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Date:      Mon, 26 Jul 1999 20:03:28 -0400 (EDT)
From:      Marc Ramirez <mrami@gbtb.com>
To:        chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Miscellany of chat-type questions...
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.3.96.990726191925.32315B-100000@www.gbtb.com>

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As customers and, I assume, some vendors,

(1) How do ye FreeBSD list-ers feel about the free source/paid
support model of software distribution?  I.e., free source and/or
binaries, free bugfixes, paid customer support/modifications? How do your
managers feel? :)  I've lived a short life, and I've had the luck of
only working under people who, at heart, were misers. So I've never
encountered the "costs a grand, must be great" mindset.  

My gut (and maybe Debian) tells me that if I print up a set of manuals in
nice glossy covers and hire a graphic designer to draw a nice, stylish
box, I could probably sell something out of one hand that I'm giving away
out of the other.  Part of me questions the ethics of that, but I could
probably live with it if I sold support separately from the box (i.e.,
download and buy support). I should mention that I'm not talking about
reselling FreeBSD, I'm talking about distribution of my own stuff, written
in-house.

I'm not thinking of one of those "tap the internet open-source lovefest
for profit" things like Mozilla; I think it's in my best interest to
distribute the source to people who can use it to their benefit,
especially if my target market is professionals, because it increases
trust in the product.  At least, that's the warm fuzzy I get from FreeBSD. 
Plus, I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to diff the latest
release because they broke something... :) 

(2) Would anyone want to use COBOL on FreeBSD?  Why? :)

Marc.

--
Marc Ramirez - Owner		Great Big Throbbing Brains
mrami@gbtb.com			http://www.gbtb.com
Our brains throb, so yours won't have to!



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