| The Usenet group with the highest volume is alt.sex.pictures. The last
statistic I saw (they are done monthly) said that alt.sex.pictures
accounted for fully 14% of the Usenet internet flow -- out of nearly
two thousand groups. (To be sure, Usenet is just the "news" groups,
which is only a part of Usenet, which includes private mail, FTP
access, et cetera.) Sex appeals to more than a million people, and it
would be of interest to 10- to 18-year-olds. (Although most of them
wouldn't be allowed to see what's in alt.sex.pictures.)
I'm not suggesting Digital go into business selling/transmitting
sexually-oriented pictures, but the issue of sex (and free speech in
other particulars and in general) is something any network provider is
going to have to deal with.
Another business concern Digital should have is Nintendo's marketing
practices and reputation. Several store managers have told me of
Nintendo's sleazy marketing techniques -- don't sell competing,
unlicensed products or we will withhold our products. Several
periodicals have described Nintendo's sleazy licensing techniques --
sign an agreement not to distribute your software on other company's
systems for five years or we will withhold our products. From nearly,
the beginning, Nintendo has been the subject of lawsuits and
Congressional investigation.
Digital's concerns then are: Does Digital want to do business with
such an ethically questionable company -- is it consistent with
Digital's values? Will any of the tarnish on Nintendo rub off on
Digital? As Nintendo's partner, will Digital be involved in any sleazy
techniques? As Nintendo's partner, will Digital be the target of any
sleazy techniques?
-- edp
|
| Sorry, but I still think that home access to online information still has
huge financial potential. Even though company after company seem to go out
of business.
Let's see, my son just turned twelve. He's been playing Nintendo for four
years. It's a part of his daily life. He has subscribed to Nintendo Power
for three years, and pays for that with "his" money. When he comes with me
to work for an occassional day, he spends most the day reading this Nintendo
Notes Conference to pick up new tips.
How about putting Nintendo Power (back issues, too) up in a VTX infobase, and
making it available to subscribers. The power of this would be the indexing
capability to find answers quickly to problems. Whether my son subscribed
to the magazine or to a VTX application is immaterial, I think. (I could
probably put a demo together for you, if you're interested.)
Being able to order hard-to-find games electronically would be a useful
feature for Nintendo users. How many of us parents have had to scour the
countryside for just "the" game? Obviously, there would be major security
issues to resolve here. (We run an application here in my group for DEC
employees to find and order internal documentation -- VTX SMC.) What the
heck, charge the non-Nintendo advertisers, too.
Notes conferences (like this one) in a public forum would be incredibly
powerful for the 10 to 18-year-old age group. It will happen eventually,
and Nintendo could be the one to pull it off. The topic of Nintendo would
be the hook for kids to iron the bugs out of the delivery system, and then,
the kids can show it to their parents to start them using it to access other
Conferences (look at EASYNOTES.LIS for ideas).
I've become used to paying for cable TV. I suppose I can get used to paying
for another entertainment/information service. Just make the billing for
it simple -- and not contingent on the number of hours I use it.
- Jim
|