In addition to having us on hand as a beta-test community, LM also generates a lot of goodwill by letting us play in their sandbox.  We may be a microscopic piece of their customer base, but keep in mind that most of their business is defense, not civil aviation, which means that it's funded by taxpayers, not private investors.  Taxpayer = us.  So it makes good business sense for LM to have us feeling warm and fuzzy about them when it comes time for our elected representatives (not only in the US) to vote on appropriations.  P3D is smart community relations on LM's part.  This is something that big companies used to be good at - say from the '40s into the '60s.  But now it's mostly a lost art.  Opening up P3D to civilians makes LM a throwback, but in a positive kind of way.

 

Well I wish they would use some of my tax money and hurry on with 64bit...stupid OOM's in 2015.

 

 

Well I wish they would use some of my tax money and hurry on with 64bit...stupid OOM's in 2015.

Lol

LM is a well known military company.  Skunkworks produced the SR-71, U2, F-117 and finally the F-22. Clearly we are not their target market.  We are lucky enough to be able to have access to it. Use it. Be happy. 

 

LM is a well known military company.  Skunkworks produced the SR-71, U2, F-117 and finally the F-22. Clearly we are not their target market.  We are lucky enough to be able to have access to it. Use it. Be happy. 

For now......"We are lucky enough to be able to have access to it". 

 

 

Seriously guys, if we were Lockheed's target market, it would have to be some kind of social experiment. It's doubtful we produce enough revenue to show up on their radar.

 Except that we must remember Lockheed's attention to detail.  You can't deny we are being paid attention to.  Our community is a detail that Lockheed has found important enough to P3D's success to pay attention to.  It's not rocket science.

Honestly, I think we're over-thinking this, it's less about political and image, more about strengthening the commercial offering.

 

Having a community around P3D means there is a growing market for 3rd party addons.  Add ons provide functionality that LM can (quickly and relatively cheaply) leverage in commercial projects without anyone (LM especially) having to take the risk of developing "Natty bit of scenery X" or "Real weather generator Y" for P3D without having identified a commercial customer already.  

 

Not every add-on will be applicable to a corporate environment, but those that are strengthen LM's offering to their commercial clients.  Look at the banners on the front page, two Orbx addons (Norway and Palm Springs, FlyTampa's Fly Copenhagen, Majestic's Q400, CS 777, A2A Cherokee and the 2.5 announcement which references the IRIS F-22.  They are clearly pushing add ons as part of the core offering, and don't underestimate the impact of shiny shiny on key decision makers....

 

LM provide the engine and the expertise to customise and implement at scale, their developer network provides the shiny shiny that LM don't want to take on the risk of developing, the personal customers provide funding to their developer network (through add on purchases) which reduces their risk associated with producing and maintaining for P3D.

 

The lack of clarity about licences is here to stay (due to the terms of the licence for ESP), and I doubt personal customers provide enough direct revenue for LM to notice, but the ecosystem they support strengthens the LM commercial offering, the positive side for us is that we get access to something that would otherwise be behind closed doors.

Honestly, I think we're over-thinking this, it's less about political and image, more about strengthening the commercial offering.

Clear, concise and, I believe, accurate. A brilliant summation and would be a fitting point to end this thread.

 

Mike

Well... One additional thought....

 

Muddy it might be (ESP licensing...etc), but perhaps the only clear distinction for us is that you will never find P3D at your local Gamestop.

 

 

I merely pointed out what's on the public record. that is that Lockheed Martin, in company with many other companies, openly and legally made a $4M+ contribution to candidates and $14M+ paid in lobbying in the US.

Exactly what I'm thinking about while I'm performing a DME arc.

Well... One additional thought....

 

Muddy it might be (ESP licensing...etc), but perhaps the only clear distinction for us is that you will never find P3D at your local Gamestop.

Thank the Gods for that!!...Sooner or later the members here with mental ages of 6 and under will loose interest and go play with something else. (Read..Goat Simulator)

Thank the Gods for that!!...Sooner or later the members here with mental ages of 6 and under will loose interest and go play with something else. (Read..Goat Simulator)

 

Oi!   Goat Simulator is awesome!

 

Something has to fill the time for oceanic legs...

Clear, concise and, I believe, accurate. A brilliant summation and would be a fitting point to end this thread.

 

Mike

I agree. If it isn't locked soon, it will again probably wander away from the valid original premise into unconstuctive spreading of FUD (Look it up).

Clear, concise and, I believe, accurate. A brilliant summation and would be a fitting point to end this thread.

 

Mike

I agree. This is a good spot to close the thread.