Subject: From: Date:

RE: [ECS] Support, custom interfaces Ingo Dean Wed, 30 Sep 1998 18:45:18 -0400

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While I don't believe that $50/year would be excessive for what we get in
terms of support now, I should point out that ECS is $195.  So that annual
$50 is roughly 25% of purchase price.  I am responsible for a bunch of
equipment and software at work, and annual support contracts generally cost
in the 10%-15% of purchase range.

It's possible that Mark is gearing up for this even as we speak.  The new
Authorization code that replaces EVMOVE seems to enable just this model.
Once a year, Mark could change the auth code - only those with support
contracts would get the new one - everyone else gets to keep using the old
one.

The only place where this *will* become a headache for Mark is in bug fixes.
To me, bug fixes are a right, not a privilege, and you should be able to get
them without a support contract.  But for Mark to be able to give out bug
fixes on last year's software will require him to split his build trees and
support multiple releases... not fun.

Perhaps Mark could expand his Auth codes to be aware of what features you
are entitled to depending on whether or not you have a support contract or
when your last year of support ended.  Then it could be a single build, with
features enabled/disabled per your Auth code.

I'd rather not have to buy ECS features one-by-one.  Buying the hardware is
often expensive enough.  And I think it would splinter the user base too
much.

Mark, I don't want to tell you how to run your business - I just want to
show my support and my belief that your continued improvement of ECS is
worth some extra money, at least to me.  I'm growing to depend on ECS more
and more every day, and would hate to see something happen to take it away.
I guess I want to protect my investment.

--ingo

> -----Original Message-----
...
> Mark, I hope you will forgive my meddling in your business
> affairs, but I do
> have some thoughts on how to remedy this problem.  One of these
> ideas might
> be the answer.  Perhaps we'd implement more than one suggestion.
>
> 1)	An annual support fee; perhaps $50.00?  Or, maybe $10 per
> interface used?
> This fee could cover bug fixes, and Mark's support here on the list.
>
> 2)	An upgrade fee for new minor, non-bug fix versions; perhaps $25.00?
>
> 3)	An upgrade fee for new major, non-bug fix versions; perhaps $50.00?
>
> 4)	An honor system, whereby anyone who uses any of the privately funded
> interfaces would send Mark a small donation; perhaps $25.00?
>
> 5)	A small fee for any interfaces used beyond the basic ones
> supported by
> ECS; again, perhaps $25.00?
>
> What do you guys think?  Mark?
...

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