chris@touch.touch.com (Chris Moore) (04/02/91)
Is this reality - the only way to get the libraries and assorted files needed to link a MOTIF application on a Sun is to purchase those libraries in source from OSF ($1000) and "port" them or to purchase a compiled verion from a 3rd party (which all seem to cost > $500)? I have no need for MOTIF sources but find it hard to believe that compiled versions of a $1000 piece of source cost $500 or more when the royalty paid back to OSF is less than 10% of that and there is little if any value add in these products..... Plenty of folks seem to have MOTIF on a SUN - what am I missing? (If you're going to tell be brain cells please do it by mail ...) - Chris
randy@erik.UUCP (Randy Brown) (04/02/91)
From: uunet!touch.touch.com!chris (Chris Moore) > I have no need for MOTIF sources but find it hard to believe that compiled > versions of a $1000 piece of source cost $500 or more when the royalty paid > back to OSF is less than 10% of that and there is little if any value added > in these products..... There may actually may be negative value "added." It may be worth something to have the stuff compiled (properly), but beware getting old versions of Motif. Some vendors will still happily charge you money for version 1.0, which didn't work real well (I'm being gentle) and which was almost impossible to use without peeking at the source. At least if you get it from OSF you get the latest version and have the source to assist the documentation. (And of course, OSF will send a letter to Personal Workstation on your behalf claiming bias on their part for not listing your application(s) in their chart of shippping GUI apps:-)
nazgul@alphalpha.com (Kee Hinckley) (04/03/91)
In article <205@touch.touch.com> chris@touch.touch.com (Chris Moore) writes: >I have no need for MOTIF sources but find it hard to believe that compiled >versions of a $1000 piece of source cost $500 or more when the royalty paid >back to OSF is less than 10% of that and there is little if any value add >in these products..... Let's see. I suppose it takes one engineer and equipment to port and support Motif on Suns. Let's be generous and say he only has to work half time on it. (I'm assuming they are trying to keep up-to-date, apply patches and the like. And of course there is the question of support.) The cost of supporting an engineer and equipment usually is figured as about $100K/year. So we say it costs $50,000 to release Motif. Looks like they have to sell about 100 copies to break even. Now there are apparently around 15 companies in the business of doing Motif on Suns. And presumbably they are only selling these binaries to developers, not end users. Frankly, I have trouble seeing how they can support themselves on only $500/copy. -- Alfalfa Software, Inc. | Poste: The EMail for Unix nazgul@alfalfa.com | Send Anything... Anywhere 617/646-7703 (voice/fax) | info@alfalfa.com I'm not sure which upsets me more: that people are so unwilling to accept responsibility for their own actions, or that they are so eager to regulate everyone else's.
tris@alzabo.ocunix.on.ca (Tris Orendorff) (04/03/91)
randy@erik.UUCP (Randy Brown) writes: >From: uunet!touch.touch.com!chris (Chris Moore) >> I have no need for MOTIF sources but find it hard to believe that compiled >> versions of a $1000 piece of source cost $500 or more when the royalty paid >> back to OSF is less than 10% of that and there is little if any value added >> in these products..... Check out the March (or maybe February) issue of Unix World magazine. There were several sources listed for Motif on Suns. -- Sincerely Yours Tris Orendorff tris@alzabo.ocunix.on.ca ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ALGERNON: The doctors found out that Bunbury could not live ... so Bunbury died. LADY BRACKNELL: He seems to have had great confidence in the opinion of his physicians.