Author: Mike S.
Date: 17:29:49 02/23/03
Go up one level in this thread
On February 23, 2003 at 18:17:02, Rolf Tueschen wrote: >(...) >2) Could someone tell me what feature, just 1 example because I don't know any, >was at first created by amateurs? In the SCID freeware chess database, I noticed a couple of very intelligent features which are probably new, or not inlcuded in commercial databases so far (at least not in Fritz or in ChessBase 7.0 or in Chess Academy IIRC): - In a tournament crosstable, click on a result -> game is loaded - *right*-click into the notation -> small board graphic pops up, showing the position before that move - a kind of natural language display of the Nalimov tbs. information, i.e. like "Ke7 only winning move, other moves draw" (or similar) (I'm sure there is more like that.) >3) I read that people adore FREE programs like ARENA. They are proud that ARENA >has all the features, or almost all, ChessBase also has; I ask if ARENA is a >clone of ChessBase8? No, it's a GUI mainly aimed at playing and engine matches. I've recently tried version 0.921. Very impressive and recommendable. There aren't advanced database features, but *very many* other comp chess features and configuration options. The GUI has functions known from other good chess GUIs, but also new ideas have been added, or improvements compared to other GUIs. It's good when programmers take a close look at other successful products first (or constantly), to decide which features are useful and should be included in their own software, too. Arena shows how useful that approach is, compared i.e. to Chessmaster (a program which hardly ever took notice that other chess software exists, with only the Tasc Base implementation and the - very good - WinBoard support as the big exceptions). >5) Could someone show - perhaps for other fields - what results out of the so >called copying of professional ideas and products? Isn't it the consequence >that the professional creative people become exhausted? They certainly have to try harder to keep an advantage (for the money), but I think they'll also take good ideas from the freeware sector, or include free software (a major example are the Nalimov tablebases). So there's a flow of ideas in both directions from which both sides benefit most probably. But commercial software also benefits from the simple fact that you can't buy freeware in shops and it isn't advertised, IOW there probably is a - more or less large - stock of customers who don't know or don't care for freeware, and so commercial software remains the first (and only) choice. Which isn't too surprising, because beforhand I wouldn't expect such a good quality, playing strength, GUI features etc. for free as it's available now in computer chess. It is astonishing. >8) In short: I see the danger of less progress and NOT- what the supporters and >fans are doing - a higher coloring of a scene. I don't think so... I expect that the companies just have to try harder, add more professional advanced features etc., always try to improve usability etc. For example - something which already exists - I don't think that a freeware software producer, or even a group, could maintain the database quality of ChessBase's game collections (in terms of completion, standardized player name spelling, being up to date...). Regards, M.Scheidl
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