On 2013-10-03 08:23, John McKown wrote:
Of course, one problem with this is "where the individual is doing the development?" question. If they are doing it on their employer's machine, then the employer likely has some rights to the software. Most of the Apple/Android apps are developed on a person's own PC, and so there is not really any question about who "owns" it.
It is almost a certainty that the employer will retain the rights to the code, and almost as likely that the employer will deny a request to share the code publicly.
Since IBM does_not_ supply a free/low cost way to have your own z machine with software, this is not likely to catch on. As much as I like it. Might be interesting if IBM had a z/OS system that they maintained on which an individual could afford to have their own account, like in the old days of "time sharing". Of course, IBM (on the z at least) has little or no interest in any "product" which does not have a high "markup". So I doubt this is going to happen.
IBM does not provide a z/OS platform that is cost-appropriate for an individual independent developer who is not a Powerball winner. However, they do offer a remote development facility at Dallas. This facility provides you with a guest z/OS running under z/VM for USD $550 per month. It would be up to the individual developer to determine whether that price is feasible in the context of the revenues he/she derives from the product(s) he/she produces.
One big difficulty for this business model is the small number of potential customers. The Apple and Google app marketplaces each have hundreds of millions of potential customers. Someone producing a z/OS app has perhaps a few thousand at most. Nobody is about to get rich selling z/OS apps for $100 a pop.
-- Regards, Gord Tomlin Action Software International (a division of Mazda Computer Corporation) Tel: (905) 470-7113, Fax: (905) 470-6507 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
