[plug] Looking for a quote

[Craig Ringer]

Simon Scott wrote:
> Sorry Craig, I didnt explain myself well enough.
> 
> Low to zero licensing is one thing, and is a very attractive selling point.
> 
> However, when you say things like 'I set up a production webserver for $0!!!', 
> you value your time installing and configuring apache at $0. Therefore, my 
> extension (in the minds of many business owners) you work for free.

Indeed. I've heard people talking that way when discussing Linux 
(usually the same people who will tell you it'll magically solve all 
your problems, especially the ones it can't or won't) and tend to take 
issue with it if I think they're misinforming someone.

> Zero licensing yes, but never zero cost. We gotta eat :)

Agreed. That's why I try to be clear on the fact that the licensing etc 
helps /reduce/ our costs, but make the staff time and hardware costs 
clear. For example, in the current case:

Server hardware: $8000
Recent extra storage: $2000 (mmmm... terabyte disk array....)
Staff time: $??? (considerable, over the server's lifetime)
OS: $0
Mail server (SMTP, POP, IMAP) sw: $0
File server (SMB, AppleTalk, NFS) sw: $0
Thin client server sw: $0
Client apps suite: $0
DNS, DHCP etc sw: $0
HTTP, WebDAV and HTTPS sw: $0
Two different SQL servers: $0
Total: Lots, probably around $15000 - $20000.

Comparable functionality with other software could've concievably added 
half again or doubled the price. Citrix, anybody? Virus scanner 
licenses? CALs? Office?

On the other hand, $15000 is far from free, either!

--
Craig Ringer