Editing Vaporware (section)

===Early announcement===
Announcing products early—months or years before their release date,<ref name=PrenLang1994-1>[[#refPrenLang|Prentice; Langmore]] (1994) p. 2.</ref> also called "preannouncing",<ref name=prentice1996-3/> has been an effective way by some developers to make their products successful. It can be seen as a legitimate part of their marketing strategy, but is generally not popular with industry press.<ref name=prentice1996-4>[[#refPrentice|Prentice (1996)]], p. 4.</ref> The first company to release a product in a given market often gains an advantage. It can set the standard for similar future products, attract a large number of customers, and establish its brand before competitor's products are released.<ref name=jenkins1998/> Public relations firm Coakley-Heagerty used an early announcement in 1984 to build interest among potential customers. Its client was [[Nolan Bushnell]], formerly of [[Atari Inc.]] who wanted to promote the new [[Sente Technologies]], but his contract with Atari prohibited doing so until a later date. The firm created an advertising campaign—including brochures and a shopping-mall appearance—around a large ambiguous box covered in brown paper to increase curiosity until Sente could be announced.<ref name=Shea1984/>

Early announcements send signals not only to customers and the media, but also to providers of support products, [[Regulatory agency|regulatory agencies]], financial analysts, investors, and other parties.<ref name=prentice1996-4/> For example, an early announcement can relay information to vendors, letting them know to prepare marketing and shelf space. It can signal third-party developers to begin work on their own products, and it can be used to persuade a company's investors that they are actively developing new, profitable ideas.<ref name=prentice1996-3>[[#refPrentice|Prentice (1996)]], p. 3.</ref> Microsoft described this in 1995, during ''United States v. Microsoft'', as "not in fact vaporware, but pre-disclosure" if not done with "a desire to mislead".<ref name=Flynn1995-1/> When [[IBM]] announced its Professional Workstation computer in 1986, they noted the lack of third-party programs written for it at the time, signaling those developers to start preparing. Microsoft usually announces information about its operating systems early because third-party developers are dependent on that information to develop their own products.<ref name=prentice1996-3/> Alsop proposed in 1995 that instead of early public announcements, companies should, using [[nondisclosure agreement]]s, privately notify important customers.<ref name=Flynn1995-1/>

A developer can strategically announce a product that is in the early stages of development, or before development begins, to gain competitive advantage over other developers.<ref name=BRJ2001-4>[[#refBRJ|Bayus; Jain; Rao (2001)]], p. 4.</ref> In addition to the "vaporware" label, this is also called "[[ambush marketing]]", and "[[fear, uncertainty and doubt]]" (FUD) by the press.<ref name=prentice1996-3/> If the announcing developer is a large company, this may be done to influence smaller companies to stop development of similar products. The smaller company might decide their product will not be able to compete, and that it is not worth the development costs.<ref name=BRJ2001-4/> It can also be done in response to a competitor's already released product. The goal is to make potential customers believe a second, better product will be released soon. The customer might reconsider buying from the competitor, and wait.<ref name=haan2003>[[#refHaan|Haan (2003)]].</ref> In 1994, as customer anticipation increased for Microsoft's new version of Windows (codenamed "[[Windows 95|Chicago]]"), [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] announced a set of upgrades to its own [[System 7]] operating system that were not due to be released until nearly two years later. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' wrote that Apple did this to "blunt Chicago's momentum".<ref>[[#refZachary|Zachary; Carlton]] (1994)</ref>

A premature announcement can cause others to respond with their own. When [[VisiCorp]] announced [[Visi On]] in November 1982, it promised to ship the product by spring 1983. The news forced [[Quarterdeck Office Systems]] to announce in April 1983 that its [[DESQ]] would ship in November 1983. Microsoft responded by announcing [[Windows 1.0]] in fall 1983, and Ovation Technologies followed by announcing Ovation in November. ''InfoWorld'' noted in May 1984 that of the four products only Visi On had shipped, albeit more than a year late and with only two supported applications.<ref name="Shea1984"/>

{{Pull quote|float=right|width=45%|my own estimate is that at the time of announcement, 10% of software products don't actually exist [...] Vendors that are unwilling to [prove it exists] shouldn't announce their packages to the press|author=Joe Mohen|source="vaporware epidemic", 1989}}
Industry publications widely accused companies of using early announcements intentionally to gain competitive advantage over others. In his 1989 ''Network World'' article, [[Joe Mohen]] wrote the practice had become a "vaporware epidemic", and blamed the press for not investigating claims by developers. "If the pharmaceutical industry were this careless, I could announce a cure for cancer today – to a believing press."<ref name=mohen1989>[[#refMohen|Mohen (1989)]].</ref> In 1985 Stewart Alsop began publishing his influential monthly ''Vaporlist'', a list of companies he felt announced their products too early, hoping to dissuade them from the practice;<ref name=Flynn1995-1/> among the entries in January 1988 were a [[Verbatim Corp.]] [[optical drive]] that was 30 months late, [[WordPerfect]] for Macintosh (12 months), IBM [[OS/2 1.1]] (nine months), and Lotus 1-2-3 for OS/2 and Macintosh (nine and three months late, respectively).<ref name="alsop19880118">{{Cite journal |last=Alsop |first=Stewart II |date=1988-01-18 |title=The Official P.C. Letter Vaporlist |url=http://vintagecomputer.net/cisc367/PC-Letter_19880118.pdf |journal=P.C. Letter |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=2}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' Magazine began publishing a similar list in 1997. Seven major software developers—including Ashton-Tate, [[Hewlett-Packard]], and [[Sybase]]—formed a council in 1990, and issued a report condemning the "vacuous product announcement dubbed vaporware and other misrepresentations of product availability" because they felt it had hurt the industry's credibility.<ref name=messmer1990>[[#refMessmer|Messmer (1990)]].</ref>