Of course, there's a possibility to write your own system using OOo-basic. I just started myself, taking over an existing company with 8 employees. For CRM they use perfectview, a database-app. They also create bills and offerings in Perfectview. Accounting is done in exact. Both programs don't work together, soI tried switching over to OSS but didn't find any replacement for perfectview.
So eventually I had to buy a license for exact and 8 licenses for perfectview. I tried creating a database-app in OOo-basic (I like it to run as a standalone-app) but the time it takes (and time=money) to write this kind of app doesn't compare to buying the licenses. Also, there's the advantage of updates whenever tax-laws change etc etc. It's easy to determine it's cheaper to buy exact then to write your own system.
The same holds for window-licenses. As everyone knows how windows works, it'll cost you a lot switching over. Then it's cheaper to stick with windows.
Now I decided to use my spare time to redesign the business based op OSS, but most important is: investigate how much time it will cost to switch the habits of people and compare that to the cost of licenses!!!
gr
Bas
I remember HE who's name shall not be spoken on this site predict this already in the 1995-book The Road Ahead? It's been a while since I read it so I don't recall this exactly, but I do remember something about this is in the book...
gr
Bas
Slashdot Mirror
Actually not, He wrote this already in "the road ahead" in 1995...
gr
Bas
Of course, there's a possibility to write your own system using OOo-basic. I just started myself, taking over an existing company with 8 employees. For CRM they use perfectview, a database-app. They also create bills and offerings in Perfectview. Accounting is done in exact. Both programs don't work together, soI tried switching over to OSS but didn't find any replacement for perfectview. So eventually I had to buy a license for exact and 8 licenses for perfectview. I tried creating a database-app in OOo-basic (I like it to run as a standalone-app) but the time it takes (and time=money) to write this kind of app doesn't compare to buying the licenses. Also, there's the advantage of updates whenever tax-laws change etc etc. It's easy to determine it's cheaper to buy exact then to write your own system. The same holds for window-licenses. As everyone knows how windows works, it'll cost you a lot switching over. Then it's cheaper to stick with windows. Now I decided to use my spare time to redesign the business based op OSS, but most important is: investigate how much time it will cost to switch the habits of people and compare that to the cost of licenses!!! gr Bas
I remember HE who's name shall not be spoken on this site predict this already in the 1995-book The Road Ahead? It's been a while since I read it so I don't recall this exactly, but I do remember something about this is in the book... gr Bas
I guess it will be a businessmodel like sun is doing with staroffice/openoffice.org... nothing to be afraid of imho.
Damn, Too bad I'm not a continental USA citizin, I'd really like to have one of these to live in... (and $1.000.000 to pay for it) gr Bas