diburning
AlcoHaulic
Not everyone can install a decoder. There are some people (there's at least one here) who can't. (I can personally attest to that as I'm the one who installs them for him!)
Mac and PC is not a good comparison. Mac had low market share due to their proprietary firmware, whereas Windows was more open-platform. Mac has a larger market share today due to them selling a "lifestyle" rather than a computer. That is why there are very few if any Macs running as a server operating system.
If it took 15 years for DCC to tip the scale (it took about the same time for Mac), then do you think you'll have enough capital to survive the first 15 years or so of poor sales until it takes off? (that is, assuming history repeats itself).
I am glad that you will be offering DCC compatibility. If the firmware is upgradable, then maybe you can do a transition phase where it is compatible with DCC until the product tips the scales and gets enough market share to abandon DCC completely (similar to how back during the VHS to DVD transition, most DVD players had a VHS slot, but these days, you can hardly find a DVD player with a VHS deck that can also cross-record from one format to the other)
Although, it may just be a good idea to have the Scorpius decoders use the NMRA 8-pin plug, and/or the JST 9-pin plug/socket. If Scorpius and DCC could be interchangeable as far as decoder installation, it will save the manufacturers a lot of headache and it will make support of your product a lot easier. And, it may also be a good idea to keep the DCC compatibility in there permanently so that someone with a Scorpius decoder can run DCC, and someone with a DCC locomotive can run on Scorpius with an adapter or something. For example, most if not all DVD players can play VCDs, an obsolete format that was short lived.
Mac and PC is not a good comparison. Mac had low market share due to their proprietary firmware, whereas Windows was more open-platform. Mac has a larger market share today due to them selling a "lifestyle" rather than a computer. That is why there are very few if any Macs running as a server operating system.
If it took 15 years for DCC to tip the scale (it took about the same time for Mac), then do you think you'll have enough capital to survive the first 15 years or so of poor sales until it takes off? (that is, assuming history repeats itself).
I am glad that you will be offering DCC compatibility. If the firmware is upgradable, then maybe you can do a transition phase where it is compatible with DCC until the product tips the scales and gets enough market share to abandon DCC completely (similar to how back during the VHS to DVD transition, most DVD players had a VHS slot, but these days, you can hardly find a DVD player with a VHS deck that can also cross-record from one format to the other)
Although, it may just be a good idea to have the Scorpius decoders use the NMRA 8-pin plug, and/or the JST 9-pin plug/socket. If Scorpius and DCC could be interchangeable as far as decoder installation, it will save the manufacturers a lot of headache and it will make support of your product a lot easier. And, it may also be a good idea to keep the DCC compatibility in there permanently so that someone with a Scorpius decoder can run DCC, and someone with a DCC locomotive can run on Scorpius with an adapter or something. For example, most if not all DVD players can play VCDs, an obsolete format that was short lived.
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