OpenRAW

Extrapolating from Carol Steele's clear and very logical expose about a proposed Nikon Open Documentation tax (e.g., $8) on their cameras:

On Apr 23, 2005, at 7:08 AM, Carol Steele wrote:
>I doubt if any Nikon owner would begrudge an extra $8 on the price of the camera - hell, I would be
>prepared to pay them $10 today if they would release the full documentaion.

All true. However, Nikon's not doing what you suggest. Since your facts speak for themselves, there "must" be a missing link. The missing link is motive. The motive appears to be (from Juergen's recent post suggesting Nikon has outsourced software development for a new raw processor to compete with (apparently) Adobe) creating a new software product line with which they can generate serious revenue (more than they have now). Apparently, they are willing to alienate their 3P software associates to do so.

Extrapolating further, this project has been in process for months if not years. Someone high up at Nikon approved it. Probably some manager level person championed it, did the legwork to find the software company to do the work, wrote the contract to get the work done, and is responsible for the budget item. The budget item probably included a hefty up-front sum which has no doubt (due to likely software engineering issues) risen as delays have crept into the project (as Juergen's rumor/inside-info attests). So, the budget is rising, while the release date is slipping further and further from the D2X release date where (perhaps) this software was originally intended to release.

IOW, we now have your typical software project: unforeseen software engineering issues, late, over budget, and high sunk cost. The political agenda was already set in place when the budget was set in place. The championing manager is fielding the issues, and trying to lay the groundwork to ensure Nikon is committed to his pet project. The outside software developer has shifting priorities: get the software out the door to satisfy the contract (at the expense of good software engineering, and long-term maintenance) and get the rest of the promised revenue in the door (and probably to start bringing in the maintenance contract revenue).

The championing manager in the meantime has no clue how software development really happens (and neither do his superiors). He knows something is amiss, but his job now (as he sees it) is to protect his baby --- Nikon CustomerCapture v1.0 (NCC) --- from all political challengers until he can get the project out the door. Needless to say, as the heat rises outside of Nikon, the software release slips, several things occur. His head gets closer and closer to the (editorializing: inevitable) chopping block. Quality of NCC1.0 takes a back seat to shipping NCC. Champion uses his power to lock Nikon into his strategy publically (to fend off any internal political rivals) if nothing else. Yesterday's Nikon press release may be as much for internal use as for external dousing of flames. Meanwhile, he's creating a lose/lose situation for Nikon and its customers.

The (informed) customers already know what they want. His press release is only going to incite them to further public education and firm their resolve (witness: OpenRAW.org and the upcoming press release). He's going to entrench Nikon further in his agenda for as long as he can. As we turn up the heat, he continues to make wilder and wilder claims to his superiors which will fly in the face of all customer relations & software engineering reality. IOW, the champion will eventually simply be marketing to his bosses, not to us.

Bad News / Good News

Bad news first. We're not fighting Nikon. We're fighting the lowlife (not "lowly" mind you, which would be a compliment) champion who is entrenched behind his ill-conceived software strategy. The low-life may not be a single person (remember: Nikon is a Japanese company). So when I say low-life champion, it could be a whole group of people. If they made the fateful decision by consensus, there's a bunch of clueless executive low-lifes who all are championing this strategy, and they all need to reeducate before they fix the situation. Whether it's just one person or many will make a difference. If there's one fall guy, then (unfortunately, Japanese company again) we need to (essentially) prove beyond all reasonable doubt that this guy/gal is clueless and every step is a misstep, and then wait patiently while Nikon figures out what it does 1. to fire the lowlife, or 2. to otherwise incapacitate him/her in a Japanese non-firing (e.g., "promoted" upstairs, which is not a compliment). If it's a consensual group decision with no single champion (perhaps more Japanese style decision making), then there's a roomful of culpable clueless, and the process could go on indefinitely until they simply can not take the heat. I don't know the likelihood of this since I have only passing understanding of Japanese corporate structure and ethos. However, I'd say this group situation will cost Nikon much more good faith, and cost its customers (us) much more time badgering them to get a clue.

Good news finally. We just need to get rid of the lowlife(s). Nikon brass is beholden to a decision it made, a budget it allocated and which has been largely spent. We need to ensure that software does not get purchased (except for a few Nikon loyalists and hardheads) when/if it releases. We need to do what Juergen is already doing, and continue to do so to communicate as clearly as possible that this software control play by some Nikon champion(s)/lowlife(s) is just not going to pay the dividends they intend it to pay. The cost to photographers of losing archivability and control over their own images and image processing is far in excess of any perceived or real advantage Nikon may have in its phantom software. Software is a competitive market, but its secondary to camera hardware. Nikon will have a rough sell if they try to sell their software on the back of cameras which have worthy substitutes from Canon, Minolta, Sigma, Leica, etc., who don't strongarm their customers. IOW, the market will clarify the situation once Nikon releases the new generation software, and their bread-and-butter (camera sales) decreases in response to their new hardline software approach. The politics within Nikon will shift attention to the hardware champions who will waste no time trumping debunking all the misclaims and miscues of the software champion... until they wrest control back for all hardware related decisions (including the customer choice(s) of software). IOW, our key allies are the hardware folk within Nikon, but only once they figure out that software guy is essentially playing off their goodwill to make his software play.

Ouch. Too long. Apologies. That's my gut feel of how this has to play out. OpenRAW PR should likely educate the masses (pros et al.) about the real issues. As far as Nikon listening, the Nikon PR shows software champion/lowlife still has the reins. Our message should be to the hardware group whose turf he's essentially leaching off of to get software thrust going. I'm not sure they're even listening (yet). Perhaps we should focus more on communicating with the media and the customers for this Monday press release, rather than try to sway Nikon. IOW, let Nikon tie their own noose, while we work on wresting control of the situation from them in the marketplace.

>If they wanted to make even more money, they could even ask for a small licence fee (say $1 for every
>copy which the 3rd party developer sold) - this would have absolutely negligible effect on the cost of
>3rd party software - but would it have save us all this bad feeling.

Not going to happen. Noone wants to give Nikon sales information, much less any legal leverage. There's no need to do so since Nikon is misstepping and soon (or not so soon depending on software engineering issues) miscarriaging a new piece of presumably expensive software. Their software effort is already dead, they just don't know it.

-=-

Juergen, what would happen if you started a sign up on openraw.org for the following:

1. I own a D2X but I did _not_ purchase Nikon Capture once I heard about the WB encryption:
sign me up.

2. I own a D2X but I shall _not_ purchase any Nikon software ever again until their/my RAW format is fully documented and open:
sign me up.

3. I own a D2X but I am very glad that there's an Nikkor lens --> Canon body adapter (fortunately, Nikon lenses can fit on Canon body (but not vice versa)) for the time if/when I choose to switch to Canon while Nikon sorts out what business it's in, who takes priority: internal politics, or its customers.
sign me up.

Any chance of getting voting mechanism on OpenRAW.org (ducking for cover), Juergen?-)

Cheers,

= Joe =