Re: Informix On-Line Books

[much of this snipped for brevity] Tom wrote: > > Billy: > > IMHO<only> A readers degree of "gifted"ness bears no relation to the > completeness and accessability of a set of manuals. Readers do not > produce the manuals, tech writers on schedules with or without their own > training and assistance from developers do. And what is the measure of the lowest common denominator in the readership? How does one become worthy enough to be a reader? By mere employment? I would not be able to read many medical or legal publications because the material is for a specific audience. I think the same is true for the manuals a software vendor provides. Training is almost avoidable, and highly recommended for the increasingly sophisticated software available to business. If you can't get the training, you do a lot of reading of books/materials on your own time. > I would also like to comment > that most training classes I've seen/been to have been way,way > overpriced for the value they transmit. And what is the measure for pricing the training? Usually it's what the market will bear, not unlike the price for the software. Unfortunately what I think you may be complaining about is the cost to the individual developer is high for small shops, and a bargain for big shops. Someday maybe Informix will provide cost-effective support to small shops that is as scalable in price as the software. But the pricing does not scale like the software. Informix could easily fall into the rolls royce trap and end up alienating everyone with Universal Server--but hey I could be wrong. I would like to get a copy, but I hear the gouge is on, and a 5-user license will be required. At $2500 a user, I will be looking at other solutions besides Universal Server. So the training won't be necessary for me either. :-) US just won't be <that> great. Someday they will see the distinction and separation that a developer should not, and does not, have to be attached to a big corporation in order to be an Informix developer. This would allow the single, atomic unit, the developer, to participate in viewing on-line via the web, bug reports and other pertinent information about Informix software besides just the thin content on the informix home page. It could allow for single-user-license pricing for developers like me that endorse without a commission Informix products on a daily basis. It could allow for cost-effective, scalable training prices. It would probably increase the quality of the average informix software developer and user. It might even allow the training to increase in value as the developers would be expecting more from the training, and a whole new series of training programs could result, all from increased awareness from developers and users. Doesn't take much creativity to think this up, but the chances of it happening...hmmmmm...I'll believes it when I sees it. Tim -- Tim Schaefer \\\\|// tschaefe@mindspring.com (6 6) Orlando, FL, USA, Earth -------------------------------oOOo---( )---o00o-------------------------------- WWW: http://www.mindspring.com/~tschaefe Liberty: http://www.lp.org Informix FAQ: http://www.iiug.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------