White Knight (software)
Encyclopedia
White Knight was a commercial communications program by Scott Watson for the Apple Macintosh that replaced his Red Ryder
bulletin board system
(BBS) software.
Macintosh magazines rated Red Ryder highly. Scott rejected orders from both computer stores and distributors and just concentrated on making Red Ryder better. Many bulletin boards ran his offer.
Then Watson made a fateful decision. He doubled the price of Red Ryder software to USD
$80 simply because he wanted to keep getting the $40 he always had plus a little more for his improvements. He sold to stores but still refused to sell to distributors, because they wanted a 60 percent cut. He concentrated on making his product still better and on servicing anyone who wanted help.
Next, Watson came up with a program for anyone to create a BBS. It was called Red Ryder Host, but later renamed Second Sight. Scott introduced the new program in the same way: on bulletin boards. By then, Watson operated his own bulletin board. Anyone could order directly from him.
Watson explained how his marketing evolved:
Watson's two products were perfectly suited to sell via a Bulletin Board System
. White Knight universalized the Mac, enabling it to communicate with most other PC
and mainframe
makes. Second Sight enabled anyone to set up a BBS with a Mac and modem.
Red Ryder (software)
Red Ryder was the name of a well known communications and terminal emulation software program created for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s. It was one of the first donationware programs to be distributed on the internet...
bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(BBS) software.
Macintosh magazines rated Red Ryder highly. Scott rejected orders from both computer stores and distributors and just concentrated on making Red Ryder better. Many bulletin boards ran his offer.
Then Watson made a fateful decision. He doubled the price of Red Ryder software to USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$80 simply because he wanted to keep getting the $40 he always had plus a little more for his improvements. He sold to stores but still refused to sell to distributors, because they wanted a 60 percent cut. He concentrated on making his product still better and on servicing anyone who wanted help.
Next, Watson came up with a program for anyone to create a BBS. It was called Red Ryder Host, but later renamed Second Sight. Scott introduced the new program in the same way: on bulletin boards. By then, Watson operated his own bulletin board. Anyone could order directly from him.
Watson explained how his marketing evolved:
Watson's two products were perfectly suited to sell via a Bulletin Board System
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
. White Knight universalized the Mac, enabling it to communicate with most other PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
makes. Second Sight enabled anyone to set up a BBS with a Mac and modem.