> > >and here the problems start. The people have already paid for > >SMSQ so the new reseller is practically only supposed to distribute > >upgrades and provide support. This appears even less interesting > >for potential resellers because they can hardly charge very much > >for an upgrade. > Most upgrades to SMSQ/E have been provided free. The only exceptions > were for the systems where there were colour driver implementations and > where the actual version number changed. Jochen and I have done this > without charging for anything except the postage for sending it out.
this is reasonable - but it makes it even more clear that the license has a problem. Someone buys HW with SMSQ included, his vendor/original reseller goes out of business and now what. The user can't even get the free SMSQ upgrades for his machine. Surely no other reseller will be delighted to fill the gap and provide both upgrades and support for p&p costs. Ironically, Wolfgang is forced by the license to compile the binaries for this obsolete platform. > >So market forces would dictate someone become a reseller, quickly > >sell a few binaries and quit beeing a reseller. > If you are waiting for market forces then the whole thing would have > died out years ago. I can count the number of new SMSQ/E users over the > past two years on one hand. I have not had a single enquiry about buying > it since we halved the price. > >Your license doesn't > >say anything about how long a reseller is expected to provide > >support, nor whatever you consider support. Why don't you reconsider > >the "get support in exchange for paying binaries" in favor of > >normal support contracts? > Jochen and I have been supporting SMSQ/E for the last six years. I > expect that, even if I stopped selling QL products now I will still get > called an emailed and, believe or not, I would still try to help out. I > fully believe the same goes for Jochen. Maybe your market forces would > produce a shallower trader. I mostly share your opinion about market forces here, it was Wolfgang' idea I was replying to. Richard
