>From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <mike@datamann.com>
>
>Zero Powers wrote:
>
> > >From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>
> > >The issue isn't downloads, its hardcopy, and I'd be very interested in
> > >finding sources of cds for 2-3 dollars. The utility cost of downloading
> > >100M or more, especially if your local phone usage rates are not
>capped,
> > >is less than going out and buying the CD.
> >
> > So for you, software isn't free unless the supplier puts it onto some
> > physical storage medium and brings it to you for no charge? If that's
>the
> > case then, for you, there will probably never be STAAFL.
>
>If you download the software, you still need a backup copy of the download.
>Burn
>to CD? Ok, thats another hour or so of your time and another buck or so for
>a
>blank CD-R ($20/hr + $1.25/CD-R = $21.25). Or you can use a Zip disk at
>$10 a
>pop plus 15 minutes of my time ($10 + $5.00 = $15.00). What people don't
>understand is that what the 'free software' deal is about is that it really
>isn't free, its just externalizing costs. You do pay for it one way or
>another.
>When you need tech support, you have to either spend a couple hours or more
>researching existing databases, or call up and pay one of the Linux-Inc
>startups
>for tech support help. The online help and the system help on every
>implementation I've seen is poor (when you get it in English), and books
>always
>seem to miss important information, either because they want you to call
>for
>support too, or else they expect you to spend a couple-leven days wading
>through
>the entirety of a 1500 page manual.
>
>True free software is trouble free software. How likely is that?
That's a pretty tall order. I don't think I've ever had *any* software
that's been trouble free, not matter how much I paid for it.
-Zero
"I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past"
--Thomas Jefferson
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