>> There's no way a mail provider could charge a single fee without going bankrupt due to customers who use the service for too long.
Uh... you cound buy your own mail server? E.g. Exchange Server? Duh!
>> Now, it makes no sense at all for software. When I buy MS Word, MS doesn't need to pay every month for the maintenance of that service. I'm the one who pays for the electricity for the computer it runs on, and the one who pays for the support.
Just as with the mail example, if Word was a web-application the providor would have ongoing costs (disk space, servers, bandwidht) and so he would have to charge monthly fees! Duh!
>> If your company's business will grind to a halt without a working word processor, you don't buy a subscription that makes it possible to suddenly stop working.
In most companies email is a critical service. In ours a day without email would be a day with everyone sitting around doing nothing and losing money. But email is frequently oursourced. And I do have experience with this both ways - we hosted our own mail servers, and we outsourced. And outsourced servers are in general more reliable, because the providor does ONLY that. It's his whole business, and so he would go to much greater lengths to ensure service to us. Duh!
I don't think Google or MS will go out of business overnight without letting anyone know.
Idiot
We actually bought the old cluster Jackson used (for next to nothing I might add!) It's 62 PCs (no they run Windows) totalling 124 processors (2 racks full)
That's a total of 124GHz and 124GB of RAM. We're using it to render architectural fly-through movies.
Users will choose software as a service because of the benefit it has over traditional software. For a large section of the software market this will make traditional software pale into nothingness compared to what service-based software can provide:
- Access your data anywhere you want, from any PC that has a browser - Don't worry about losing your data, since a team of professionals will make sure it's secure and backed up at all times - Never worry about updating and upgrading - it will happen automatically. - Connect your software with other systems in real-time, without you having to buy a server. - Have more sex - etc.
In a word: Duh! We already see web-mail services being better at filtering spam, easier to access if you're away from your normal PC and so on. Many users pay for this service. I know quite a few businesses that won't use their ISP's mail server, because of these reasons. They choose web-mail. This is expanding in many many different sections of the software market. The big players like MS will take longer to start doing this, because they have a significant investment in creating traditional software. But newer companies like Google will start to exploit the benefits they can provide with web-based software. In 10 years I'll bet that a large percentage of software systems will be service-based, probably over a browser or other thin client.
Software as a service is most beneficial for business users. I don't know what country you live in, but here in Africa we don't have business PCs that are not permanently connected to the internet via either ADSL or fibre. And it's pretty damn reliable, as it should be, since all non-trivial businesses depend on the internet already (e.g. email)
Actually the cost of the software is usually minimal compared to the cost of training users, migrating the data etc. So there is no more incentive for users to switch with service-based software. In fact, once a user is using a service-based application, he will probably only consider a switch to another service-based app, not to a pre-paid one.
Applications like Office will probably be run in the same way as webmail (gmail etc) where the usage is 'free' in exchange for some ad space or whatever. M$ will still make money, because they will save on distribution costs, they will lock in users more, since M$Word2005.net documents will not be available to traditional apps to open/convert if M$ so chooses, and M$ can patch up their one application in one spot. It's great! It also means that your documents will be backed up properly and protected by a team of security experts, rather than just sitting on your HDD that can crash at any moment.
You obviously don't work in the industry, or you work at some old-fashioned company with no decent vision. We've been working with web services with MANY of our suppliers for YEARS. And I know MANY companies that's selling software as a service RIGHT NOW and making a huge success.
We do that too. We give our clients the option: Buy the licence outright, or rent it. So far out of 700 sales we have not a single buyer.
Also I hear BS about how this is bad trusting a third party with your data. The truth is that these companies will take MUCH better care of your data than the average user will. I.e. continual backups, proper security and the like. Our clients can sleep easy knowing that a dedicated team of professionals are looking after their important data very carefully.
I don't know what the hell this article is all about. Software as a service EXISTS ALREADY and has been around for years! Ever heard of web-applications? Like, say WEB MAIL?!?!
Thin client = web browser.
We run a subscription-based software service, over the web. As the net gets faster, latency goes down, and web-apps will become more and more like desktop apps. Sure desktop apps will always be a bit faster, but for many applications an HTML interface works just fine.
