Tweney.com - Learning to surf

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5 . 10 . 1999

Internet business news and analysis. by Dylan Tweney

Learning to surf

Click here for Net Prophet - News bites - Inbox

LOTUS NOTES is a bloated, overrated piece of software. I've never liked the Notes client, and it's been my principal e-mail program since I started in computer publishing in 1991. Notes has an irritatingly inconsistent user interface, it's slow, it locks up my computer while it processes simple commands such as deleting old messages, and replication is a frustrating and time-consuming irritation.

And, it turns out, the Notes/Domino server is a poor Internet mail server, with a liberal interpretation of SMTP/POP3 mail transmission and formatting standards, and an almost complete disregard for MIME attachment standards. I never thought any organization would use Notes primarily as an Internet mail server, but that's just what Bowling Green State University did.

Vic Norton at BGSU has extensively documented Notes' failings as an Internet mail server (which he calls a "POOP" server, for Post Office "Odd" Protocol), on his Web site [1]. Although it focuses solely on Notes' capabilities as an Internet mail server, this is one of the most detailed and damning reviews of Notes I've read yet.

[1] The Straight POOP (about BGNET)

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TAYLOR GUITARS shut down its dealers' online sales operations last week, as I reported in the most recent Tweney Report [2]. Since I wrote that item, I had a chance to speak with T. J. Baden, VP of Sales for Taylor Guitars [3]. According to Baden, letting dealers sell Taylor guitars over the Internet led very quickly to profit margin erosion for *all* dealers, not just those selling online -- and the online dealers were taking sales away from the offline dealers. As Baden put it, "a small group were taking advantage of the Internet without contributing anything."

This wasn't very good for the Taylor brand, either, Baden concedes. As a maker of high-end, expensive guitars, the company feels it's important to preserve the element of "face to face" comparison. In other words, it's harder to sell Cadillacs for a premium price if you can't get customers to take the cars for a test drive. The average Taylor customer spends 6 months looking for a new guitar and tries 20 models in 5 or 6 different retail outlets during that time, Baden says. These are picky consumers, with several thousand dollars to spend on an instrument. Taylor, naturally, wants to preserve the hands-on comparisons where its products really stand out to those customers.

Since discontinuing Internet sales by Taylor dealers, Baden says his mail has been running 20-1 in support of the new policy. Dealers who didn't jump feet-first into online sales are very relieved, after watching their profit margins fall steadily over the last year. "We're a small industry based primarily of independent dealers -- and they're scared," Baden said. "We don't want to be in this thing at the cost of our partners."

[2] The Tweney Report: I-commerce on the cheap (see "Forward-thinking company" item)

[3] Taylor Guitars

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DEPT. OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Matt Lake and I co-wrote an Arthurian-themed feature on how to search the Web for the June issue of PC World. You'll find "Find It on the Web" at link [4] below. But if you get a chance to check out the print edition, do so -- the design people at PC World put together some really cool illustrations for this piece. From Matt's excellent introduction:

Needles? Haystacks? Nay, sirrah. Searching the Web makes winnowing straw in search of a bodkin child's play by comparison. The glittering skein holds so much information--and misinformation--that nothing short of an heroic quest will enable you to find the silver chalice you seek in the ocean of digital Dixie Cups.

[4] Find It on the Web

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NET PROPHET
Internetworkers need 'synchronets'

from the May 10, 1999 issue of InfoWorld

I've been learning how to surf -- in the ocean, that is, along the Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. Let me tell you, this is nothing like "surfing" the Web. Whoever first thought to apply this term to the process of using a Web browser obviously had never paddled out into 50-degree water, gotten repeatedly flipped off his board by rogue waves, and ended the day with sinuses full of saltwater and a face fried to a crisp by the sun. Web browsing, for all its charms, is nowhere near that fun. ... click for more ...

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~ Back issues ~

Forward-thinking company - I hate banks - MP3 support - I-commerce on the cheap (5.3.1999)

Digital Darwinism? - QuickTime 4 - MP3 David vs. industry Goliaths (4.26.1999)

The whole dang archive...

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Just enter your email address in the box and click the button:

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Links worth clicking

cluetrain.com
Net market manifesto - read it!

tbtf
Tasty bits from the technology front

ditherati
Deflating industry bombast daily

posthoc.com
Upfront guide to San Francisco - way cool!

