Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 18:53:04 -0500 (CDT) From: Frank Pawlak <fpawlak@execpc.com> To: jkh@time.cdrom.com Cc: danj@3skel.com, fpawlak@execpc.com, jmb@FreeBSD.ORG, toor@dyson.iquest.net, brett@lariat.org, mike@smith.net.au, dshanes@personalogic.com, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re[2]: Fw: Your Article "Freeware: The Heart & Soul of the Internet" Message-ID: <199804102353.SAA06404@darkstar.connect.com> In-Reply-To: <6091.892193519@time.cdrom.com>
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"Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com> wrote: > > We should conduct a census! Put it on the website, in the FTP > banners on > > wcarchive, > > in the CDROMs. > > I show 25,000 users currently registered with us. > > Jordan No question that this is the tip of the iceberg. The trick is to define the size of the iceberg. However, that may not be an issue in this case if the objective is to gain exposure in professional circles and expand the user base. The facts are that we do have installations that handle heavy traffic loads very well, and the FreeBSD is a pedigree UNIX operating System that is stable. That stability and power results directly from the FreeBSD development model. The installed based is a picture of where the product is and is a launch pad for the strategic objectives of increased exposure and user expansion. Follows are some personal opinions regarding a highly charged atmosphere, not inventations to flames. Please take them as they are intended. I have a love of the BSD UNIX platform and word hate to witness its demise. I am not a developer, but have experience in sales and launching consulting practice areas. Neither of these make me a marketing expert, but I do have some knowledge of how the game is played. Firstly. I have read with great interest the situation regarding Netscape and the ORA conference. There appears to be an issue here with the GPL and BSD license process. These are issues that I don't pretend to fully understand, and have the feeling that religious issues are inter mingled with the facts. If the facts when viewed from a business point of view clearly indicate the GPL to be detrimental to the future of Netscape and free software in general, then it behooves someone from the FreeBSD group knowledgeable in the specifics and with a cool head to make the business case to Netscape. The question in my mind given the religious issues involved, is by not going with the GPL will that alienate a large part of the free software hacker community. A clear reflection by those knowledgeable in the issues can make that clear. Netscape will only be interested in the business issues and where the are going to get maximum developer support. Erik Raymond's paper, regardless if the perception is accurate or not, makes a compelling case for the Linux development model. Even though there are various distros of Linux, at present binary compatibility is largely not an issue. Secondly. A free software product stands zero chance of entering the corporate world at the top. No IS director or CIO will put their career on the line to save a relatively small part of the IS budget. They will demand someone be behind then to take the bullet when the wheels fall off as they inevitably will. I sold IBM PCs in the early days before they became ubiquitous. They did not enter the business world through the IS window. They were brought in the back door via fudge factored copier budgets and the like. IS directors and CIOs detested the things for any number of reasons. Free software is going to enter via the same route, through the geeks. There is a new generation filling the ranks of the corporate IS world, that has been raised with the PC as a standard computing fixture. This represents a paradigm shift in the computing world. Based on this the window of opportunity is opening for the introduction of free software into the mainstream. But the fact remains that business critical applications will remain on commercial platforms for at least the near future. It is my understanding that Linux is being used for relatively low end server applications -- print servers etc., -- and web servers in limited cases. There may be cases of it being uses as a development platforms, as several vendors of development tools are porting to Linux. Thirdly. The developing nations are a vast untaped market for cheap technology. To my thinking this is a tremdous opportunity for free software. It would enable these nations to get the technology they need and realize a very high return on investment. BTW, in any theater ROI is a key concern in implementing technology. Fourth. UNIX has a well known history of binary incompatibility. This is the window that Microsoft is rushing through. This and Novell's massive screw up when they had USL -- yes I dislike SysV stuff too -- further opened the flood gates for M$ is position a bad OS as the answer to corporate concerns for comaptability across operating platforms. In contrast, Linux is not yet suffering from this although there are signs of germination among their ranks. To wit, VAResearch and SuSE patch Linux kernels to fix the broken ones released by the Linis. So what to do? 1) A marketing and business plan needs to be developed, objectives and target markets clearly documented. FreeBSD strengths clearly delineated and presented in a professional manner. Leverage existing resources, tech support by the developers and others on the mailing lists and the web site. these are already much better than M$ offers. Clearly as the user base expand these resources will require enhancements. But in the interim leverage existing resources to the best advantage. The issuance of regular press releases would gain exposure in the press. 2) It has been suggested in other posts that perhaps a name change is in order for the product to be taken seriously in the business world. I sympathize with that point of view. 3) Credibility is everything in the business arena. That means quality highly available technical support. Binary compatibility across platforms and splintering among the various BSD releases could be problematic. Vendor stability and staying power are key issues. 4) Take FreeBSD commercial. Fatten the margins enough to make possible utilization of a professional PR, tech support and marketing staff. That will no doubt involve problems with BSDI. I am uncertain how well they are doing, but it appears to be quite well. They are lots os third party application released on their platform Caldera is following that model in the Linux world. They are starting to alienate some in the Linux hacker community. 5) A concerted initiative should be made in the Universities both domestic and foreign. Most Universities teach UNIX as part of Computer Engineering and Computer Science disciplines. Budgets at Domestic universities are stretched and departments are required to do more with less. Universities in developing dace a similar set of circumstances. This represents an opportunity for low cost Operating Systems to replace more costly commercial versions. 6) Initiatives in college bookstores to gain converts among the aspiring developers and computer engineers would produce a grass roots effort to get FreeBSD into the corporate environment. There is no question that converts will carry their favorite tools to the job site after graduation. I could go on with this, but may have over stayed my welcome as it lies. This is enough to encourage dialog leading to a plan of action. If that happens then I've accomplished my mission. One last thing. I am not a developer nor technical writer, but would be willing to volunteer in any position where I may add value to the effort. Frank To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hackers" in the body of the message
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