9fans archive / 1995 / 09 / 87 /    prev next

From: Dave Sill de5@sws...
Subject: Why?
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 1995 14:11:20 -0400

In article <42bea1$sm6@wol...> curt@cyn... (Curt Sampson) writes:

> In article <DE5.95Aug30084445@sws...>,
> Dave Sill <de5@sws...> wrote:
> >
> >If $350 is a give-away, why not just sell it for $50-100 (to cover
> >distribution costs)?
> 
> How do you know that $50-$100 would cover distribution costs?

My benchmark is Linux. There are 4-CD Linux distributions that sell
for $25. Surely Plan 9 source, docs & binaries would fit on a couple
CD's--forget the printed manuals.

> Regardless, I don't see what the big problem with $350 is. There
> are a lot of other areas of interest where you would have to justify
> sums either similar or an order of magnitude larger, that to many
> will seem unjustifiable.

I just think Plan 9 would have a bigger impact, and sooner, if it was
less expensive. Yes, I *could* find $350...if I wanted it that
badly. Think how many more people would buy it, try it, and hack on it
if it was $50...
 
-- 
Dave Sill (de5@orn...)          <URL:http://www.digital.com/info/dsill.html>
Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Oak Ridge National Lab, Workstation Support