Re: Market pressures for more reliable software

["Marin David Condic" <marin.condic.auntie.spam@pacemicro.com>]

Is it a surprise that Bill Gates has noticed this and is busy trying to con
people into keeping their software & data on some central server for which
he can charge? Has anybody noticed that the model he suggests is absolutely
*no* different at its core from the model we used to have of a large
centralized datacenter that wrote all your software for you and stored all
your data for you and managed everything for you? Ever wonder why that model
fell on the wayside once computers got fast enough and cheap enough for the
average person to own one? (Synonym: Those in the Federal Govt who would say
"Send us all your money and we'll spend it for you and take care of you...")

What disturbs me is not that there are those out there who would suggest
such a large, centralized model and call it "new". What disturbs me is the
credit they give to our intelligence. That and the fact that there are
people out there who *will* swollow it whole - and they are allowed to vote
and drive cars.

MDC
--
Marin David Condic
Senior Software Engineer
Pace Micro Technology Americas    www.pacemicro.com
Enabling the digital revolution
e-Mail:    marin.condic@pacemicro.com
Web:      http://www.mcondic.com/


"James A. Robertson" <jarober@mail.com> wrote in message
news:3B2B6D5E.F9AE7CAB@mail.com...
> The problem occurs once your software reaches a 'mature' state - then
> few are buying new licenses (there's no need), and few buy support (it's
> mature and doesn't need it).  This is what is starting to happen with MS
> Office, and is also something that has hit the development tools sector.
>
> The answer that seems to work is a subscription model, which you can
> find large numbers of people railing against.
>
> The base problem is that over time, people in fact won't pay for support
> - especially once the product gets to a state where it doesn't need a
> lot of it.
>