On 16 Sep 2005 08:35:13 -0000, "Alfred Vink" alfred@PROTECTED Replied to: Considering Changes to the Magicbook - opinions? With these words of wisdom:

Justin,

I'm considering taking out the current plugins/extensions that are in the Magicbook and putting them into the regular distro - why?

That seems a bold move; great news for users and developers, but I fear for your magicbook sales I would very much welcome more development being put into the plugins

I am not in a position to judge your financial state and don't have a clue about the amount of MagicBook sales you have so it's all guesses here

True, more features in Dada will gather more interest and ultimately more Pro Dada sales If this increase in sale will compensate for the probable loss in MagicBook sales is something only you can answer

I don't know if updating/changing the Magicbook will bring back the anticipated losses, personally I don't mind paying extra for additional features, but I dislike having to pay for 'just' documentation I feel documentation is an integral part of any program and can/should not be sold seperate So in order to justify it being sold seperately you need to give something extra, if that's not the advanced plugins you have some work ahead to convince people

Alfred

REPLY SEPARATOR On 9/16/2005 6:24:42 AM Gerard Replied:

When it comes to software, going from a subscription/licensed/purchased product to a free one is not really a unique idea Many products have gone that route, with various levels of success The fact that I was forced to purchase it one day, and then find that I have the ability to acquire it sans fee the next is of no real consequence to me The quality of the product is what I consider paramount

On another note, and I am most certainly not trying to start a fight with Alfred over this issue, is the purchasing of documentation In the 'Open Source' world, documentation is at a premium Download virtually any 'Open Source' program, and you will find the documentation either:

1) Non existent 2) Poorly written 3) Written on a level that only the programs developer could understand 4) In a language foreign to the end user's

I have had to use google more time than I care to mention to find answers to software problems with 'Open Source' products For most of the better know software, I have had to purchase O'Reilly, or some other competing brands instructional books to find the information I required I use FreeBSD, and the documentation for that is always out of date If it were not for the various forums, finding information regarding 'Open Source' software would be a real challenge With that said, I have no objections to purchasing quality documentation for DADA, or any other product that I use

Just my 2¢