I'm currently taking an OOA course funded by my employer at a community
college.  One of the benefits of the course is eligibility to purchase
software licenses at student prices from its bookstore.

On my fist visit to the bookstore I received a copy of a glossy, color,
40 page (plus jacket) catalog entitled:

        Campus Computing Sourcebook
          Winter 1988  -- Vol. 10

Its cover declares:

        "Low Academic Prices & Limited Time Offers on
                * News Software
                * Peripherals
                * Licenses

        Faculty, Staff, Students, Departments, Labs...
                Call or visit Your College Store Today & Save!"

It includes disclaimers that the prices are approximate and subject to
change without notice, since the booklet is obviously intended to cover
many products over a multi-month period, at probably most of the
colleges & universities in the US.

Its published by NACSCORP, Oberlin, OH, for use by members of the
National Association of College Stores.

Many products by all of the following are included:
        MicroSoft
        Lotus
        Corel
        Symantec
        Borland
        Claris

It offers its web site for info on volume pricing:

        http://www.nacscorp.com

Per their web site it appears that over 100 vendors are represented.

Per their glossy catalog one can choose from a wide selection of
compilers, OSs, productivity tools, web authoring tools, office
automation suites (bundled or unbundled), etc. -- everything except
anything involving Ada (as far as I can tell, and I've looked pretty
carefully).

I've seen the orders from Team-Ada to the Ada compiler vendors to expend
lots of advertising capitol on trade journals, but I fear that its too
expensive to saturate those avenues with Ada adds.

Since it seems that this 10th edition of this fine little catalog is
probably in the hands of hundreds of thousands of college & university
students, at least in the US, and since it seems to act as the insider's
advantage in making SW purchases with personal funds for personal
experimentation and course use, I would think it extremely important for
the Ada Compiler vendors to try to get represented in its next edition,
for reasons which seem obvious to me:

        * Show that Ada isn't gone (i.e. dead & buried).

        * Show that Ada compilers and tools are readily available, like those
for all of the more popular languages.

        * Show that the Ada vendors think that students may actually have some
potential interest in their products.

        * Make it easy for students to buy Ada at bargain prices, like C, C++,
etc.

        * Have Ada adds in front of students while they page through the thing
making up wish lists, and trade-offs as to how to spend their funds on
bargains.

I know about the current inexpensive ways to obtain Ada compilers,
tools, books, etc., but most students probably do not, especially those
in schools which do not yet use Ada as their first language.

Maybe there could even be some turn-around marketing, maybe provide a
textbook FREE with purchase of a $49.00 compiler license!

Perhaps someone in the academic community can comment on whether this
catalog serves only a small nitch, or whether its really a marketing
powerhouse, covering most US schools of higher (& lower) learning.




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                         Thomas A. Panfil
               Treasurer & Secretary -- Baltimore SIGAda
                    Registration Chairman -- SIGAda'98
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