On Thu, 11 Nov 1999 19:10:28   Todd Nathan wrote:
>Got an thought  (amazing isn't it), mostly on the stability side for the
>SqkCentral folks.
>
>As history points out, when things get bad (for apple say) the good
>(like Squeak, SK8, Dylan and others) have a tendancy to go away.
>Disney is in the process of announcing some difficult  times with
>earnings, one of its strong points, not its stock value.
>
>Is Squeak going to be orphaned like it was 3 years ago due to this
>expansion into Asia (read we need some $$$, cut costs helps) and
>trying hard for 2-3 and possibly more quarters to get a balanced and
>strong 20% growth again?  With the value of DIS stock in the past
>10 months going to almost 1/2 of its high value, and nowhere in
>net value over the past 12 months, downgraded to a Hold instead
>from Strong Buy (significant IMHO) I had to wonder how this plays
>for Squeak as a system and product.  In/significant?.
>
>Check out:
>
>http://biz.yahoo.com/n/d/dis-3.html
>
>for more links to all sorts of Disney business related information.
>
>Is Squeak that integral in Disney that unless the SqkCentral building
>collapses Squeak is going to be a Disney project?  Does it even need
>to be a WDI project?  Is it even a WDI now, or is it more in the  
>OpenSource
>stage and WDI is just one of the vendors of Squeak?  Or is it more
>like somewhere in the gray area in between?
>
>Thanks, just a curious viewer of a particular channel on my local  
>cable system ;'P
>
>\t
>
>PS.  On the gossip side, does Eisner even know that Squeak/WDI exists?
>
>

Todd,

I think asking the question you ask is
a little unfair.  How can anyone -- even,
say, Mr Eisner -- provide the guarantee you
seem to seek?  Things do change.

I think it's enough that while a large
company with its share of problems that
come with that turf, Disney has IMO an
amazing ability to profess and practice a
coherent set of corporate values and to do
the right thing by far most of the time.  
If you want examples, contact me personally.
I have no official position with Disney.
My only relationship is as stockholder and
long-term admirer.

Mr Eisner has said, in press releases, for
instance, that Microsoft may well be Disney's
future major competitor.  Surely, Microsoft
is aligning itself with content producers
such as Dreamworks.  And I don't think it's
accidental that Steve Jobs 3D effects company
was used for "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life", etc.

Squeak is a risk, both business and technical.
Disney has invested in it, in many other
bright folks like Danny Hillis, Marvin Minsky,
Seymour Papert, and of course and most
significantly Alan Kay.  That's a commitment.

I think most folks here are placing their
bets on the side of Squeak, working towards
a coherent future, and keeping fingers 
crossed.

Todd, why don't you join up?

---
___________________________________________
demiourgos at smalltalk.org        squeak.org/
home.stny.rr.com/algebraist/ 
www.smalltalk.org/ jtgalkowski at alum.mit.edu



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