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copyright (c) 1998-1999 tweney media
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home | latest news | back issues | who is dylan? | contact

	home \| latest news \| back issues \| who is dylan? \| contact 5 . 10 . 1999 Internet business news and analysis. by Dylan Tweney Learning to surf Click here for Net Prophet - News bites - Inbox LOTUS NOTES is a bloated, overrated piece of software. I've never liked the Notes client, and it's been my principal e-mail program since I started in computer publishing in 1991. Notes has an irritatingly inconsistent user interface, it's slow, it locks up my computer while it processes simple commands such as deleting old messages, and replication is a frustrating and time-consuming irritation. And, it turns out, the Notes/Domino server is a poor Internet mail server, with a liberal interpretation of SMTP/POP3 mail transmission and formatting standards, and an almost complete disregard for MIME attachment standards. I never thought any organization would use Notes primarily as an Internet mail server, but that's just what Bowling Green State University did. Vic Norton at BGSU has extensively documented Notes' failings as an Internet mail server (which he calls a "POOP" server, for Post Office "Odd" Protocol), on his Web site [1]. Although it focuses solely on Notes' capabilities as an Internet mail server, this is one of the most detailed and damning reviews of Notes I've read yet. [1] The Straight POOP (about BGNET) ---------- TAYLOR GUITARS shut down its dealers' online sales operations last week, as I reported in the most recent Tweney Report [2]. Since I wrote that item, I had a chance to speak with T. J. Baden, VP of Sales for Taylor Guitars [3]. According to Baden, letting dealers sell Taylor guitars over the Internet led very quickly to profit margin erosion for all dealers, not just those selling online -- and the online dealers were taking sales away from the offline dealers. As Baden put it, "a small group were taking advantage of the Internet without contributing anything." This wasn't very good for the Taylor brand, either, Baden concedes. As a maker of high-end, expensive guitars, the company feels it's important to preserve the element of "face to face" comparison. In other words, it's harder to sell Cadillacs for a premium price if you can't get customers to take the cars for a test drive. The average Taylor customer spends 6 months looking for a new guitar and tries 20 models in 5 or 6 different retail outlets during that time, Baden says. These are picky consumers, with several thousand dollars to spend on an instrument. Taylor, naturally, wants to preserve the hands-on comparisons where its products really stand out to those customers. Since discontinuing Internet sales by Taylor dealers, Baden says his mail has been running 20-1 in support of the new policy. Dealers who didn't jump feet-first into online sales are very relieved, after watching their profit margins fall steadily over the last year. "We're a small industry based primarily of independent dealers -- and they're scared," Baden said. "We don't want to be in this thing at the cost of our partners." [2] The Tweney Report: I-commerce on the cheap (see "Forward-thinking company" item) [3] Taylor Guitars ---------- DEPT. OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION Matt Lake and I co-wrote an Arthurian-themed feature on how to search the Web for the June issue of PC World. You'll find "Find It on the Web" at link [4] below. But if you get a chance to check out the print edition, do so -- the design people at PC World put together some really cool illustrations for this piece. From Matt's excellent introduction: Needles? Haystacks? Nay, sirrah. Searching the Web makes winnowing straw in search of a bodkin child's play by comparison. The glittering skein holds so much information--and misinformation--that nothing short of an heroic quest will enable you to find the silver chalice you seek in the ocean of digital Dixie Cups. [4] Find It on the Web ---------- NET PROPHET Internetworkers need 'synchronets' from the May 10, 1999 issue of InfoWorld I've been learning how to surf -- in the ocean, that is, along the Pacific Coast south of San Francisco. Let me tell you, this is nothing like "surfing" the Web. Whoever first thought to apply this term to the process of using a Web browser obviously had never paddled out into 50-degree water, gotten repeatedly flipped off his board by rogue waves, and ended the day with sinuses full of saltwater and a face fried to a crisp by the sun. Web browsing, for all its charms, is nowhere near that fun. ... click for more ... ---------- ~ Back issues ~ Forward-thinking company - I hate banks - MP3 support - I-commerce on the cheap (5.3.1999) Digital Darwinism? - QuickTime 4 - MP3 David vs. industry Goliaths (4.26.1999) The whole dang archive...		Sign up for the tweney report, my free weekly newsletter! Just enter your email address in the box and click the button: Email: Optional - your name: -
			*Links worth clicking* cluetrain.com Net market manifesto - read it! tbtf Tasty bits from the technology front ditherati Deflating industry bombast daily posthoc.com Upfront guide to San Francisco - way cool!

	- copyright (c) 1998-1999 tweney media - home \| latest news \| back issues \| who is dylan? \| contact