Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 00:00:15 -0500 From: Mark Mayo <mark@vmunix.com> To: John Kelly <jak@cetlink.net> Cc: Terry Lambert <tlambert@primenet.com>, toasty@home.dragondata.com, current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 3.0 -release ? Message-ID: <19971205000015.58063@vmunix.com> In-Reply-To: <348839a9.79109795@mail.cetlink.net>; from John Kelly on Thu, Dec 04, 1997 at 11:17:09PM %2B0000 References: <199712042148.OAA00918@usr02.primenet.com> <348839a9.79109795@mail.cetlink.net>
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On Thu, Dec 04, 1997 at 11:17:09PM +0000, John Kelly wrote: > On Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:48:54 +0000 (GMT), Terry Lambert > <tlambert@primenet.com> wrote: > > >> Why is it a shame to lose users who don't pay anything for the > >> software in the first place? > > > >Because of the economics of porting decisions made by commercial > >software companies, for one. > > But if they won't pay anything for the OS how much will they pay for > some app ported by a commercial vendor? You seem to be missing the point. I run FreeBSD simply because it's the best operating system for my needs! Price is really not that relevant - if FreeBSD costs as much as NT workstation, I'd almost certainly buy it anyways! The fact that I haven't paid for the product doesn't mean I'm unwilling to pay for other commercial apps.. I evaluate potential products based on what return I get for my investment. In FreeBSD's case, it's a win-win situation since my return is large, and I have to invest very little. <soapbox on> In fact, I would argue that the FreeBSD "model" is in many ways the ideal situation for developers, since if the OS doesn't cost anything there is no huge company behind it. The sole purpose of FreeBSD is to produce a solid operating system, and support the users. When I write an app for FreeBSD, there's no fear of "FreeBSD Inc" deciding that I represent a large enough section of the market that they will buy me up/out and essentially become my competition. That's the situation when you write for Windows. No thank you. FreeBSD, and Linux for that matter, might not be huge forces now in the commercial software market, but I'm confident that over time more and more developers will become frustrated with the M$ way of doing business, and "retreat" to the free operating system world. At its current rate of progress, FreeBSD will be in fine shape indeed to provide a safe haven to those devlopers. It's really a pitty that people associate cost and "value" when it comes to operating system, since it's really the exact thing you don't want as a developer. FreeBSD is truly freedom from the devlopment point of view. <soapbox off> Thanks for tuning in, -Mark ;-) > > John > > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mark Mayo mark@vmunix.com RingZero Comp. http://www.vmunix.com/mark finger mark@vmunix.com for my PGP key and GCS code ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Win95/NT - 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition. -UGU
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