FreeLists / 4d_rad / [4d_rad] Re: License permutations and how to evaluate them....

[daniel child <cdaniel@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry, I signed off of 4D NUG and am not up with the terminology. OEM =?

Also, just to clarify, OR => subtract from the rate of perfect 10?

...A clever analysis, and yes you could weigh the merits of various 
options systematically that way. I agree that your "must haves" are 
essential.

Not to be stubborn, but all of this still strikes me as setting a very 
unhealthy precedent. I have heard that Oracle and other server 
application providers use this kind of licensing model, but the principle 
behind it seems to be very strange because I haven't seen a good answer 
to one simple question:

How far back in the chain do you go before that prior party ceases to 
have the right to get a cut of what you make? Here's another way to ask 
the same question: is Apple getting a piece of 4D's profit every time 4D 
sells an additional piece of software? Or does 4D pay a fixed fee to 
obtain technical support from apple to be Apple to make its software work 
on the MacOS? I suspect the latter.

And if we start paying 4D to distribute software, what's to stop Apple 
from demanding the same thing? After all, it could be argued that we are 
distributing something that is dependent on their work. Once this 
precedent is established, it could turn into one of those multilevel 
marketing scams. Or am I missing something terribly obvious?