Re: Concretizing the theorizing

Mark Waks (justin@dsd.camb.inmet.com)
Thu, 27 Apr 95 13:33:20 EDT

Andrew writes:
>How is any of this helped by being on the Internet? In fact, I think the
>Internet would make it much worse. A host may only have the resources to
>store two or three versions of a space, so those who need representations
>of another type cannot understand that host. If I were selling CDs, I
>would only sell one which is of the correct representative type to a
>particular customer, or I would risk losing that customer. In other words:
>I would sell a Japanese represented space in Japan, and a Chinese one in
>China. On the Internet, you have to please everyone with the same product,
>and so you have to make that product so flexible that it demands more
>host resources than the average space author can afford.

I'm sorry, but this *is* nonsense. As a rule of thumb, producing a
product on CD-ROM is orders of magnitude more expensive than making
it available on the Net. (Assuming the Net is capable of handling
that product -- many technologies aren't yet Net-distributable as
easily as they can be distributed on CD-ROM.)

I think it's pretty safe to assert that producing a variant
page/binary/whatever on the Web is far cheaper than producing it
on CD-ROM; this is actually an argument *for* Internet
distribution. CD-ROM distribution is best in mass-market situations,
where everyone is getting *exactly* the same product; Internet
distribution works far better when you're trying to customize. The
more you're customizing, the more expensive CD-ROMs get, but Internet
distribution gets only slightly more expensive. In other words, you've
got your economics precisely backwards here -- if you can afford
CD-ROM (in more than trivial quantities), you can afford Internet
distribution, but not necessarily vice-versa.

There are still good reasons to distribute on CD-ROM -- it's much
faster for most people, has capabilities that aren't yet available on
the Net, and is currently more nearly universal. But this argument is
a poor justification -- anyone who is trying to customize their
products to the degree you suggest would be well-advised to
investigate Internet distribution, moreso as the Net matures over the
next couple of years...

(I'd say that CD-ROM is a technology that's probably on its way out in
the long run -- once broadband Net to the home is real (and it is
likely to be within ten years), read-only high-density media start
becoming a *lot* less attractive. (*Writeable* high-density media are
another story.) But *today* it still has some powerful strengths.)

-- Justin

Random Quote du Jour:

"That's the main problen, is that many parents today don't bother to
take the time to talk with their kids, to instill values in them.
They figure its easier to just complain and have the government
pass laws. Then they don't have to bother communicating with their
kids."
-- Paul Silver