Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2014 17:24:28 +0500 From: Jordan Hubbard <jkh@ixsystems.com> To: Matt Olander <matt@ixsystems.com> Cc: hackers@freebsd.org, current@freebsd.org, freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Leaving the Desktop Market Message-ID: <7217E584-D21A-4C50-96EB-ED280575BFFD@ixsystems.com> In-Reply-To: <CAK6u07Vfpe4VJUSh7QxK8JTbRanMNs2qQR7tK6dxFdph7E6e0Q@mail.gmail.com> References: <CAF6rxgkeBozvfV-L0%2BrFZ6fWRn0=Gi3BNq1kPL=-HTq0TD6MkQ@mail.gmail.com> <A70900DF-4BAA-427F-8731-01211FFD1887@mail.turbofuzz.com> <CAK6u07Vfpe4VJUSh7QxK8JTbRanMNs2qQR7tK6dxFdph7E6e0Q@mail.gmail.com>
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On Apr 1, 2014, at 10:11 PM, Matt Olander <matt@ixsystems.com> wrote: > This is like trying to predict automobile technology and dominant > car-makers by 1905. There's always room for competition. Take a look > at what's happening right now in the auto-industry. Tesla came out of > nowhere 125 years after the invention of the automobile and is doing > pretty well. I think you=92re kind of making my point for me, Matt. :-) Tesla benefitted entirely from deep pockets on the part of its = investors. Over $160M went into starting the company, of which $70M = came from the personal checking account of Elon Musk, the current = visionary and CEO, and to quote the wikipedia page: "Tesla Motors is a = public company that trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol = TSLA.[5] In the first quarter of 2013, Tesla posted profits for the = first time in its ten year history.=94 Yep, in other words, Tesla has been losing money for over 10 years and = only just started turning a profit, after raising a =93mere" $187M in = investment and $485M in loans from the US DOE. Your tax dollars at = work! On top of all that Tesla has only managed to make money at all = by focusing exclusively the highest end of the luxury car market, where = profit margins are also the highest (the first car, the roadster, would = set you back $110,000). Getting back to computer operating systems, it would make most readers = of these lists choke on their Doritos to know how much Apple had to = invest in Mac OS X before it became a viable desktop operating system = and of course you=92ve already seen folks screaming about how Apple gear = is too expensive and they=92ll never buy it. You just don=92t get a consumer-grade desktop Unix OS, or a practical = all-electric sedan, without serious monetary investment and a luxury = marquee to match, assuming you=92d like to actually make any of that = money *back*. So, back to BSD on the desktop. Anyone got a spare $200M they=92d like = to just throw away? That=92s what it=92s going to take! :) Don=92t believe me? Go ask someone who knows first-hand then. Ask Mark = Shuttleworth: = http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/08/why-ubuntus-creator-= still-invests-his-fortune-in-an-unprofitable-company/ :-) - Jordan
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