At $15K per developer per year, I'll use RedHat
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| jkouyoumjian Mar 15, 2006 6:52 AM EDT |
From the rPath web site: "rBuilder enables application developers to offer SaaS for on-premise applications, avoiding the investment in re-architecting for on-demand delivery. Because it is a complete solution with continuous value, a software appliance allows application developers to move from a licensing model to a subscription model with a recurring revenue stream." From the article: "To get access to the rBuilder repository and five copies of rPath Linux for developers costs $5,000, and it costs $15,000 per year per developer to keep the repository updated." The point of free software is to be free from onerous fees and restrictive licenses, which create a power-imbalance in favor of the software vendor. This is the sort of thing I would expect to see Microsoft do. What is ironic is that they are selling you a tool to configure a software platform which you can have for free. You are then supposed to use this software platform to extract fees from your customers. Software as a Service gives all the power to the software vendor and it is therefore the worst possible deal for users. If the software vendor raises fees and threatens to shuts off the application unless payment is made, the user is out of luck. At least with licensed software, the user can always run the application even if it is without support. Of course, using open source software eliminates this problem entirely. The promise of truly free open source software is the demise of the proprietary software company and all the problems that proprietary software companies create. There is no way I would risk my business using SaaS for anything important. |
| grouch Mar 15, 2006 8:30 AM EDT |
C'mon now. You _know_ that anything that can save you from the horror of "re-architecting" just has to be worth truckloads of money! I read somewhere recently where someone had "architected" some software. Caused nightmares for me. |
| tuxtom Mar 15, 2006 10:34 AM EDT |
UML? The horror...the horror... |
| phsolide Mar 15, 2006 6:54 PM EDT |
My current goal is to use the word "re-imagined" (as per some dopey car commercial) when my Corporate Leaders debate keeping some other piece of high-license-fee disgusting bloatware like Rogue Wave, or VisiBroker or Weblogic Server or Actuate or Crystal Reports. "What are the alternatives to using VisiBroker?" "Well, Sir, we could re-imagine the software using somthing free, like Mico or OmniOrb. We'd even have source code." "Well, I don't know. Maybe you could understand and benefit from that, but once we lay you off and replace you with downtrodden windows codemonkeys, any data structure more elaborate than an array will send them into a tailspin. We'll pay the license fee one more year, mainly because the regional sales VP is my golfing buddy." |
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