I moved to Atlanta in '88, and it was within just one year that I found out about Alpha (when we only had DOS), bought it (I think it was A4v2) and started using it. The only alternative I knew of was dBASE, and Alpha was so far superior to that! This has never changed, with all the improvements that have come along for all database programs since then.
So, what I want to know is this: WHY do I STILL have to explain to every manager, IT dept, or offsite data mgmt facility I must confront in my work, what Alpha even is, that it exists, and that it's a great program?? After over 20 years, why are people still so ignorant of this application and its uses and benefits, compared to other programs in the same class? I have to tell you, it gets more frustrating as the years go by.
I wish this website would have a link to ALL past professional recommendations, like from PC Week mag for instance, so that I could just send these ignoramuses there and let them see what they have somehow missed. It is a real chore getting people to buy a program they have somehow never heard of.
It would also be a big help if you could make a webpage that states Alpha's capabilities in less technical terms, worded in a way that people in charge of allocating funds to purchase programs could understand, realizing that those people often have no clue what's in their company's best interest when it comes to computer software. You need to create a very basic explanation geared to those moneyed non-IT people who can accept your program for purchase, or else be content to let them pass it by simply through lack of understanding of what you have to offer.
I try to promote Alpha and get people to buy it whenever I can; but it's an uphill battle every time, due to this widespread lack of familiarity with the name in business/IT circles. I'm about worn out with the effort, after all these years. But I always insist, insofar as I'm able, that the company I'm working for, or contracting with, get Alpha, if they want me to do any database work for them. (I'm not in any sense a "database pro." That's why I need your program to do any little thing at all!)
Also, as I told Alpha S/W years ago, it would be a HUGE help if the info written for and posted by Alpha on its website were letter-perfect, without glaring errors in punctuation, etc., that make the content either unclear or downright impossible to understand, especially to a non-pro. (I originally made this suggestion re the Help Files, which I said I could edit; but I received no offers.) Ex.: today when trying to gather the info I needed to present to my contractors to convince them to buy several instances of Alpha, I had to cut the verbage from the website & paste it into Word to edit it before I could present it, because the poor punctuation, as written, made no sense, and was downright false. This is one case of where MS Access has Alpha beat, hands down: you won't find any errors in the text they use to promote their products on their website. Believe me, this IS important! I have no hope of convincing non-technichal people that Alpha is better than their competitors if my "proof" can't be understood due to faulty punctuation or subpar explanations provided by the software mfr itself. I'm currently contracting in an industry in which exact wording is paramount; how can I convince such people to buy from a company that doesn't employ a good editor to review what they publish online for the world to see? Specifically, I was trying to show that Alpha can serve as a front-end report generator using Oracle as the data source. On Alpha's website, it lists many data sources it can use, but befuddles the non-tech person by omitting a comma, listing "Oracle Microsoft's SQL Server," making it seem that Oracle is a Microsoft product! This did not help me at all; and it was confusing only because of complete lack of attention to the published word!
After 20 years of loyalty to Alpha, I'd really like to know how I can better sell your product so that I can use it for those I work for/contract with, and why in the world they still don't know about you! It would be helpful, too, if I could print out ALL the corporate/gov't users of A5 from one page, instead of just a partial list under each category.
Sorry to be critical when it was needed. I love Alpha, and just want you to make it easier for me to "sell you" in the workplace.
Thanks for listening,
Carol Lybrand
Greater Atlanta, Georgia, USA
So, what I want to know is this: WHY do I STILL have to explain to every manager, IT dept, or offsite data mgmt facility I must confront in my work, what Alpha even is, that it exists, and that it's a great program?? After over 20 years, why are people still so ignorant of this application and its uses and benefits, compared to other programs in the same class? I have to tell you, it gets more frustrating as the years go by.
I wish this website would have a link to ALL past professional recommendations, like from PC Week mag for instance, so that I could just send these ignoramuses there and let them see what they have somehow missed. It is a real chore getting people to buy a program they have somehow never heard of.
It would also be a big help if you could make a webpage that states Alpha's capabilities in less technical terms, worded in a way that people in charge of allocating funds to purchase programs could understand, realizing that those people often have no clue what's in their company's best interest when it comes to computer software. You need to create a very basic explanation geared to those moneyed non-IT people who can accept your program for purchase, or else be content to let them pass it by simply through lack of understanding of what you have to offer.
I try to promote Alpha and get people to buy it whenever I can; but it's an uphill battle every time, due to this widespread lack of familiarity with the name in business/IT circles. I'm about worn out with the effort, after all these years. But I always insist, insofar as I'm able, that the company I'm working for, or contracting with, get Alpha, if they want me to do any database work for them. (I'm not in any sense a "database pro." That's why I need your program to do any little thing at all!)
Also, as I told Alpha S/W years ago, it would be a HUGE help if the info written for and posted by Alpha on its website were letter-perfect, without glaring errors in punctuation, etc., that make the content either unclear or downright impossible to understand, especially to a non-pro. (I originally made this suggestion re the Help Files, which I said I could edit; but I received no offers.) Ex.: today when trying to gather the info I needed to present to my contractors to convince them to buy several instances of Alpha, I had to cut the verbage from the website & paste it into Word to edit it before I could present it, because the poor punctuation, as written, made no sense, and was downright false. This is one case of where MS Access has Alpha beat, hands down: you won't find any errors in the text they use to promote their products on their website. Believe me, this IS important! I have no hope of convincing non-technichal people that Alpha is better than their competitors if my "proof" can't be understood due to faulty punctuation or subpar explanations provided by the software mfr itself. I'm currently contracting in an industry in which exact wording is paramount; how can I convince such people to buy from a company that doesn't employ a good editor to review what they publish online for the world to see? Specifically, I was trying to show that Alpha can serve as a front-end report generator using Oracle as the data source. On Alpha's website, it lists many data sources it can use, but befuddles the non-tech person by omitting a comma, listing "Oracle Microsoft's SQL Server," making it seem that Oracle is a Microsoft product! This did not help me at all; and it was confusing only because of complete lack of attention to the published word!
After 20 years of loyalty to Alpha, I'd really like to know how I can better sell your product so that I can use it for those I work for/contract with, and why in the world they still don't know about you! It would be helpful, too, if I could print out ALL the corporate/gov't users of A5 from one page, instead of just a partial list under each category.
Sorry to be critical when it was needed. I love Alpha, and just want you to make it easier for me to "sell you" in the workplace.
Thanks for listening,
Carol Lybrand
Greater Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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