Good Points, I have a problem with software that requires other software, but that's a whole different problem.
There IS a lot of new software out there, but how much of it is actually necessary to get the job done, and at what cost? The concept that free software has associated costs because you have to support it yourself is technically true, but not a very good one. I have performed contracts for several software vendors (in fact almost all of them) and I don't think that they have a higher commitment to the client than the client themselves have to maintaining code. There is some work associated to maintaining the code, even the free stuff, but in most cases, it pales in comparison to the cost of the commercial stuff. As I had said before, I don't have a problem with developers who want to support themselves on software revenue, but do they have to charge quite that much??? For instance, look at the VPS product, it's a great product, no question, and is very useful, but does it really need to cost QUITE so much?? The basic concept of what it does isn't rocket science, but I am always surprised when I see what people are paying for VPS especially in light of the available alternatives (one of which is me:). There will always be sites that absolutely MUST have the high cost, platinum level "commercially supported" software, even if it performs no better, (and sometimes worse) than the free and very low cost counterparts, but most of that is a result of FUD. But that's just my $.02, and I'm sure a lot of people may disagree. I just wanted to point out that a lot of money is "wasted" on products that are unnecessary, for a lot of reasons, and that sites need to stay on top of what they are paying for. Brian ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
