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From: ewillis@cs.tamu.edu (Edward Dean Willis)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Price of FTP Inc.'s Stuff
Keywords: tcp-ip PC-TCP ftp inc.
Message-ID: <12607@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Date: 25 Feb 91 21:17:40 GMT
Expires: 10 Mar 91 06:00:00 GMT
Sender: usenet@helios.TAMU.EDU
Distribution: usa
Organization: Texas A&M University
Lines: 23

I know that the PC-TCP package from FTP works fairly well (not counting
the NFS part, which barely works...) but it costs too much.

According to Jim Worley, the current (2-25-91) price for the base package
capable of working with a packet driver is $360!!! The bug fix for the
version of PC-TCP+ that we bought last year (and which never worked...) 
is $90 ! I bought a whole TCP-IP and X Window package from Locus for
a lot less. The other bitchy part is it should be a free maintenance
fix. We registered, have logged complaints, etc. and never even received 
a postcard from these people! 

Are these prices in line with what the rest of you have been paying? How
do they compare to other commercial packages, such as B&W ?

I do not mind paying reasonable prices for software, but I don't want
to pay more for a network program for one PC than I pay for UNIX and
TCP-IP and NFS and all that for a room full of RISC machines.

I stongly suspect that if this is the way that FTP is going to price their
products, that they are going to run themselves right out of business.

How about someone coming out with an application-compatible product
and pricing it right (say, $100/machine). Would it go over?