[vorbis] How to make Vorbis popular

[Jack Moffitt]

> Understanding the time-to-market vs. the perfect product argument is
> important, and not too difficult.  Most companies who strive to put out
> the "perfect product" don't exist long because their competitors have
> released something that, while it may not be defect-free or as fast, is
> making money.  They can then revise and improve their product, so the next
> release is better/faster/etc.  If you never get your product out the door,
> you lose market share and everything that goes along with it.

We have several products out the door.  You can go to CompUSA or BestBuy
and pick up five or six boxes that have vorbis inside.

It is also the case that rushing a release isn't necessary in the
current market.  The competitors are well staked out, and we're already
eating into their business just fine.  The only thing we're missing out
on is hardware companies, and we've been able to convince them that
since they are only interested in decoders, it's time for them to get
started.

This was all done very carefully, even if it did take longer than
expected (we hoped to be releasing 1.0 on Jan 1 :)

We're a bit different form those vaporware companies.  Remember, ICQ is
_still_ in beta as far as I know.  And that has certainly not stopped
them from getting in phones and being the #1 product out there (and
before anyone yells at me about AIM, note that they are the same system
underneath).

And all those people who are 'waiting for the better encoder' are kind
of screwing themselves.  If you keep waiting for computers to get
cheaper you'll find yourself in a circle.

I have quite a few albums myself.  I have no problems with ripping them
in RC3 (or beta4 when that came out) and enjoying what I have now.  At
some point the improvement will be so astounding I'll upgrade, and be
happy I get better quality.

It's not likely we'll get a significant quality upgrade for quite some
time.  So encode away.

jack.

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