Subject: Re: The Lightwave Upgrade Forum
From: [email-masked] (Syndesis Corporation)
To: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 21:35:48 +0600

Joe Angell <[email-masked]> writes:

>ON A SIDE NOTE:  I see one big problem with the multi-platform LightWave: 
>PLug-ins.  Now, while plug-ins are a good thing, I'm gonna be REALLY
>pissed if they release a plug-in for the system I don't use, but then
>don't port it over to my system so I can use it.  I don't want to have to
>get a MIPS, Alpha, Pentium, Amiga AND the upcoming PowerMac version of
>LightWave AND all the CPUs to go with it just to run a freaking plug-in

I agree, everyone's Toaster still probably works and still does all the
cool things it did when they bought it.  The fact that LightWave came with
it was nifty; it got so popular that NewTek unbundled it.

As for plug-ins, think about the investment required by the plug-in 
developer: buy a new system (Alpha / MIPS / PowerPC / SGI) for each platform,
as well as compiler and developer tools, then hope they can sell 
enough plug-ins to justify all that capital investment.

Let's say it'll cost $5K each for the above three non-Intel platforms,
for hardware, OSes and compilers.  $20K amortized over 18 months means
about $1100 of profit to find each month, divide that by the number of
plug-ins you might sell, and the net of each.

It might not be outlandish to assume that LightWave will sell 100:1
with Intel versus everything else.  It's safe to assume your plug-in
will arrive on Intel first.