Quote: “The only thing we can do is hope and ask politely.”
My understanding is, that there has been a profound shortage of good, experienced programmers, for some considerable time.
Not simply good programmers, but also programmers whose salary expectations, directly correspond with the smaller budgets that specialist companies can afford.
I know programmers who are at this moment totally inundated with work, their hours elongated as the work continues to pile up. I am told that this situation has been exacerbated as certain large companies have stooped to poaching programmers from smaller companies, with remaining loyal staff, facing backlogs of work.
At times, the remaining programmers are permitted to have holidays.
Inconvenient to business as this is, it seems churlish to deny them.
There are genuine reasons smaller companies need to clearly focus on the absolute priorities for their business.
Almost everyday some bright spark has an idea for an extra feature they would like to be incorporated into a product, that few others, if any at all, require.
Whilst on occasion, some ideas are actually implementable with relative ease, they are likely to be the exception, rather than the rule, because of the reasons described above.
RME products seem to me to have an extraordinary advantage over many other manufacturers products. Its that an immensely profound amount of attention has been focussed on their initial design concept.
The targeted consumer for their product ranges, their expectations and requirements have been analysed with meticulous care and fully provided for. Such that implementation of their product designs, pack so much into so little space, with such efficiency, that additions requested later, would often necessitate a complete redesign.
Although, it is also true to say that their brilliantly conceived designs often provide for future developments where possible, such is the excellence of their implementation.
The late Rupert Neve intimated “implementation is everything”.
Once series production is under way, to make even a most minor change in the major industries I have an interest in, would cost many, many, millions to implement.
What new product development, necessary existing product update, or customers service needs, do you believe RME should bring to a halt, in order to address the requests in this thread?
How much work, far more important to the sustainability, future development and expansion of their business should they abandon? How much will that really cost in terms of losing competitive edge to other manufacturers and lost timing in product to market schedules?
If they were able to afford to hire more good programmers and the cost distributed to existing Windows and Macintosh users by way of higher product prices, making their products less competitive in the market place, losing that unique niche’ of quality, features and value, would that be a responsible decision for a CEO to make?
And how fraternally equitable would that be for the overwhelming masses, all non-Linux users, the people that faithfully bought their product to use within its stated specification parameters, who would pay such a heavy price in such circumstances?
By the way, blaming people is not my style, pointing out the sophism in fallacious arguments is. So, here’s another I would respectfully request you to consider.
Quote: “we could discuss how much work is required to support Linux and how to get there.”
On the surface, this statement seems sweet reason itself.
However, it contains an implicit, underlying, basic false assumption.
That is, after discussion and work, it is possible to arrive at the sought result.
The foreseeable, unforeseen problem that belies this statement, is of course that having provided Linux Drivers. Daily, weekly, monthly, annually ongoing demands for support, future development, and customer service requests will require the services of highly specialised programmers to address.
We have already established, there is a world-wide shortage of such talented individuals.
Put simply.
With respect, you imagine that developing Linux Drivers is all that is required. You see it as an arrival platform. A final destination.
Whereas, in reality, it is nothing of the sort. Understood correctly, it is in fact merely a departure platform, the beginning of a journey.
And the entire necessary aspects of providing completely adequate resources, on an ongoing basis for an additional Operating System, are involved.
Please appreciate, I am not trying to argue with you.
Rather, to highlight the fact that the simplicity with which this issue appears to be viewed by certain Linux users, is wholly delusional.
The bigger picture of the world in which the commercial manufacturing industry thrives, is far, far more complex altogether. That is the world in which RME has to compete.
