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

[Michael Ginsberg <lists@xxxxxxx>]

Daniel, excellent questions.  Perhaps you didn't see a post I sent to 
the NUG a few weeks ago, here it is:

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Please follow this logic and instead of answering on emotion, enlighten me.

For our discussion, lets say that 4DInc uses CodeWarrior to develop 
4D.  4DInc has developed a  successful product using CodeWarrior, 4D 
is an awesome database product.  After a few years, CodeWarrior 
decides to come out with their own database module that anyone can 
license to use in their CodeWarrior projects.  This module allows 
developers to have a database inside their apps.  The license fee is 
high.  4DInc has a better database application then the module that 
CodeWarrior has published.  The license agreement from CodeWarrior is 
called a DEL, which stands for Database Extension License.  The 
license states, if you use the new version of CodeWarrior to compile 
your database products, you must purchase a DEL for each deployment, 
EVEN if you are not using the database module that CodeWarrior 
distributes.   How would 4DInc feel about this?  How would it affect 
their pricing on 4D?  How would this affect the level of trust 
CodeWarrior developer have toward the company.

Also, CodeWarrior has decided to come out with a new standalone app 
called CodeWarrior/DB.  It is a standalone application that competes 
directly with 4DInc's database.

To make matters worse, CodeWarrior comes to the conclusion, that 
developers were given a gift by being able to distribute applications 
or .exe files for free and they should now pay a per deployment fee 
for each compiled app.

I wonder how 4DInc or the CodeWarrior community would fee if this 
become true?  Wouldn't 4DInc yell and scream?  For those not using 
CodeWarrior for database development, a DEL does not affect them and 
of course they couldn't care less.  But what happens, when something 
does affect them, like a PEL (Process Extension License), or a CEL 
(CPU Extension License).  You may laugh at the notion, but many would 
have done the same thing with a WEL a few years ago.

This is a very important issue to some (and not important to others). 
4DInc has done some *awesome* things with 4D over the last few years 
and I have hopes that they will come up with a solution that not only 
is fair for them, but also fair for their developers.  As someone has 
posted recently, take a look how Mike @ ASG handled the 
pricing/licensing issue a few weeks ago.  Their 2 way conversation 
with potential customers, and give and take has earned them much 
respect (great job guys) and many new customers.

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I only got 2 private replies from this post.  1 person said, that the 
above would never happen.  The other person, was someone very well 
known in the 4D community, who agreed with me completely.
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Michael Ginsberg                Internet:    MAILTO:mike@xxxxxxx
MDG Computer Services, Inc.     Web:         http://www.mdg.com/

Developers of WS4D/eCommerce, which includes:  shopping carts,
real-time credit card authorization, order and customer tracking.
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