Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:55:43 -0800 From: Joshua Tinnin <krinklyfig@spymac.com> To: freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Assuming We Want FreeBSD to Grow: Who Is It For? Message-ID: <200502151655.43509.krinklyfig@spymac.com> In-Reply-To: <42125E71.30804@tbc.net> References: <42125E71.30804@tbc.net>
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On Tuesday 15 February 2005 12:41 pm, Shawn Harrison <harrison@tbc.net> wrote: > So, we want lots of people to adopt FreeBSD. Who are they? > > If the primary use of FreeBSD is for servers, then anyone who runs a > server is our target. > > I know most of the talk recently has been about big businesses and > people who spend tens of thousands of dollars on hardware. Yes, it > includes them. > > It also includes Joe Family Man or Jane Small Business who wants to > set up a website. Sure it does. Why should Joe and Jane pay $35 a > month (or even $10) for dippy Windows web hosting when they can use > the DSL or cable account they already have, and the "obsolete" > computer from two years ago, to run a top-notch web server using > FreeBSD? I agree that FreeBSD can help such people, and in fact that's how I discovered it, while looking for a decent server OS for a home project. However, what you don't mention here is that Joe or Jane really needs a static IP. Most of the time this means upgrading their account. If a number of other people use the account at the same time, or if bandwidth usage is heavy on that line for other reasons, then it means getting a separate account so that the bandwidth needed for the server won't be used up. The $35/mo. doesn't make much of a difference when you're looking at the problems involved, and it may in fact cost less than trying to host it yourself. A client of mine pays $100/yr. for *nix hosting for a site I created. If I were to host it for him it would cost me more than that, and I'd have to charge him a lot more, as I'd need a second line here. And a top-notch server with a maximum of 786Kbit (not byte) up is going to hit the bandwidth wall before it even needs to be top-notch. Just some thoughts, not flaming you ... I've done a lot of research into this, and the situation has changed somewhat in the last five or ten years. You almost always have to pay more for a static IP now - generally a lot more - and *nix hosting can be had for cheap these days, sometimes with a shell. - jt
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