On October 25, 2016 at 01:28 rfg@tristatelogic.com (Ronald F. Guilmette) wrote:
The fundamental economics have not changed. It pays to design and ship things. It doesn't pay to support them afterwards. This isn't going to change.
It is common to include "goodwill" on the balance sheet, but unless I'm mistaken, for most companies this does not represent a significant fraction of shareholder equity.
I suppose that's the "one born every minute!" theory of product development. And there's truth to it no doubt. Marketing travels a lot faster and more efficiently than awareness of poor support or quality issues is another way to state that. Which is one reason why product areas tend to evolve regulatory structures both public (e.g., US FTC) and private (e.g., Underwriters Laboratory) thus getting some sort of quality and support push-back other than the bare-knuckle market. -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | bzs@TheWorld.com | http://www.TheWorld.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD | 800-THE-WRLD The World: Since 1989 | A Public Information Utility | *oo*