Re(2): Re: Re:
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg17943] Re(2): [mg17892] Re: [mg17873] Re:
- From: Andrzej Kozlowski <andrzej at tuins.ac.jp>
- Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 02:56:09 -0400
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
On Thu, Jun 3, 1999, David Fowler <dfowler at cantor.unl.edu> wrote: >There is a UK office for WRI, and that might be where Allan got his version. There is also a wri office in Japan, but it does not make any difference to the following facts: 1. The academic price of Mathematica 3.0 in Japan (English verison, nothing added) is about 60 precent higher than in the US (after including the cost of sending the entire package here). Support is virtually non-existent. 2. About three years ago when I became thoroughly frustrated trying to get version 3 from a Japanese reseller I wrote directly to wri. My first message was ignored. Then I tried a different approach. I mentioned that I wa a university professor, that I was using Mathematica for teaching, and that because of my frustration with their Japoanese resellers I was planning to switch to MuPad (this was in fact true. I tried MuPad for a whole year, but I hated it's procedural programming language so that I decided had to go back to Mathematica or give up using math software altogether). Strangly enough, I got an immediate reply. I was offered Mathematica 3.01 at US price, which was sent directly to my home address. I was also told that I would not need in the future to deal with Japanese resellers but can buy updates directly from wri. But now again my e-mail is being ignored. >If WRI has a new "profit-maximizing formula" that's good. I hope it >makes its way into a business package, and I hope WRI makes a profit on >that as well. I hope all the people at WRI get good raises this year for >helping to create and distribute MATHEMATICA. I am afraid that the formula is actually meant to maximize the profits of Mathematica resellers outside the US. However, another thing that is seems to do is to encourage software piracy. I visit Eastern Europe regularly and see pirated US versions everywhere (usually originating in a certain former superpower): so much for US export restrictions. Andrzej Kozlowski Toyama International University JAPAN http://sigma.tuins.ac.jp/ http://eri2.tuins.ac.jp/