the company was always a one-man band
As an Inc., you have to have at least three people on the board in order to Incorporate.
If someone has a problem with an order, take up with PB and leave it at that.
That only works when a company believes in communicating with a customer.
If they are slow to fullfill, then one has the right to stop using their products or even cancel an order if necessary.
One can't stop using a product that has been paid for and never delivered. You have never had a chance to use the product to stop using it.
But what is being said here in this thread is going too far
What is going too far are those who are excusing the behavior of PB Inc. Issues like this were to be expected right after Bob died. It has been 10 months now, there is ZERO excuse at this point. People who pay for something deserve to receive it. Perhaps you find it ethical to collect money for an order and never deliver it, but any rational person will find it unethical. I have always thought you were an honorable and honest businessman who exemplifies integrity and goes the extra mile for his customers, so I am hoping you are not endorsing collecting money and a month later still never shipping the order out. Think carefully about how you answer as any answer you give will be a reflection of you and your ideals as a businessman and could reflect on your future sales if you are perceived as thinking it is okay to collect money and not ship a product.
I have been willing to give PB Inc. the benefit of the doubt and remain positive about the changes and the chance for a decent future for the product, but it is inexcusable orders are going over a month and not being filled. This scenario screams deja vu to many people here as they saw the exact same scenario play out when Tom Hanlin took over Pyxia. People here are worried because of their investment in compilers which may no longer be supported or updated. People depend on PB for their livelihood. Heck, if orders aren't being filled in over a month, then the compilers are not even being sold right now, because in order for a sale to be complete, the product has to actually be delivered. I can understand the concern people have as if I was in their shoes, I would feel the same way.
Personally, nothing would make me happier to see PB Inc. get themselves together. I still hope they can turn things around, business-wise, but it is VERY clear there needs to be some major changes, as the company simply can't continue the way it is being run now with orders not being filled.
I have been using PowerBasic for over ten years and have been very satisfied.
Would you still be satisfied if you were not getting the products you paid for? I have been using PB for 26 years if you go back to Turbo Basic which served me well until PB 2.1 (DOS) was released. Six months ago, PB Inc. turned into something that is an embarrassment to the history and legacy of the products. They were doing very well after Bob died, but then something happened six months ago, and PB Inc. has continued to go downhill since.
Jim Bailey at PB is likely working very hard to get things back on track, despite the challenges faced.
If it is such an insurmountable challenge for him to mail an order out to James, then he needs to do the honorable thing and resign. Let Vivian find somebody who is qualified to run the business and keep the products going. You can't convince me that nobody on staff at PB can't figure out how to fill out an envelope and stick some discs in it (heck, at this point, they should throw in one of everything they sell to make it up to James) throw some stamps on it and hand it to the mailman. You learn how to do this in third grade. It is not rocket science.
I don't need x64 yet, but aside from that I have plenty to work with for years right now.
I will keep using PB until it quits working on future versions of Windows. I will also keep using EZGUI and EZSprite.