Re: [OT] Re: Troll Tech [was Re: Sco vs. IBM]

[Larry McVoy]

On Mon, Jun 23, 2003 at 05:16:12PM +0100, Alan Cox wrote:
> On Llu, 2003-06-23 at 17:11, Henning P. Schmiedehausen wrote:
> > SAP is doing exactly what Scott is doing on a little larger base. They
> > have a product with a bazillion of levers and controls and they sell
> > you services to adapt their product on your needs. Things you could do
> > yourself if you have five years' time to read all the manuals.
> > 
> > So your argument simply doesn't hold. SAP is not exactly a "small
> > custom shop".
> 
> And lots of stuff that is *far* easier to operate and reliable has
> active support companies for a variety of reasons. Its cost effective to
> aggregate knowledge for example. Not every house has its own plumber,
> electrician and painter for the same reasons.
> 
> I know people who support TeX profitably. So the support business works
> for software that basically has no bugs. 

I give, I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
I think that I'm making a mistake by arguing with people who aren't trying
to build a company.  Of course you're right, you have the advantage that
you don't have to put your theories to the test nor do you have employees
who have to find new jobs if your theories are wrong.  Forgive me if I
don't mix your theories into my practice.