Re: Was "Spelling & Grammarchecker Use Survey"

[Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>]

Someone earlier in this thread today (sorry--I deleted the post and have
forgotten who it was) suggested that the world would beat a path to the
door of the developer who came up with a better spell checker.

I think not.

I know how to make a better spell checker; I've discussed it here and in
other fora; I've talked with developers about it. The problem isn't how.
The problem isn't even how much it would cost (no more than a few
million bucks at the outside--probably much less).

The problem is that no one would buy it.

Look. Even in this group half the members consider spelling errors too
unimportant to spend time on. If the reader can somehow divine the gist
of the meaning, that is sufficient. No matter how much you and I may
disagree with this position, we are fighting a losing battle.

So how big is the market for a context-aware spell checker? How much is
Microsoft or Adobe or whoever going to pay per copy to license it? Is it
worth five cents more to them than the inadequate one they use now? Not
likely. Will hundreds of thousands of users shell out thirty bucks for
it as a retail add-on? I doubt it.

Those of us who care will continue to care. Those who don't won't. But I
do not see a business opportunity here.

Just my two cents' worth.

Dick