Favorite Customer Letter

Between 1984 and 1996 I worked for Alpha Software Corp working on their family of end user database products, Alpha Three, Alpha Four and Alpha Five*. It was a small company so I got to see all aspects of its operation. This included getting to read some of the letters users would send into the company. I was looking through my files today and found the following letter I had saved from a gentleman who wrote us in 1991 concerning his love of Alpha Four. 


Dear Alpha Four Software Co.



I am using your "Alpha Four" program almost a year, since you 

promoted me to buy it for a (now I see) price less $ 99



I have always wondered how in haven, could you do such a

program, I am no a programmer, and you gave me the ability to

program my one programs, and in such a beautiful way.



Its is only now, that I discovered the meaning of the 

application's.  What should I tell you.  I am so amazed from

the power of the application, that I have played with it

"The All Night Long".   I have designed a vary complicated post

with one key stroke.



I am wondering now more than ever, is it a one man idea, or 

is it a  team of 1000.



Do you have a computer thinking for you, how to figure

everything in such a way, and in so many options.  As more as

I use it, more I realize that I haven't even touch a part of

it's capabilities, it is so amazing, that I am blocked out, I

just have no word's to describe it.  Do you.  Yourself, have 

an idea what product you have created.



By the end.  I don't see in the book any limit of the macro

memory, how much (word's) or function's can you put in,

in a macro memory.



Sincerely yours



********



I saved this originally because of some of the funny word choices and phrases. But now it's more than that. It's a picture back to a time when I was a lot more connected with the folks who use the software I write. It's cool I was able to make this guy so happy.



To answer his question about the size of the team, it was pretty small. I don't recall the exact number of developers who worked on Alpha Four but not many more than 4. It started out with just 2 of us but we grew as the project went along.



*While the products are great, they were never known for their catchy names.

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