All these new acronyms are just a waste of time. The only thing it will achieve is a PhD for whoever the idiot is that worked on those specs.
Our office (500+) has not seen a floppy for 2 years now. I know LOTS of other businesses that can say the same. Hell our University banned floppies ages ago - everyone uses email because it can be virus scanned more effectively. I'd say if you're still using floppies for anything you should wake up or grow up. It's 2004 dammit.
Backup solutions using tape is dying out very fast. Too unreliable, slow, small and labour intensive. We backup 5TB of data. Every 12 hours. Automatically, with no user intervention except to swap the media every 24 hours for off-site storage. All for a minimal cost.
How do we do it? Hard drives! Try that with a tape solution. Tapes are dead as far as everyone I know is concerned.
What about those machines which don't have USB drives or who aren't on a network?
What country do you live in? Machines without USB? Not on a network??? You're not making any sense here man! I have something hectic to tell you: The year is not 1994. It's actually 2004. Yes, you've been in a coma for 10 years.
Paypal has a long history of bad customer service. Example: If someone used a bad / blocked credit card to pay you via PayPal, they immediately froze your account and all other money from legitimate sources. They are the ONLY credit card facility that will not take any risk. Read their terms and conditions for receivers of money. Result of this is that thousands of legitimate sellers lost access to millions of dollars for months and months while Paypal refused to help them.
PayPal = Evil monopoly.
I got the email too, but I can't figure out if I can claim anything or not. I luckily never had my account suspended or overcharged, but it looks like the suit may get me something anyway... Is that right?
Slashdot Mirror
>>so give it a freakin' rest already.
I think you mean 'Phreaking'.
So why is it that my company makes several million dollars in profit every month from software provided as a service?
Proof is in the pudding!
>> There's no way a mail provider could charge a single fee without going bankrupt due to customers who use the service for too long. Uh... you cound buy your own mail server? E.g. Exchange Server? Duh! >> Now, it makes no sense at all for software. When I buy MS Word, MS doesn't need to pay every month for the maintenance of that service. I'm the one who pays for the electricity for the computer it runs on, and the one who pays for the support. Just as with the mail example, if Word was a web-application the providor would have ongoing costs (disk space, servers, bandwidht) and so he would have to charge monthly fees! Duh! >> If your company's business will grind to a halt without a working word processor, you don't buy a subscription that makes it possible to suddenly stop working. In most companies email is a critical service. In ours a day without email would be a day with everyone sitting around doing nothing and losing money. But email is frequently oursourced. And I do have experience with this both ways - we hosted our own mail servers, and we outsourced. And outsourced servers are in general more reliable, because the providor does ONLY that. It's his whole business, and so he would go to much greater lengths to ensure service to us. Duh! I don't think Google or MS will go out of business overnight without letting anyone know. Idiot
We actually bought the old cluster Jackson used (for next to nothing I might add!) It's 62 PCs (no they run Windows) totalling 124 processors (2 racks full)
That's a total of 124GHz and 124GB of RAM. We're using it to render architectural fly-through movies.
Hmm... I'm all hot now... Need a cold shower!
Users will choose software as a service because of the benefit it has over traditional software. For a large section of the software market this will make traditional software pale into nothingness compared to what service-based software can provide:
- Access your data anywhere you want, from any PC that has a browser
- Don't worry about losing your data, since a team of professionals will make sure it's secure and backed up at all times
- Never worry about updating and upgrading - it will happen automatically.
- Connect your software with other systems in real-time, without you having to buy a server.
- Have more sex
- etc.
In a word: Duh! We already see web-mail services being better at filtering spam, easier to access if you're away from your normal PC and so on. Many users pay for this service. I know quite a few businesses that won't use their ISP's mail server, because of these reasons. They choose web-mail. This is expanding in many many different sections of the software market. The big players like MS will take longer to start doing this, because they have a significant investment in creating traditional software. But newer companies like Google will start to exploit the benefits they can provide with web-based software. In 10 years I'll bet that a large percentage of software systems will be service-based, probably over a browser or other thin client.
