Re: Delphi is dying? Finally, unfortunately

Late reply, I was away...

I love my wife, my kids, and my country. Heck, I even love being a
developer. But in love with my development tool? No. It's just a tool, a
means to an end. I don't owe it any loyalty, not to Delphi, and not to
Borland. My loyalty belongs to my business and clients. When my hammer gets
old and rusty it's time to dump it and get a new one.

I intend on pursuing in my spare time. Delphi is absolutely the best
choice for my planned MicroISV and a darn compelling one for any single
person MicroISV IMO.

Let me clarify my point yet again. Agreed, Delphi is a great, awesome
product. But it is nevertheless dead. I too will continue to use it for my
pet projects, but a day will come soon when it's obsolete, as good as it is.
Why? Because Borland did not promote it properly when it had a modicum of a
chance to dominate the market. Now it's too late, you don't get those
chances back. Every development tool has a group of hard core loyalists who
fight it to the end, but this is not where these battles are won or lost.
Like it or not, the market dictates the verdict, and in this case it has
done so already. Just look at the numbers, the trends, and the economics of
this business.

I've read about Borland employees "dancing in the halls" when the
announcement was made. Bad sign. With the lunatics running the asylum, who
in his right mind will spend $100 million for this hot potato? Those
self-anointed Chief Evangelists, what do they know about running a business?
And why would anyone pay good money for a division that is in a state of
uprising against its corporate parent?

Borland's only chance of selling Delphi anytime soon is Microsoft, who will
either kill it, or add it to its VS.net family. Otherwise no one in his
right mind will touch it for a while, not for the current asking price.
Before long Borland will have to quell the rebellion, gut the payroll, and
dethrone the current leaders of the uprising. Only then will they find
someone who's willing to take a gamble, but it would be at a much, much
lower price. I predict somewhere around $20-25 million for the entire IDE
division, which gives the buyer a fighting chance to turn some profit before
the product dies. Anything higher than that means throwing money out the
window. Either way, the product is doomed, it's only a matter of time.


.

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