Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
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From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Subject: Re: What was Cornerstone like?
Message-ID: <jrsCo206G.J1G@netcom.com>
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
References: <X04ikc8w165w@alcyone.darkside.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 1994 17:20:40 GMT
Lines: 38

In article <X04ikc8w165w@alcyone.darkside.com> max@alcyone.darkside.com (Erik Max Francis) writes:
>I've looked through the FAQs, and I see repeated mentions of 
>Cornerstone, the database product that Infocom tried to develop.  Most 
>people attribute the downfall of Infocom to the failure of this 
>product.
>
>All sources mention that Cornerstone is a database product, but what 
>was it _like_?  Does anyone have a copy of it?  Is it still available?  
>Is it really bad, or was it just in the wrong place in the wrong time 
>and in the wrong format?

First, you can still find copies of it at Herb's Software in Fremont, 
(the Tandy OEM version for $5), and I still use it for my comic book 
collection. It's okay and has some features which I haven't seen in 
other, better-selling features - it was a true relational database,
economized on disk space, and a decent, though not great, interface.

There were two main things wrong with it, IMHO. First, it originally
sold for about $400, well in keeping but competitive products like
DBase, but too expensive for either Infocom's regular customers or for
those already using another database to change. Second, it didn't 
include a programming language, so all the applications gurus who were
out there writing business applications ignored it. 

Infocom eventually dropped the price to $99, but it still didn't sell. 
They went to cheaper packaging and lowered the price even more, but by
then it was still too late. Oh, and the original version was also 
copy-protected, which irritated potential new customers, who were already
highly irritated by this technique in all their other business software.

Infocom eventually corrected all of the faults of Cornerstone, except
for the lack of  a programming language, but it was too little, too
late, unfortunately.
-- 
John Switzer               | Why is Jack London spinning in his grave?
                           | Because he didn't write "White Fang 2, Myth
CompuServe: 74076,1250     |   of the White Wolf"? 
Internet: jrs@netcom.com   | . . . or because Disney did? 
