and/or nuclear plants with passive safety systems and a rational waste storage facilities, it would be a good idea. Instead, well'l use the savings to pay down debt caused by military spending, bail out banks and making sure very wealthy people stay wealthy and get wealthier. We are almost the definition of a culture in decline.
Kid, (and you must be to have this attitude), I've met more than one developer who's had his application pirated by the basement kids and/or the Russians, Chinese or Indians. Years of work and investment down the drain in an instant. Instead of $15000 a copy for the engineering application, revenue drops to zero almost overnight as folks overseas bit torrent the cracked version and its attendant viruses.
So, the argument goes, you charged too much. Well, if you weren't such a moron, you'd realize that all markets have a finite size. If your market pool worldwide is 1000 specialized engineering organizations in foreign countries, you have to charge a certain amount to make it worth your while. You can't go down to $10. What's the point?
So yes, to have a viable business, you have to lock it down. The new distribution model is going to have to be difficult-to-pirate streaming apps, like it or not. Don't like it? Well, tough titty said the kitty. Don't use it. It's not skin off my nose. Companies and individuals usually pay up, once they have no choice.
OK, send *me* all your login and password IDs. Don't forget those bank logins! What you don't trust me? But you do trust a large corporation, who probably outsources all their work to India, or the Philippines? Of course, they only have your best interests at heart! What could go wrong?
In another 25 years, most manufacturing is some variation of 2d printing, using software. Both mass production and craftsmen will find themselves using very similar tools.
And your checkbook, cash, medical records (Sorry about that herpes thing), insurance statements and personal letters. I mean, they'll all be exact copies. Should be no problem then, eh?
Yes, but this is about software.?No, it's about property rights. If I make a sculpture, or a machine, it's mine and I can sell it and nobody has the right to take it and use it or give away copies for free, but somehow it's different for software. Please explain, ethically and legally, why that is?
OK, so I'll go to your house and take your XBox games, your books and your checkbook, because "information wants to be free" and all that's information, right? Even money.
What does that have to do with anything? Ow. Stupidity hurts! It has to do with ownership and property rights. Heard of them. They're what keeps people from wandering into your house and taking your XBox games off your kitchen table and taking them back to their house because they figure that they're entitled to them because.... just because.
Which is the prevailing attitude around here. Look, if nobody makes money on software. Nobody's going to write much of it, other than the basement kids who will stop maintenance the day they have their first child and need to get a real job. I'm sure you want your business to depend on that.
And I wouldn't blame you if that was the case. Look, there's no reason to do that. It pisses people off and there are pretty standard formats for most things. There's also no reason to save data to "the cloud" either. Who needs that kind of liability? I'd rather you save it locally, in RTF or csv, preferably.
There's controlling your data and controlling your application. It's quite possible to make a web app that stores files locally. I control the app. You control your data.
As in, executables that run in a browser (e.g. spoon.net). Less piracy. At this point, there's no way I'd mess with a phone app, or an old fashioned installible. Either one will be pirated by a bunch of giggling teenage basement hackers in seconds.
Yes, I could go broke by releasing my stuff as open source instead. You first.
The problem, of course, was that the moment you sold the program, it was reverse engineered back into source and pirated by a bunch of giggling teens and twenty somethings which made writing software a losing game for individuals.
So, there's nothing wrong with a web-based subscription model, which basically stops a lot of piracy and allows you to lower the price of your software a lot, as long as you run the software from your web site and Microsoft/Apple/Android have nothing to do with it.
I wouldn't worry too much about $10 software either. It won't make you much money unless you do the software equivalent of hitting the lottery (e.g. angry birds). The more likely money is in something that needs repeated use that gets sold to businesses, not individuals (e.g. personal medical records access).
The Supreme Court has been as thoroughly purchased as congress. Corporations are people. Money is speech. The court no longer serves the people any more than congress does.
Slashdot Mirror
So, no bandwidth available for such. Pity.
and/or nuclear plants with passive safety systems and a rational waste storage facilities, it would be a good idea. Instead, well'l use the savings to pay down debt caused by military spending, bail out banks and making sure very wealthy people stay wealthy and get wealthier. We are almost the definition of a culture in decline.
