Simpler should be cheaper. Or not?
Say you have two identical products on the market—word processors, for example. For the sake of argument, let’s make these two, X and Y, almost exactly the same. But product X is written in tight assembly language, fits on a floppy disk, and takes up 30K of memory. Product Y is written in some high-level language, comes on a CD-ROM, and takes up 500 megabytes on your hard drive. Which will outsell the other? I argue that the packed CD-ROM always will, because the public will perceive it as a greater value. You’re getting more for your money.
I would go so far as to argue that the CD-ROM product could even run slower (which obviously would be the case), and you’d still have more people buying it. The 30K program could compete only by being cheaper!
Now imagine the 30K product has tight, fast, bug-free code, but is more expensive. What would be the result?
John Dvorak, on expectations and economy [and Apple]
[x]#971 fan vrijdag 31 december 2004 @ 20:00:00
