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Subject: Re: chessbase is selling free engines

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 04:49:43 07/25/04

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On July 25, 2004 at 07:43:57, Uri Blass wrote:

>On July 25, 2004 at 07:21:20, Ingo Bauer wrote:
>
>>On July 25, 2004 at 06:26:14, Uri Blass wrote:
>>
>>>I was surprised to see that all the cheap engines that chessbase is selling are
>>>free engines.
>>>
>>>I was also surprised that they sell old version of Sos from march 2000 but maybe
>>>they believe that customers that buy engines instead of downloading them
>>>deserve to get a worse version
>>>
>>>See http://www.chessbase.com/shop/index.asp?cat=Engines+direct&user=&coin=
>>>
>>>I wonder if the authors also earn money from it.
>>>If few people want to support programmers by buying free programs because they
>>>feel uncomfortable with downloading them when the author gets nothing from it
>>>then there is no problem with it but I expect honest company to tell the
>>>customers that the things that they buy are free to download and if they buy
>>>them then it is only if they want to give some support to the programmers.
>>
>>What you are writing is not completly true.
>>
>>Chessbase sold (and is probably selling) these engines since 2000. At that point
>>ALL the engines on that CD where not freely available (maybe precessors but not
>>the CD Version). As an example SOS in an older Version where free but the
>>version on that CD is not free untill today.
>>But if  the CD Version is better than the actual one is highly doubtfull!
>>
>>I am pretty sure that the authors back then got some money from chessbase. It
>>didnt make them rich for sure. The project was never continued by Chessbase.
>
>This is exactly the point.
>The project was never continued by chessbase and I find illogical to continue to
>sell engines when all of them are free or there are better versions that are
>free.
>
>customers who look at the chessbase page to see engines that they can buy may
>become angry when they see that chessbase want to sell them free engines and may
>decide not to buy from chessbase so I am even not sure if it is a good deal for
>chessbase.
>
>When they sold the young talents and part of the engines became free then I can
>understand their decision to continue to sell the young talents because part of
>the engines are still not free but when all the engines became free with no
>exception as far as I can see then I see no point in selling the engines unless
>they sell with them something else like a different interface but in that case
>they should say that the engines are free and customers who buy them only get
>new interface in case that they did not buy other engines from chessbase.
>
>I remember that I also asked how Sos got the best amateur in WCCC when it was
>sold by chessbase but if I remember correctly at that time it was sold as part
>of the young talents and not seperately.
>
>Uri

Maybe I am wrong and I checked again and I do not remember a release of Ikarus
so maybe Ikarus is the only exception.

Uri



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