Author: Daniel Clausen
Date: 01:50:55 10/24/03
Go up one level in this thread
On October 23, 2003 at 19:42:59, Vincent Diepeveen wrote: >On October 23, 2003 at 05:55:12, Daniel Clausen wrote: > >i've tested so many toolkits and environments and really >very *little* even *works* both in linux and windows. Agreed. >then possible sales under linux. >Yes linux is great, but selling something under it???? > >It's simply NAIVE to guess that porting an application to *nix will sell some. The chicken and egg problem again. A good start though is for example to provide a Linux version together with the Windows version, as DeepSjeng and hopefully Ruffian and Tiger will do in the future. This way you slowly make Linux a viable option for the computerchess-interested community. If it is big enough, you may even try to sell something in the future. It's a long way, and it requires companies/people who think a bit and don't just look at the number of sells by tomorrow evening. >All what happens is that your helpdesk will get flooded for 99% by questions >about linux and how to install it and why it doesn't work and what they have to >type. If you _sell_ a product for Linux, you surely have to make that the software installs/runs as flawlessly as under Windows. (*cough* :) That _can_ be done. A chess engine which doesn't come with a GUI is _not_ a good example how to sell software under Linux. As you say, it's for nerds. But that's how you have to start with everything new. But then, winboard-engines are as hard to install/run as xboard-engines under Unix. Once there are enough people and there's a market, it's very well possible under Linux to make real package which the average Joe can install and run. >Even experienced linux users when i ship them a default diep version, they >simply do *not* get diep to work without extensive instructions. Winboard-engines have the same problem. (just look at all the questions about them in this forum) >The same users *do* get diep to work under windows. >Why? Because you bundle Diep for Windows with a GUI, an installer, maybe a manual. The Linux-distribution though is just an executable? >Because everything runs there simply. No, because you provide a working _package_. (which at the moment surely is easier to provide for Windows than for Linux) Sargon
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