Customers Don't Want More Features

[synthet1c]

I want everything they can throw at me, of course it's better if the company presents something in a more user friendly interface, but I want background options that I can manipulate to suit my style, or better yet create my own way to interface with the software both with the GUI and mapping of control surfaces.... I think it's clear where I'm headed

Traktors strength for consumerism is it's limits and relative ease in setting up, but it weakness for power users is also it's limits and relative ease in setting up. I think NI's interests lie with the novice consumer who will blindly use what is offered by the company, if that means sending out unstable software to meet marketing deadlines then that seems to be fine with their board of directors as they will eventually rectify the problem, but wouldn't exactly ensure confidence in their next big thing with customers.

[mostapha]

Just like 80% of car owners, 80% parents, etc. And consumerism goes on, LOL.

People don't go to a mechanic to figure out how to put their key in the ignition.

The problem is usually that they didn't try to figure it out.

Those are the people I refuse to help. If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want to sleep with your girlfriend.

i think people on this site forget that apple are not the market leader on desktop solutions.

It was the market leader for laptops for a while and probably still is for tablets……and I think it was for phones for a while too.

is the ipod the best mp3 player out there no

I know I sound like a fanboy, but seriously…………………………is there a better one? 'cuz I think the iPod sucks and still can't find one better.

Okay, I'm done being OT for a while.

But, seriously, I think the author has no idea what he's doing. Then again, I think most "businesspeople" have no idea what they're doing.

[JesC]

looks left, looks right.

So you mean what Serato has been doing with SSL? Im not trolling, seriously Im not.

Serato kept it simple and only added small updates here and there, released bug fixes, kept the beta open to its users. 2 decks, 3 decks and now 4 decks, dual USB inputs on SL-4 & Rane 2nd Gen mixers. <---something many djs have been asking for!

I was a Traktor for the longest time and with all these new features added every update, I had to re-analyze, drop cue points and if i forgot to lock my beatgrids it was be a nightmare. Heck it took me over 1 year to even gig with Traktor Pro. I used Traktor 3 until i got a new mac that ran SL. TBH I got tired of mapping stuff and lost intrest in the main thing....DJ-ing! Playing music, dropping sets at clubs and making mixtapes.

at the end of the day all i needed was 2 1200's & a 2 ch mixer, if I get bored, i open ableton and use the bridge. oh and a pair of dicers.

on the flip side I really, really want to try the DJM-900 nexus with TSP 2.5 and see the maschine clips intergration with Traktor via the F1.

Make me defect from Serato, NI!!! Quality over Quantity damn it

[Emmett]

Mostapha's rant aside, the general point the article is trying to make has some validity (something you should always keep in mind while reading business articles - businesspeople aren't always fantastic writers). While features are easier to sell, the thing that keeps people using a product is functionality. "Is it usable?" is a question that seems to slip past NI's QA team with patches on a regular basis. CD timecode has been questionable with Traktor for some time now, and given the issues people have been reporting with vinyl timecode in 2.5, I'm hazarding a guess that these issues have not been fixed. If timecode, BPM detection, and sample decks already worked properly, 2.5 would have had nothing to offer the average Traktor user; only if you buy an F1 do you get new functionality and if you're using the DVS portion of Traktor you're sacrificing timecode stability for this new functionality by patching to 2.5.

My take-away from the article was, "stop focusing on throwing every feature you can into what you're working on and start making sure that the features you do include work, that they work well and consistently, and that the workflow you provide is intuitive, easy, and enjoyable." In that regard, it's spot-on for being shoved into the faces of NI's dev team. This is professional software - stop releasing beta patches as "releases."

Excellent response Keeb.

[smiTTTen]

Very interesting opinions here

I went though and picked out around 10 points that were made by various people and was going to comment on them but I think it might make more sense to put everything together in an article. There are definitely some opinions about NI that mirror what my company's users think and feel about what we are doing with our software. The biggest issue is that when companies don't share their rationale behind a product decision, that information void is quickly filled with opinion and rumor which soon becomes "the truth".

[mostapha]

If NI is like any other company that I've ever talked to decision makers from……we don't want to know their thought process.