[haiku] Re: What are plans for "pysical copies" of Haiku R1?
- From: Kenneth Rivera <kervas@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: haiku@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 16:03:18 -0600
2010/5/16 Ben Allen <ben.allen@xxxxxxxxx>
> I like the idea of having the option to buy a boxed version with a real,
> printed manual. To me at least, buying software that comes in a dingy
> cardboard or plastic sleeve with no documentation makes me feel like the
> software publisher isn't really putting forth much of an effort anymore. A
> nice box (even if there's not a whole lot inside it) says that they care
> about appearing nice and professional. It's like the software equivalent of
> a jacket and tie.
>
I see your point. However, I think it is possible to show an effort in other
ways that are more visible and require less resources.
> [A full-color printed box] is an important visual marketing aid. I still
> have the boxes and manuals for BeOS R5, GoBe Productive, and Corum III. On
> several occasions, people have noticed one of them on my bookshelf and asked
> me about them, giving me a chance to introduce them to something they might
> otherwise never see. It's a combination delivery container, stand-up
> poster, and word-of-mouth advertising inducer.
>
Now this is my reasoning for being against big packaging boxes.
You are correct that a box is a visual marketing aid, and I myself also
pride myself in having those boxes as show-off items.
However, they are 1) very geeky show-off items, and 2) only occasionally
visible to the public, unless you have yours on display in a store in a
mall. You just said on "several occasions", as in "every once in a while",
people have taken notice of your boxes.
In my experience, for a box to work as a marketing aid, people need to come
to my place (they don't come explicitly to see my trophy boxes), and they
_may_ notice those boxes on display, and if they are very curious, or very
bored, they _might_ ask about the boxes.
Otherwise, my geeky self might instead stand up and start a geeky
presentation, extolling all of the virtues of the BeOS. Sometimes my
"presentation" is much more than they wanted to know. They didn't really
want a full-on treatment to the BeOS. They were just, well, just asking.
Besides, a box, since it's mostly empty, will get dings and bumps and look
old and worn much sooner than a CD sleeve. You have to take care of boxes.
As I mentioned earlier too, there is an all-around trend for more frugal
packaging, both for costs and to avoid waste.
Remember the original packaging of the iPod? It included a CD, a cable
(firewire or usb), and a small manual.
Now they don't even include a CD, and the packaging is almost the same size
as the iPod itself. Heck, Apple even touts smaller packaging as a feature of
their iPod. They put out a PDF just to explain this: [
http://www.apple.com/environment/reports/docs/iPod_nano_Environmental_Report.pdf]
On the other hand, small things like stickers, decals, CPU badges, even
t-shirts, are more portable and do a better job at provoking interest, than
a box in a shelf.
If you're a student, you can take your CD sleeve with your notebooks, your
backpack, what have you. You can take several of those, and you can give
some of them away.
You can not do that with a box (In that sense I prefer a CD sleeve even more
than a USB drive).
With CD sleeves, you can put them in a briefcase, or you can pack several of
them inside your laptop case or netbook sleeve.
In other words, CD sleeves are much more convenient.
They are also light, simple and to the point. Aren't those word that used to
describe the BeOS?
Those words should describe Haiku. Light, simple, to the point. No fluff, no
flamboyance.
In short, all those things I mentioned (bumper stickers, badges, decals) are
also visual marketing aids, but they are more portable and convenient to
display to a lot of people, therefore more effective.
Plus, again, they are all cheaper than making a box.
> Hopefuly, something like this can be made at a decent enough price that
> they can be sold at a reasonable price point that will cover the associated
> costs plus a built-in donation. I suppose it will ultimately depend on the
> production quantity.
>
> -Ben
>
>
Why do we have to hope for something with a "decent enough price"? No, even
worse, why hope for something to be made at a decent enough price, and then
aim for a reasonable price point, that will recover costs, PLUS a built-in
donation?
A bunch of Linux distros and operating systems have, through out this
decade, put out their products inside boxes, with pricings between $30 and
$90. These include those I mentioned earlier: Lycoris, Lindows/Linspire,
Xandros, SkyOS, Zeta, Mandriva, and several others.
All those are dead or dying.
Personally, I believe that the *maximum* Joe User would pay is about $20.
And ideally, I think the price should probably be around $10, with shipping
included if possible. Those prices are low enough for a consumer to consider
it an impulse buy, and not regret parting with, even if they don't end up
liking the product.
With CD sleeves, it probably is possible to recover costs, and even make
some money, at those prices.
With boxes, I don't think that is possible.
My take: let's just do something we can get at a really good price, and that
can have much more impact.
Cheers,
- Kit
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