| Re: IDL Student Edition for Linux? [message #3686] |
Sun, 05 March 1995 06:38  |
gurman
Messages: 82
Registered: August 1992
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Member |
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In article <3ja90p$lm2@decaxp.harvard.edu>, kkobayas@fas.harvard.edu (Ken
Kobayashi) wrote:
> gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov (Joseph B. Gurman) writes:
>
>> ....and imagine how many tech support people they'd have to hire to
>> service those student licensees.... and how that cost would be reflected
>> in the license costs.... for other platforms?
>
> Well, as far as I know the student version of Mathematica includes NO
> tech support. Still I greatly appreciate its low price (~$150 or so, I
> think).
It would be interesting to see if RSI would go the same route, given
their purposely keeping the price of Windows and Mac licenses high in
order to avoid frustrating people trying to reach an overstretched tech
support group. I wonder if the idea of providing unsupported licenses has
even occurred to them as either an immediate revenue enhancer, or a
long-term strategy: hook 'em while they're young and they'll stick with
you forever. Makes you wonder about how different software marketing and
drug or religious cult marketing are.
Worked for unix, after all....
Joe Gurman
--
Joseph B. Gurman / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/ Solar Data Analysis Center / Code 682 / Greenbelt MD 20771 USA / gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov
| Federal employees are still prohibited from holding opinions while at work. Any opinions expressed herein must therefore be someone else's. |
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| Re: IDL Student Edition for Linux? [message #3692 is a reply to message #3686] |
Sat, 04 March 1995 20:59  |
davem
Messages: 5
Registered: February 1995
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Junior Member |
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In article <gurman-0403951057270001@arrowroot.gsfc.nasa.gov>,
Joseph B. Gurman <gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov> wrote:
>
>> Imagine how many copies of an IDL Student Edition for Linux (or IDL
>> Lite for Linux) that RSI could sell if the price was right! I'll bet
>> they could sell ten copies for every workstation licence currently in
>> the field....
>
> ....and imagine how many tech support people they'd have to hire to
> service those student licensees.... and how that cost would be reflected
> in the license costs.... for other platforms?
I think not. Most student editions of software come without either
"regular" tech support or upgrade privileges. (Bug reports are
usually accepted and FAQ's are often maintained for workarounds.) Some
come without manuals. They are intended to provide students (and
faculty) with the opportunity to learn how to use a package and
complete homework assignments at home. That is, without having to buy
a package at full price or resorting to software piracy.
If issuing student or academic editions works for Mathsoft, The
MathWorks, AutoDesk, Lotus, Microsoft, Borland, Symantec, etc., I'm
sure RSI can find a way to make it work, too.
--
Dave Michelson University of British Columbia
davem@ee.ubc.ca Radar Remote Sensing Group
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| Re: IDL Student Edition for Linux? [message #3769 is a reply to message #3686] |
Sun, 12 March 1995 18:51 |
rep2857
Messages: 28
Registered: December 1994
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Junior Member |
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In article <gurman-0503950938420001@arrowroot.gsfc.nasa.gov>,
Joseph B. Gurman <gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov> wrote:
> In article <3ja90p$lm2@decaxp.harvard.edu>, kkobayas@fas.harvard.edu (Ken
> Kobayashi) wrote:
>
>> Well, as far as I know the student version of Mathematica includes NO
>> tech support. Still I greatly appreciate its low price (~$150 or so, I
>> think).
>
...
> ... I wonder if the idea of providing unsupported licenses has
> even occurred to them as either an immediate revenue enhancer, or a
> long-term strategy: ...
I don't think I've ever seen an official word on it, but I believe RSI
sells runtime versions of IDL to developers. It seems to me that it
would have to be structured similarly to what was just mentioned
(unsupported licenses). In this case, support would fall back to the
developer, rather than RSI. Isn't that how support of runtime versions
for most software is structured?
Mike Schienle Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center
rep2857@sbsun0010.sbrc.hac.com 75 Coromar Drive, M/S B28/87
Voice: (805)562-7466 Fax: (805)562-7881 Goleta, CA 93117
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| Re: IDL Student Edition for Linux? [message #3798 is a reply to message #3699] |
Wed, 08 March 1995 22:47 |
miff
Messages: 2
Registered: October 1994
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Junior Member |
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gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov (Joseph B. Gurman) writes:
>> Imagine how many copies of an IDL Student Edition for Linux (or IDL
>> Lite for Linux) that RSI could sell if the price was right! I'll bet
>> they could sell ten copies for every workstation licence currently in
>> the field....
> ....and imagine how many tech support people they'd have to hire to
> service those student licensees.... and how that cost would be reflected
> in the license costs.... for other platforms?
So don't offer support on student versions; most likely users of such
a version will be in contact with someone more competent (that's why
they're students, right?) who can provide the no-brainer support anyway.
Just speaking of Linux versions, has anyone tried the Linux versions of
IDL and PV-wave under the NetBSD Linux-emulation mode? I'm not willing
to risk Linux for mission-critical applications, but NetBSD is a different
kettle of fish.
> Joe Gurman
--
# mike smith : miff@apanix.apana.org.au - Silicon grease monkey #
# "The question 'why are the fundamental laws of nature mathematical' #
# then invites the trivial response 'because we define as fundamental #
# those laws which are mathematical'". Paul Davies, _The_Mind_of_God_. #
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