Software as a service is most beneficial for business users. I don't know what country you live in, but here in Africa we don't have business PCs that are not permanently connected to the internet via either ADSL or fibre. And it's pretty damn reliable, as it should be, since all non-trivial businesses depend on the internet already (e.g. email)
Actually the cost of the software is usually minimal compared to the cost of training users, migrating the data etc. So there is no more incentive for users to switch with service-based software. In fact, once a user is using a service-based application, he will probably only consider a switch to another service-based app, not to a pre-paid one.
Applications like Office will probably be run in the same way as webmail (gmail etc) where the usage is 'free' in exchange for some ad space or whatever. M$ will still make money, because they will save on distribution costs, they will lock in users more, since M$Word2005.net documents will not be available to traditional apps to open/convert if M$ so chooses, and M$ can patch up their one application in one spot. It's great! It also means that your documents will be backed up properly and protected by a team of security experts, rather than just sitting on your HDD that can crash at any moment.
You obviously don't work in the industry, or you work at some old-fashioned company with no decent vision. We've been working with web services with MANY of our suppliers for YEARS. And I know MANY companies that's selling software as a service RIGHT NOW and making a huge success.
We do that too. We give our clients the option: Buy the licence outright, or rent it. So far out of 700 sales we have not a single buyer.
Also I hear BS about how this is bad trusting a third party with your data. The truth is that these companies will take MUCH better care of your data than the average user will. I.e. continual backups, proper security and the like. Our clients can sleep easy knowing that a dedicated team of professionals are looking after their important data very carefully.
I don't know what the hell this article is all about. Software as a service EXISTS ALREADY and has been around for years! Ever heard of web-applications? Like, say WEB MAIL?!?!
Thin client = web browser.
We run a subscription-based software service, over the web. As the net gets faster, latency goes down, and web-apps will become more and more like desktop apps. Sure desktop apps will always be a bit faster, but for many applications an HTML interface works just fine.
All these new acronyms are just a waste of time. The only thing it will achieve is a PhD for whoever the idiot is that worked on those specs.
Typo, my fault. It's 19.6 million shares (RTFA). 19.6 * 85 = 1666
19.8 million shares * $85 = 1.666 billion. Yep that's right: 666. What happened to 'Don't be evil'?
I'm going to patent adding K to RGBCMY screens! And maybe white? Hmm... What will I do with all the money I make?
Cha-ching! What did that cost you per TB? And do you backup 24 TB each night? Or just incremental? And what about off-site storage?
Other than floppy drives, what would one use for data migration from an admittedly outdated school computer lab that once used floppies?
Here in deep dark Africa we use a new technology called EMAIL.
That's funny shit man
Our office (500+) has not seen a floppy for 2 years now. I know LOTS of other businesses that can say the same. Hell our University banned floppies ages ago - everyone uses email because it can be virus scanned more effectively. I'd say if you're still using floppies for anything you should wake up or grow up. It's 2004 dammit.
Backup solutions using tape is dying out very fast. Too unreliable, slow, small and labour intensive. We backup 5TB of data. Every 12 hours. Automatically, with no user intervention except to swap the media every 24 hours for off-site storage. All for a minimal cost.
How do we do it? Hard drives! Try that with a tape solution. Tapes are dead as far as everyone I know is concerned.
Uh, we here in Dark Africa use a thing called EMAIL at the university to send files home and to hand in assignments.
What about those machines which don't have USB drives or who aren't on a network?
What country do you live in? Machines without USB? Not on a network??? You're not making any sense here man! I have something hectic to tell you: The year is not 1994. It's actually 2004. Yes, you've been in a coma for 10 years.
You still use floppy disks? Bwaha! My last 2 PCs had multi-card readers instead.
Floppies are for hippies. That's the most useless piece of hardware you can still buy out there.
There's a list of excluded countries. Australia is not on that list - Woo! AUD 0.50 for me!
Paypal has a long history of bad customer service. Example: If someone used a bad / blocked credit card to pay you via PayPal, they immediately froze your account and all other money from legitimate sources. They are the ONLY credit card facility that will not take any risk. Read their terms and conditions for receivers of money. Result of this is that thousands of legitimate sellers lost access to millions of dollars for months and months while Paypal refused to help them. PayPal = Evil monopoly.
I got the email too, but I can't figure out if I can claim anything or not. I luckily never had my account suspended or overcharged, but it looks like the suit may get me something anyway... Is that right?