I posted something a long while ago suggesting something like free licences to grab
the Office developer starring at the hour glass with a client and making excuses
about Access. Surely there is a way to innovate around this problem. I think that
free client licences should allow total development but why not clip the run time
performance? When you are faced with file based or client server you want to choose
client server right? The free client is detected by the back end and the
performance is cut down to be between true speed client and file based solution.
Pay for the licence and enter this at the server end and Wham the turbo charger is
on. If people are building their INDY cars to take one engine mounting then make
sure it's yours give them your 1 litre V8 engine free! But if they want to win a
race then they pay for 6 litre V8 which drops right in the same place. That way all
the wanna-bes can do their development in the garage and take their pride and joy
around to get sponsors knowing that the performance will go up 5x when they get the
cheque.
There are other solutions where the free licence has to be topped up with a new
code. The code it taken from a web site that shows you ads before you get the
code. You get revenue from the ads.
Hey neither of these may be THE answer but there is an answer and it isn't SQL
Server.
Richard Vowles wrote:
> Hi Alex,
>
> We do know of the issue - and have done for some time now. We are still trying
> to find out what the policy is in the US and how other manufacturers of embedded
> databases are re-acting to what is going on. I would say that for most VAR
> organisations, much of the revenue comes from 1-5 installed licenses, cut that
> out and you are a non viable company. There is an interesting article in
> Distributed Computing for August (1999) that has the head of Centura Corporation
> (remember Gupta?) commenting on this phenomenon:
>
> "[someone wins $1m INDY prize] Let us see here --- Hmmmmmm - how should he split
> the prize; how about $999k for him and $1k for the engine manufacturer?
>
> Sounds crazy? Not if you are in the software development tools business. You can
> purchase an "engine" for a few hundred dollars, build a wonderful INDY car, and
> race it to victory. The dilemma is that if the engine builder struggles to make
> a living, then they will not sustain his ability to build great engines. This
> means that the drivers would not be able to race the best cars. And we all know
> how much fun it is to watch an INDY car race around the track at 200+ MPH [sic]"
>
> It goes on to comment how 80% software that is cheap like VB has caused problems
> for other vendors of software development tools. The same argument would go for
> SQL Server (IMHO, it has an awful engine), but it is good enough and free is a
> good price. Developers going for it (and MS offering it) just means less choice
> in the low-end marketplace and IMHO, things get worse for everyone.
>
> I can see how InterBase can continue to compete against MS SQL Server on some
> level - with IB for Linux for example as the cost of the 5 user license is the
> cost of a 5 user license for NT (and MS SQL Server doesn't run on Linux or
> anything other than Intel/NT (now that Alpha has been dropped)), but as you say,
> with a free version of a "good enough" SQL engine, I will be interested in what
> the response from InterBase in the US will be.
>
> Richard
>
> Alex Kouznetsov wrote:
>
> > I think if Inprise/Borland immediately does not come up with the similar to
> > MS plan, they may say goodbye to IB.
> > Free IB re-distributable for Borand developers with the same up to 5 users
> > license would be the right answer and it must be quick.
> >
> > I'd suggest local Borland to contact USA Borland and tell them that people
> > may start jumping off IB train quicker they one may think.
> > IB is better in may areas but it is far from being clear winner. 5 free
> > users licenses for MSSQL is enough to make IB looser.
> >
> > Oh, Microsoft, you've done it again! But this time it is not gonna make such
> > amount of noise as embedding IE into OS.
> >
> > Alex
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
>
> --
> Richard Vowles, Senior Systems Engineer,
> Inprise New Zealand
> MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> HTTP: http://www.esperanto.org.nz
> [my messages contain my own opinions, not those of my employer]
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
--
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A very small, very small shirker named Jo-Jo
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Not making a souund! Not a yipp! Not a chirp!
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>From 'Horton hears a who!' by Dr Seuss
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