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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.cs.su.oz.au!metro!metro!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news.mindspring.com!reflections.eng.mindspring.net!tlewis From: Todd Graham Lewis <tlewis@mindspring.com> Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: New BSDI Pricing Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 14:35:58 -0400 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises Lines: 26 Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.970419143119.789C-100000@reflections.eng.mindspring.net> References: <E8ssJ8.Mqr@news.interactive.net> Reply-To: Todd Graham Lewis <tlewis@mindspring.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: mirror.mindspring.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8BIT X-Server-Date: 19 Apr 1997 18:36:01 GMT X-Sender: tlewis@reflections.eng.mindspring.net In-Reply-To: <E8ssJ8.Mqr@news.interactive.net> Return-Receipt-To: tlewis@mindspring.com Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:6676 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:39363 On Thu, 17 Apr 1997 ritz@interactive.spamthis.net wrote: > Does anyone else find the new BSDI license prices to be a > bit on the silly side? (...) > However, I can't help but feel that in an environment where > the quality and support of some free alternatives is getting > so good, that this isn't a questionable move. (...) > For quick and dirty unix tasks (dns, authentication and news > machines) FreeBSD is starting to look awfully attractive. The phrases "rock" and "hard place" come to mind. If they drop their prices too low, the moronic übercorporate types will assume "$1k per license? It must be crappy". If they raise them too high, clueful types will ask "Is BSDI really worth $3k/per box more than FreeBSD or Linux?" and usually answer "no". For better or worse, the free Unices are pushing people like SCO and BSDI out of the low-end Unix market. I'm ambivalent about the phenomenon, but I think it's occurring. -- Todd Graham Lewis Linux! Core Engineering MindSpring Enterprises tlewis@mindspring.com (800) 719 4664, x2804