The survey has shown that people can be divided into two categories: users who use audio software for free (no matter how), and users who want to spend money on an expensive audio product.
Where expensive software pays off after time, free software is, also, like laziness: it pays off immediately. Expensive software usually has better support, more features and added value like sample libraries. Free software requires less fiddling with dongles, and of course, it's immediately available.
From a developers viewpoint, there are many advantages with free software and open development: it's easier for third parties to contribute, communities build faster, blogs and magazines advertise the program earlier. There is all kind of fame associated with a free product, yet development has to be financed in some way if the application is becoming too important to drop.
From my experience with a software company I worked for, the major part of time (and ultimately cost) is spent in support. People ask questions about a lot of things - they report bugs and compatibility issues, they talk about usage problems (and rarely suggest features!) and often need assistance with the operating system itself.
So why not put the fee where it costs?
I spent thinking several days about how I could make everyone happy, including myself. It would not be in your interest if I did all this for free. In the end, it would only mean that production would be abandoned in case I lost my paying job and had to find work. That would serve nobody.
So this is how we are going to start this.
Development will start with Ubuntu Linux as target platform, then Windows will follow, finally Mac OS X. The licence model will be GPL v3. That means the software is free to modify and distribute, as long as you ship the source with your custom version.
First, there will be an Alpha User Group for Halebopp to which everyone can join. When we reach 50 users, the group will be closed, although I doubt that will happen.
The alpha version of Halebopp will be extended until a majority of users is happy with the feature set. Then we will go into public beta, with a bugtracker open for everyone.
At the point release, Halebopp will be officially launched on the Largemind website, available for download in three different versions:
1) Basic Download, basic support, no warranty, free of charge
2) "Try-Out" Download, 30 days of support, full warranty, cheap
3) Full Download, 3 years of support, full warranty, expensive
When a support plan runs out, it will only be extended at request. The software will remain fully usable.
Monday, December 8, 2008
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2 comments:
Will this eventually earn you money, or only cover the cost of the support? I should hope the former is the case, although I imagine that will depend entirely on how much support you actually have to 'supply'?
I personally do prefer to pay for my software, as it enables much more rapid development (unless the company in question has grown so much, any new idea needs to go through 5 layers of executive red tape, ofcourse), and certainty that your favourite software's development won't be abandoned anytime soon. Although I must say I have recently lost my faith in 1-man development teams, I wish you all the best, and will be following Halebopp with interest!
Hi Michael, that answer took a bit more time than I expected. http://www.leonard-ritter.com/2008/12/will-halebopp-earn-money-and-continue.html - I hope that answers your questions.
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