Hello, Have you considered introducing a limited paid version (sold for a fraction of the pro licence) in addition to a free limited personal version? There could be three versions:
Personal - free, limited, personal use, no source code Standard - non-free (say 50 euro), (less?) limited, commercial use, no source code Professional - non-free, unlimited, commercial use, source code My expectation is that a large number of people who now use the Standard edition and do not need the more advanced Pro features (extensibility, connectivity, etc.) might be willing to pay for it. I would. Best wishes, Mariusz Idzikowski ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hussein Shafie" <[email protected]> To: "Robert Ganowski" <robert.ganowski at wp.pl>; <denisb at streambase.com>; <andrews at oreilly.com>; <keith at oreilly.com> Cc: <xmleditor-support at xmlmind.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 11:47 AM Subject: Re: [XXE] As of v3.6, XMLmind XML Editor Personal Edition will replaceStandard Edition > --> Why not open source XMLmind XML Editor? > > [1] We, XMLmind, don't know how to make money with Open Source software. > [2] We, XMLmind, don't know how to manage Open Source software (e.g. > contributions, access to CVS, etc). > > > > --> Why replace Standard Edition by Personal Edition? > > We feel that a substantial number of Standard Edition users are using > XMLmind XML Editor *very*, *very*, professionally, that is, > - they heavily depend on it for their work, > - they do very complicated things with it, > - they do not hesitate to *flood* xmleditor-support at xmlmind.com with > hard-to-answer questions and hard-to-reject RFEs. > > These users were welcome to do so because Standard Edition allowed this > behavior. In fact, we *liked* very much everything about this kind of > demanding users, except the fact that they didn't buy even a single $220 > license from us. > > But these advanced Standard Edition users cost us too much time and > effort and therefore, this has to stop. That's why we have decided to > replace Standard Edition by Personal Edition. > > > > --> But many people will simply stop using XMLmind XML Editor, people > will stop recommending XMLmind XML Editor, your sales will drop, you'll > go out of business, you are doomed, etc. What about that? > > If this has to happen, well, let it happen and let it happen *fast*. We > are very small company, very agile. We'll develop another product (or > we'll take the time to learn how to make money with Open Source ;-) ) > > > > Robert Ganowski wrote: >> >> Please let me envisage that I'm pretty much disappointed. Am I alone?. >> You are >> giving rights and you are taking those rights away and that's the point >> I'm >> disappointed the most. It is of course your product and your rights to do >> whatever you want, but I'd rather believed you'll, one day, go in >> absolutely >> other direction. I don't know why but I believed you'll go fully open >> source, >> as many other great products. >> >> You have a great: useful and beautiful XML editor (for me it is a DocBook >> editor), and it is probably worth the money you want to sale it for. >> Product >> is worth as much as people want to pay. And... I'm also not a man who >> cannot >> afford it. But... it's really strange filling, to have some >> possibilities, >> and to loose them. You were answering many questions in a very rapid >> manner. >> I was always impressed. You had time to answer all those stupid questions >> and >> that was really amazing. Now you write: download 3.5.2 because it is last >> version of those, you can use not only for strictly personal use, and if >> you >> don't buy next one I wont answer your inquiries. >> >> I'm not angry. It is not the thing. I'm really pretty much disappointed. >> In >> any document I prepared, I included a note, that it was written in >> XMLmind >> XML Editor Standard Edition according to DocBook XML schema. Did you ever >> see >> any document written for example in MS Word in which someone put such a >> message: ?It was prepared in Microsoft Word?? I was really proud to use >> your >> product, but now it's getting to be just a tool. Of course a good, a >> great, >> tool, but only a tool... >> >> Thank you very much for all the things you've done up to now. >> Best regards, >> Robert >> >> Dnia poniedzia?ek, 26 marca 2007 12:47, Hussein Shafie napisa?: >>>As of v3.6 (should be released in the next few weeks), XMLmind XML >>>Editor Personal Edition will replace Standard Edition. >>> >>>Personal Edition will be free of charge, will be functionally identical >>>to Standard Edition, but will come with a license which restricts its >>>use to personal use. >>> >>>More information in http://www.xmlmind.com/xmleditor/std_to_perso.html > > > > > Denis Bradford wrote: >> Why shouldn't Hussein and pixware make a living making their great >> software, especially from other businesses who presumably also charge >> their customers? (Don't forget, there is still the free Personal >> Edition.) In my opinion, for-profit companies and open-source can have a >> healthy symbiotic relationship, and this is a very good example. Michael >> Kaye's Saxon is another, similar example. Where would we be without them? >> >> Open standards (XML, XSL, etc.) and dialects (DocBook, DITA, etc.) >> absolutely rule in the publishing world, but so far I haven't seen any >> open source XML editors as good as the best commercial ones (which >> include XML Mind). So XML Mind is not and never has been open source, but >> it supports and extends open standards and tools. In my opinion that's >> how commercial tools should work. So I think $220 is a bargain. > > > > > Andrew Savikas wrote: >> I was disheartened to learn that you've chosen to continue making the >> free >> version of your product even less useful to end users. >> (http://www.xmlmind.com/xmleditor/std_to_perso.html). >> >> I've posted an open letter in response to your decision on XML.com, at: >> http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2007/03/an_open_letter_to_xml_mind_on.htm >> l > > > > Keith Fahlgren wrote: >> That mirrors our response here at O'Reilly: >> >> >> http://www.oreillynet.com/xml/blog/2007/03/an_open_letter_to_xml_mind_on.html > > > -- > XMLmind XML Editor Support List > xmleditor-support at xmlmind.com > http://www.xmlmind.com/mailman/listinfo/xmleditor-support > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.20/736 - Release Date: 07-03-27 > 16:38 > >
