I think personally that the answers behind any answers would prompt a huge debate that would have to take in the US economic picture, biz practices etc. in it's entirety. A customer centric company is a great thing, but when/if you look at the competition, it's easy for the powers that be to decide &/or get forced into settling for parrity with everyone else in dismal conformity.

Not apologizing really, but more a tried and true cynic I guess, it's a bad time in general to be in the media software biz. Lots of competition & not many buyers. Corporate isn't buying, individuals feel unsafe, and as with PC hardware, companies are cutting prices to sell anything. Video Wave (both versions), Studio 8, Adaptec's MyDVD, DVD Expression, Hollywood FX for Studio 8, these and others have been seen at some pretty impressive savings the past couple weeks.

True, they're not Vegas, by any stretch, but to the consumers that are buying, there might not be that much of a difference - might even prefer the ease of use the others advertise.

Microsoft's PictureIt may not be Photoshop, but it's Publisher sure kicked Adobe's butt in the mass market a few years back, & you can't look at any sale without seeing Photoshop Elements lately. What if Ms is about to enter the NLE market? MovieMaker2 may appear a toy, but they've included some decent support for fairly easily customizing/creating fx & transitions to start with. Think the only reason they didn't go with DVD creation as well is that they want the DVD spec to either include winmedia9, or perhaps fade away. At any rate I'm sure they're hoping that their Himat spec catches on, & if it doesn't, DVD authoring code is probably being tweaked as I write this.

mike

Can it be that EPM, Dennis et al, are *the* Lab Guys. Gee, do you think so ? That's one fair excuse for them not dropping around so often ... but they're missed anyway.
Remember when EPM and Dennis *initiated* postings ???

Mikkie, you make me shiver. I know what you mean, I struggle in an American Corporate, a big one for that matter.

Big difference is that I am a non-professional in this forum (an Amateur as it is said). I am worried with my little amateurish thingies, like, do I spend my money well, will I get a good product, good Tech Support, will I *dig* the Vegas experience ???

So far the trip has been fantastic, I just hope that it doesn't turn sore.

sqblz,
I'm sure that as a regular here, with a lot more experience than me, you notice and feel compelled to comment on small trends within the company's development/implementation/response scheme.

However, without an awareness of the industry baseline, you might not fully appreciate where Sonic Foundry stands with regard to the industry as a whole, and its own customer base in particular.

I suggest, without the least bit of criticism of your observations of Sonic Foundry's trends, that you spend a couple of weeks poking around the P******* webboards. In particular, make note of the number of visible technical support personnel, the frequency and quality of their responses, the number of defects reported vs. normal installation and utilization questions, the history of "reworked" versions and GM-like public release policy, and the overall level of customer satisfaction vs. complaints reported on their public webboards.

If you were to do so, I predict that you would come back with a renewed appreciation for the level of service and caring that Vegas owners are afforded here. Kind of like a Jaguar owner dissatisfied because this year's version looks like the last but costs more.

Wellllll... I'm really an optimist forced into cynic's clothing!

Dealt with a LOT of decent folks at Matrox, till they pulled the rug out. Same more or less with Diamond (remember them -- remember paying $300+ just for a 2-d card?). Had a running *convsersation* with a few hardware companies where the folks were great; the hardware just wouldn't work.

In the last year or so, Haven't been able to talk (email etc.) to a real person at Adobe, MS, Ulead, Trend, Epson, Cannon, Visioneer, ATI, EPO, Digital Research, Hi-Val, Memorex... well you get the idea. Not being arrogant what-so-ever, but we generally solve our own problems because we have no choice -- I think the stats are something to really shudder about.

Stuff like someone capable in tech support being more desired in a potential relationship then most any other occupation. Or the staggering amount of soft and hardware that doesn't work, ever, but the buyers put up with it. We've all been trained, and the sad fact is until enough companies develop a friendly approach the majority of consumers will accept the status quo.

Not a big deal until one thinks that *friendly* has a huge cost. It's paid for either through higher product costs, &/or ideally through much greater sales. As most of us are uneducated, don't know friendly exists, we also don't know to seek out products from friendly companies and so subsidize some sort of transformation.

In short, the old adage: "nice guys finish last" still applies. THANKFULLY, as a whole we are waking up, and eventually enough folks will discover that everything doesn't have to be on an adversarial basis that the transformation will happen. Just hope it doesn't hurt too much between now and then.

mike

These forums are intended to be for user-to-user assistance. Phone calls take top priority for tech support, e-mails take second priority, and if we have time we answer some questions in the forums. So if you have an urgent issue, this forum is not the place to bring it. E-mail us directly at support@sonicfoundry.com for assistance. Regarding your question about how many tech support reps we have - fewer than you think ;-)

BTW - Vegas Video 4.0 is much more than a reworking of VV3. There just aren't a lot of new buttons or features that "jump out" at you.

Ted

I totally agree with musicvid. When I first entered this forum about 4 months ago I was astonished that people from Sonic Foundry actually took the time to interject and help once and a while. Almost unheard of in the industry. In most commercial software forums you hear about nothing but bugs, and you suspect management and tech support are hiding under a rock somewhere.

Secondly, I was astonished at the number of experts this forum attracts who are continuously contributing their knowledge.

Finally, I have the utmost respect for the management of Sonic Foundry. From my first purchase of Acid 2 several years ago to my recent purchase of Vegas 3, I have seen a quality of software development that is head and shoulders above any comparable company. It's wonderful these people have standards and are so concerned about making useful software. Unfortunately the stock-market bubble did what many feared it would do and Sonic Foundry is scrambling to deal with the new economic realities (all the while continuing to set trends with their new NLE!).

This is a quality product with quality support.

I prefer a forum not a chat room.

Please don't respond.