Date:         Tue, 29 Jul 1997 00:04:21 -0400
Reply-To:     Anthony Ayiomamitis <ayiomamitis@IBM.NET>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Anthony Ayiomamitis <ayiomamitis@IBM.NET>
Subject:      Re: Missed opportunity?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Theo DP wrote:
>
> >Subject: Re: Missed opportunity?
> >From: Anthony Ayiomamitis <ayiomamitis@ibm.net>
> >Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 22:20:08 -0400
> >Message-ID: <33DD5358.2614@ibm.net>
> >
> >Beakley,Steve wrote:
> >>
> >> Another thing that just caught my attention.  An associate of mine
> >> mentioned a call to Redmond for technical support - and the fact that
> he
> >> was charged for it!  I didn't realize that Microsoft charged for
> >> technical support.  Don't recall ever getting a bill from SAS for
> >> technical support....
> >>
> >
> >Steve,
> >
> >   You do get a bill from SAS for technical support (and R&D) ... it is
> >sent to you ANNUALLY in the form of the renewal licensing fees. In
> >contrast, with Microsoft, you pay for your product once and you are
> >welcome to use it as long as you like (even in the face of new versions
> >and releases).
> >
> >   SAS however takes a slightly different approach as we all know. One
> >of the reasons is that SAS is geared towards BIG customers ... the
> >little guy (like you and me) is of little concern and this is something
> >that HURTS me as SAS does not see me as part of the marketing
> >philosophy.
> >
> >   If SAS does become extinct one day, I am willing to bet that this
> >philosophy will be one of the main determinants. Now, it has worked for
> >them the past 21 years so I may be wrong.
> >
> >   In fact, given that they are over the hump (i.e. established), they
> >may wish to consider going back to the "smaller guy" so that they can
> >make up ground and/or further entrench the product.
> >
> >Anthony.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> You're right about paying for Microsoft products once:
>
> * You paid once for Microsoft Works...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Word 2.0...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Word 6.0...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office 4.2...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office 4.2 Professional...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office '95 Professional...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office '97 Small Business Edition...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office '97 Standard Edition...
>
> * And once for Microsoft Office '97 Professional...
>
> BTW...Office '98 (and its variants) is almost ready to go!
>
> And don't bother MS if your "paid for" software stops working with their
> DLL upgrades...their official position is that they don't fix anything
> that their upgraded products work with...
 
Theo,
 
    Are you telling me that I can't buy MS Word and nothing else? Are
you also telling me that I have to buy each of the various version of MS
Word that you cite above as part of MS Office 97?
 
    The point that I am making is that you buy the item you want (a
stand-alone product or a suite/bundle) and you are done. With SAS, you
may buy only SAS/BASE but when the deadline expires, all of your data
and customized software (vis a vis SAS programs) are worthless since you
cannot run YOUR programs against YOUR data. In other words, you are held
HOSTAGE and there is nothing you can do (unless you switch to a
different software platform for data and/or software).
 
     With MS Word, I can make changes to my resume today, tomorrow, next
week, next year, next century etc etc .... and not have a worry.
 
Anthony.