". <BR>If you need help with the mailing list send a message to "owner-vrf@it.lists.it.agilent.com".</BODY></HTML>