Kid, (and you must be to have this attitude), I've met more than one developer who's had his application pirated by the basement kids and/or the Russians, Chinese or Indians. Years of work and investment down the drain in an instant. Instead of $15000 a copy for the engineering application, revenue drops to zero almost overnight as folks overseas bit torrent the cracked version and its attendant viruses.
So, the argument goes, you charged too much. Well, if you weren't such a moron, you'd realize that all markets have a finite size. If your market pool worldwide is 1000 specialized engineering organizations in foreign countries, you have to charge a certain amount to make it worth your while. You can't go down to $10. What's the point?
So yes, to have a viable business, you have to lock it down. The new distribution model is going to have to be difficult-to-pirate streaming apps, like it or not. Don't like it? Well, tough titty said the kitty. Don't use it. It's not skin off my nose. Companies and individuals usually pay up, once they have no choice.
OK, send *me* all your login and password IDs. Don't forget those bank logins! What you don't trust me? But you do trust a large corporation, who probably outsources all their work to India, or the Philippines? Of course, they only have your best interests at heart! What could go wrong?
The dark, edgy reboot as Gilligan and the Skipper land on the "Lost" island. A threeeee hour tour. A threee hour tour.
And who watches the watchers watching the watchers? And if two witches were watching two watches, which witch was watching which watch?
OK, I got a little off-topic with that one.
http://xkcd.com/927/
Oh, lucky them. Look! It's cranky-old-guy ranting again. Zzzzzzzz.....
I would have gone for "Born in the USA"
In another 25 years, most manufacturing is some variation of 2d printing, using software. Both mass production and craftsmen will find themselves using very similar tools.
Now get off my virtual lawn!
And your checkbook, cash, medical records (Sorry about that herpes thing), insurance statements and personal letters. I mean, they'll all be exact copies. Should be no problem then, eh?
Yes, but this is about software.?No, it's about property rights. If I make a sculpture, or a machine, it's mine and I can sell it and nobody has the right to take it and use it or give away copies for free, but somehow it's different for software. Please explain, ethically and legally, why that is?
OK, so I'll go to your house and take your XBox games, your books and your checkbook, because "information wants to be free" and all that's information, right? Even money.
What does that have to do with anything?
Ow. Stupidity hurts! It has to do with ownership and property rights. Heard of them. They're what keeps people from wandering into your house and taking your XBox games off your kitchen table and taking them back to their house because they figure that they're entitled to them because.... just because.
The market will take care of apps that lock in too much. IBM tried that in the 80s with personal computers. It didn't work out so well.
Which is the prevailing attitude around here. Look, if nobody makes money on software. Nobody's going to write much of it, other than the basement kids who will stop maintenance the day they have their first child and need to get a real job. I'm sure you want your business to depend on that.
And I wouldn't blame you if that was the case. Look, there's no reason to do that. It pisses people off and there are pretty standard formats for most things. There's also no reason to save data to "the cloud" either. Who needs that kind of liability? I'd rather you save it locally, in RTF or csv, preferably.
"They" just want to take away what remaining ownership I have over the software I've written. That's all. Is that so bad?
Yes, if you're in business, it is. If I made cars, you wouldn't get them for free either.
There's controlling your data and controlling your application. It's quite possible to make a web app that stores files locally. I control the app. You control your data.
As in, executables that run in a browser (e.g. spoon.net). Less piracy. At this point, there's no way I'd mess with a phone app, or an old fashioned installible. Either one will be pirated by a bunch of giggling teenage basement hackers in seconds.
Yes, I could go broke by releasing my stuff as open source instead. You first.
The problem, of course, was that the moment you sold the program, it was reverse engineered back into source and pirated by a bunch of giggling teens and twenty somethings which made writing software a losing game for individuals.
So, there's nothing wrong with a web-based subscription model, which basically stops a lot of piracy and allows you to lower the price of your software a lot, as long as you run the software from your web site and Microsoft/Apple/Android have nothing to do with it.
I wouldn't worry too much about $10 software either. It won't make you much money unless you do the software equivalent of hitting the lottery (e.g. angry birds). The more likely money is in something that needs repeated use that gets sold to businesses, not individuals (e.g. personal medical records access).
Whee.
And the public library is still free.
Interesting, and thanks for pointing that out. I wonder if it's possible to find out what was actually purchased?
The Supreme Court has been as thoroughly purchased as congress. Corporations are people. Money is speech. The court no longer serves the people any more than congress does.