china buying software

[Michael Haney]

Not to change the current subject, but I was taking to my best friend
while we were eating at the local China Buffet.  The subject went from
New Age spirituality and philosophy to software.  He said something
I've never heard him say before, and it surprised me.  The one subject
we usually argued over more than anything else is the "Free" Business
Model, which is giving something away for free so you can make money
off something else related to it.  He never thought it would work for
a long time, but what he said yesterday made me think that maybe he's
finally getting it.

We were talking about Linux and here's what he said:

"Microsoft should just give copies of Windows away for free, don't
worry about all this copy protection crap and just give the OS away.
Selling an OS isn't where the money is anymore.  The money is in
selling support.  That's where a lot of Linux companies are starting
to make their money; paid support."

He gets it, finally gets it.  The whole argument about the "Free"
Business Model got started over free-to-play MMORPGs, and he thought
they'd never work.  The overwhelming success of those kinds of games
thought I think is what helped change his mind.  I mean, some of those
free2play games make more money than Blizzard does with WoW, and
that's totally through micro-payments.  BTW, it was Schick that
started the "Free" Business Model by giving away razors for free then
made a killing selling cheaply priced blade refills in the early
1900's.

You know, imagine taking this idea of micro-payments and applying it
to the world of OS support.   Hmmmm.

-- 
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
"The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking
of morality by religion." ~ Arthur C. Clarke
"The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion and
politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there is no place
for it in the endeavor of science. " ~ Carl Sagan

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