3 ms·

I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish

by jl6 4y ago

I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.

mistrial9 4y ago
ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
- jl6 4y ago
  Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.
  - CaliforniaKarl 4y ago
    For a concrete example, have a look at SQLite. SQLite is Public Domain, but it's used virtually everywhere, from phones to airplanes (https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html). Not all companies are going to trust that something is actually public domain. So, you can get a "Warranty of Title" for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/copyright.html https://sqlite.org/copyright.html And those companies might not be satisfied with "community support". So, you can get paid support for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html

3 ms·

I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish

by jl6 4y ago

mistrial9 4y ago
ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
- jl6 4y ago
  Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.
  - CaliforniaKarl 4y ago
    For a concrete example, have a look at SQLite. SQLite is Public Domain, but it's used virtually everywhere, from phones to airplanes (https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html). Not all companies are going to trust that something is actually public domain. So, you can get a "Warranty of Title" for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/copyright.html https://sqlite.org/copyright.html And those companies might not be satisfied with "community support". So, you can get paid support for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html