Printable View
Hello,
I am a huge fan of Linux but sometimes I can't stop wondering how so that a MS Windows users can have a program like this:
dbForge Studio for MySQL but Linux users can't....
Attachment 288362
It works flawlessly, it is beautiful in design but it is expensive. And that "expensive" part is I belive the answer to my question 'Why.....'
Thread moved to Ubuntu, Linux and OS Chat.
Because people write a lot of nice software that runs on Windows and get paid a lot to do it because other people will pay for it. Sometimes, the cost of such software is obscene and the pay for developers is likewise obscene.
Microsoft has nothing to do with it other than being the ones who provide the Windows operating system. Windows doesn't "have" that software. People write that software in such a way that it runs on Windows because they know where the money is.
Perhaps if you ask nicely, those developers will port a Linux version. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. That would a be a lot of effort for very little return -- if any. :)
Hello,
I will try to answer you based on my own experience.
I was a software publisher for 50 years: yes, I started well in 1970 in a garage with only one of my friends (like Microsoft and many other ventures of this wonderfull time).
At the beginning, two of us developed solutions on the first microcomputers running under CP/M.
And of course, to live, we made pay for our developments.
From the start, however, we were obliged to develop modules that could be reused in other products.
This is how we wrote the first French word processor for the French speaking market, while all existing software were only available in English.
This product was called "StarText".
As soon as DOS (and MS-DOS) was released (in 1980), we rewrote our word processor for this new operating system and renamed it "The Text".
Then from the start of OS/2 (originally called DOS 5), we rewrote this software again and thanks to a deal with Borland, called it "Turbo Text".
Our success was very quickly recognized because we were practicing a very aggressive price of 99.95 USD while at the same time, competing products were marketed over $ 400.00 (Word, WordStar, Word Perfect, etc.)
But in order to be able to respond to the many requests for support from our users, we have of course been obliged to employ new collaborators.
And of course, we had to pay our employees every month.
In the early 1990s, we created the first multi-platform (DOS, OS/2, Windows) remote control software called PolyPM/2 - Remote Services Management (RSM).
Our development team has also been increased from 2 people to 8.
Then, to market our new software around the world, we had to create small structures in France, Germany, England and the USA.
At the end of 1998, all of our small international group represented 60 people including 12 developers, 25 technical support technicians, 5 logistics technicians (production and shipping of packages), 8 sales representatives and around 10 administrative staff (secretariat, invoicing, accounting, etc.).
And we always had to be able to pay everyone's salaries.
Our success has been worldwide with more than 120 million licenses sold worldwide (mainly through user licenses to very large groups such as Amadeus, Bank of America or Pepsi Cola etc. and to large OEM agreements with manufacturers (including Compuware, ICL, IBM, etc.).
My question is simple: how could we have made our product "free" and at the same time paid the salaries of our 60 employees, the manufacture and shipping of our packages (box, user manual, duplication of floppy disks then CDs, transport, etc. .)?
Today, the world of free software is riddled with the supposed notion of free software, in particular in the Linux world.
But this is totally wrong!
Do you really think the huge development teams (eg Mozilla, Ubuntu or RedHat) work for free and at the same time get (very well) paid every month?
Do you think the hundreds of IBM developers who work on Linux do it for free as well?
Do you think Linus Torvald is not paid a lot for his extraordinary work?
No, all these brilliant technicians are well and truly paid every month.
No! And luckily from elsewhere (otherwise Linux would simply not exist).
The sleight of hand (especially IBM's or Microsoft's) is that these salaries are well expensed and are therefore deductible from the bottom line.
Ditto for the "foundations" (including Mozilla) which are funded by large groups (including IBM and Microsoft and others) either directly or by the contribution of hundreds of their own developers!
In reality, nothing is free.
Now, to have high quality products like the one presented by marko-ambrosic (dbForge Studio for MySQL), the high price is simply explained by the cost of development and support of such software Vs. on the other hand the potential market for such software.
In particular, if the market for this (these) product(s) is already by nature small, which medium must first target its publisher?
Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, other?
Obviously the largest market (therefore Windows) in the simple hope of being able to pay for the decades/man of development of this (these) product(s).
And why is (are) this (these) product(s) not ported to macOS and Linux or other OS?
Simply because the cost of development to port the software for other platform will never be paid by the sales of this (these) product(s)!
In our world, no real established company can work for free!
Now that I am retired, I have free time, I have a small retirement every month and I can do, at my level, small developments that I give to the community.
Unfortunately I do not have the time, nor the financial means, nor even the skills to develop free software such as the one presented by marco-ambrosik.
Now, you have to realize that apart from this type of free and small personal contribution, nothing else is free.
I hope I have simply answered your questions and remarks about the price of software and the alleged "free as in beer" in particular from the Linux world.
Obviously, I remain at your disposal to discuss all this, with all my experience of 50 years of international software publishing to back it up.
Kind regards.
Fnux (this is the same nikename I use on several fora).
Below two pictures of the RSM package and its architecture:
http://www.as2.com/rsm-package.png
http://www.as2.com/rsm-architecture.png
Just to know: how do you want to make such a product "free as in beer"?
Alternatives exist, both paid and free ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by marko-ambrozic
Random list of a few that I or colleagues of mine have used at work:
DBeaver.io
HeidiSQL <== is a Windows-only program but works tip top in WINE on Linux and MacOS
How to install HeidiSQL on Ubuntu
MySQL Workbench
nevermind
well various opensource software has various ways to make money.Quote:
Originally Posted by fnuxfl
just a few options:
- paid support and training.
- sponsorship.
- paid service bundle on a good secured server.
- open source for main product but not for the addons.
- customer costumization.
- adding or making sure other applications work with product.
how many people can you pay with that? depends on how much clients you have (or rather how much income). and also how much your salaries and costs are. and how difficult it is to costumize software for example.