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Subject: Re: some questions about chess programs and money

Author: Vincent Diepeveen

Date: 13:17:43 04/07/03

Go up one level in this thread


On April 07, 2003 at 15:02:14, Jonas Cohonas wrote:

>On April 07, 2003 at 13:16:23, Uri Blass wrote:
>
>>On April 07, 2003 at 12:58:40, Frank Quisinsky wrote:
>>
>>>On April 07, 2003 at 09:56:54, Uri Blass wrote:
>>>
>>>>Suppose that a programmer of a good program decides to sell his(her) engine only
>>>>as a winboard engine(it can run under Fritz in these conditions)
>>>>
>>>>I am interested in your estimate for the following questions
>>>>
>>>>How much money (s)he can get from it in the following cases:
>>>>
>>>>1)The program is at similiar level to Crafty
>>>>2)The program is at similiar level to Ruffian
>>>>3)The program is at similiar level to Fritz8
>>>>4)The program is 100 elo better than Fritz8
>>>>
>>>>I thought that the programmers of the top amateur(crafty level that are not
>>>>clones of other programs) are probably rich people thanks to the fact that they
>>>>are good programmers so they do not care if they can make more 100$ per month
>>>>from their program but it seems that I was wrong based on the following post
>>>>when the author of smarthink claims that he earns only 100$ per month:
>>>>
>>>>http://f11.parsimony.net/forum16635/messages/46347.htm
>>>>
>>>>Another possibility is that I am wrong in my guess that he can make money by
>>>>selling his program.
>>>>
>>>>More questions:
>>>>
>>>>suppose for the discussion that a programmer decides to earn 10$ per copy that
>>>>(s)he sells.
>>>>Suppose that the programmer expects to sell 120 copies per year.
>>>>
>>>>What should be the price of the program?
>>>>
>>>>Is the price significantly higher relative to the case that he expects to sell
>>>>1200 or 12000 copies per year?
>>>>
>>>>Uri
>>>
>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>the price make the programmer.
>>>And if we have an engine with 2000 ELO for 49 US Dollar is this OK for me.
>>>
>>>But the most amateur chess programmers have fun on this hobby and don't think
>>>about money.
>>
>>There is no contradiction between fun and money.
>
>Actually there is, when money get's involved it turns a hobby into a business
>and with business comes responsibility, deadlines, (potential) greed,
>commercialisation etc. and what used to be fun is now a business, sure you make
>some money, but at what price?
>
>Jonas

Uri and making money are 2 contradictions i guess.

Imagine Uri manages when he's 65 to sell 1 version.

User emails: "how to get it to work, if i click it it opens a dialog and then
gives error and goes away".

Uri mails back: "i disagree, it works otherwise you would not get error".

User emails: "i didn't pay for a product that gives error. give me a refund!"

Uri mails back: "i disagree, you do not need refund as you might have gotten it
to work".

User emails: "i'll sue you, you idiot!"

Uri mails back: "i do not think so, because you could have gotten it to work"

User politely emails: "then show me how to get it to work"

Uri mails back: "ask at CCC"

User emails: "CCC?"

Uri mails back: "yes"

User (2 weeks later after 10 emails how to get onto CCC): "but i do not get
answers there!"

Uri mails back: "i disagree, even i posted something there"

User: "but you are only person posting there!"





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