3DO Personal Programming Kit Survey

A Little About You

The following questions are optional (though we'd really like to have at least your name and email address). Our marketing people like to collect this stuff.

Your name:

Your email address:

Can we send you promotional material via email?

Yes
No

What is your age?

4-12
12-18
18-21
21-25
25-30
30-40
40-50
50+
Or tell us your exact age, if you wish:

What is your annual income (US dollars)?

0-15,000
15,000-20,000
20,000-25,000
25,000-30,000
30,000-40,000
40,000-55,000
55,000-75,000
75,000-100,000
100,000+

What Kind of Geek are You?

Though you are free to not answer any of the following questions, we would be very pleased if you would provide a response to all of the following that apply to you.

Do you already own a computer on which you do a substantial amount of programming (either professionally or recreationally)?

Yes
No

If you already know how to program a computer, which programming languages are you conversant in? Indicate the programming languages you know by selecting the corresponding checkbox in the left-hand column. If you have a favorite language, please indicate it by selecting a radio button in the right-hand column (do not feel compelled to indicate a favorite; select one only if you actually like the language). If you do not know any programming languages, please do not select any item.

Assembly language (any kind)
BASIC (any kind)
C
C++
Java (or its variants)
Pascal
Perl
TCL/TK
Other:

If you already know how to program a computer, which systems are you familiar with? Indicate the system(s) you know by selecting the corresponding checkbox in the left-hand column. If you have a favorite, please also indicate it by selecting the corresponding radio button in the right-hand column (again, select a favorite only if you actually like the system). If you don't know how to program, don't select any item.

Amiga DOS
Macintosh OS
MS-DOS
MS Windows (3.1, 95, or NT)
UNIX (any flavor, any platform)
Other:

Please indicate which system(s), if any, you have ever purchased by marking the appropriate checkbox in the left-hand column. If you still own the system, please mark the corresponding checkbox in the right-hand column. (The system could be used for anything, not just programming.)

Amiga DOS
Macintosh OS
MS-DOS
MS Windows (3.1, 95, or NT)
UNIX (any flavor, any platform)
Other:

Please indicate which console system(s), if any, you have purchased, by marking the corresponding checkbox in the left-hand column. If you still own it, please mark the appropriate checkbox in the right-hand column.

3DO Multiplayer
Atari 2600/5200
Atari Jaguar
Philips CD-I
Nintendo NES
Nintendo SuperNES
Sega Genesis
Sega Saturn
Sony Playstation
Other:

If You're a Professional Geek...

The following questions are for people who make their living programming computers. Please skip this section if you are not a professional programmer.

What kinds of software do you use as part of your work (mark the left-hand checkbox)? What kinds of software are you working to develop (mark the right-hand checkbox)?

2D Art Packages
3D Art Packages
Business Productivity
Databases
Embedded Systems
Entertainment
Financial Software
Operating Systems
Telecommunications
Other:

Do you by any chance already have experience writing software for console ("game") systems? If so, indicate the ones you know by marking the appropriate checkbox in the left-hand column. If one of them is your favorite, mark its corresponding radio button in the right-hand column. (If you have never programmed a console, please do not select any item.)

3DO Multiplayer
Atari 2600/5200
Atari Jaguar
Philips CD-I
Nintendo NES
Nintendo SuperNES
Sega Genesis
Sega Saturn
Sony Playstation
Other:

Personal Programming Kit Components

There are a few ways of implementing this programming environment. Please indicate the flavor(s) you would prefer:

Native/standalone

All required hardware and software would come in a single box. Just plug it in and go. All programming would be done native; no external computer required.

Native/expansion

A hardware/software expansion kit that would connect to an off-the-shelf console unit. All programming would be done native; no external computer required.

Cross-development

A hardware/software kit to connect a PC to an off-the-shelf console unit. Software would be written and compiled on a PC and downlinked to the console; you would need to already have a PC.

Given that we have some options above, we need to know what kind of accessory hardware would need to be built for the 3DO side of the system. Below is a list of components we've thought of. Which ones would you regard as essential to such a system (that is, you couldn't write software without it)? Which components would you regard as unnecessary? Mark essential components using the left-hand checkboxes; mark unnecessary components using the right-hand checkboxes. (Note that it is not necessary for you to express a preference. If you don't think the named component is either absolutely essential or completely unecessary, then don't check either option; we'll treat it as a "maybe.")

Keyboard
Mouse
Removable media mass storage
Fixed media mass storage
Serial port
Parallel port
Network port (high-speed serial or ethernet)
Modem
RGB video output (as opposed to composite or SVideo)
Image capture
Sound capture
Other:

Same deal with software. What software components would you consider essential in such a system (left-hand checkboxes)? What components would you consider unnessesary (right-hand checkboxes)? (Yes, this list is a little daunting. Hang in there...)

C compiler
Assembler
"Make" utility
Linker
Simple debugger/monitor
Full-featured source-level debugger
Windowing system
Command-line shell
Iconic desktop environment (a la Macintosh Finder^(TM))
Text editor
Image editor (paint program)
Geometry editor (3D modeller)
Sound/sample editor
MPEG editor/player
MIDI player/sequencer
MOD player/sequencer
Internet connectivity suite (SLIP, PPP, FTP, Telnet, etc.)
Foreign filesystem support (e.g. DOS format hard disks)
Remote filesystem support (disks accessed through serial/network port)
High-level authoring system (a la Macromind Director^(TM))
Simple example code (small code fragments clearly illustrating particular system features)
Sophisticated example code (application skeletons into which "the rest of the program" is inserted)
"Starter" content (background images, simple 3D models, sound effects, etc.)
Other:

If you bought a Personal Programming Kit (PPK), what kinds of things do you imagine doing with it? What do you imagine being able to do with our platform and a PPK that you can't do with an existing platform?

The Big Question

Well, you've had a look at the kinds of things we've been thinking about. So, after having seen it (and after having tainted your answer by putting this question near the end :-) ), would you buy a product that allowed you to write your own software for 3DO's next-generation system?

Yes
No

How cheap would we have to make such a system (including the cost of all 3DO hardware) before you'd buy one (all figures in US dollars)?

1000-850
850-700
700-550
550-400

And Finally...

What questions should we be asking that we aren't?

Are we completely insane for thinking about this at all?

Yes
No

Why?

Please review what you've entered here. If you've hopelessly screwed things up, you can and start over. Otherwise...