Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!mintaka!spdcc!tauxersvilli!alphalpha!nazgul
From: nazgul@alphalpha.com (Kee Hinckley)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: MOTIF on SUN - I give up
Message-ID: <1991Apr2.164858.3541@alphalpha.com>
Date: 2 Apr 91 16:48:58 GMT
References: <205@touch.touch.com>
Organization: asi
Lines: 23

In article <205@touch.touch.com> chris@touch.touch.com (Chris Moore) writes:
>I have no need for MOTIF sources but find it hard to believe that compiled
>versions of a $1000 piece of source cost $500 or more when the royalty paid
>back to OSF is less than 10% of that and there is little if any value add
>in these products.....

Let's see.  I suppose it takes one engineer and equipment to port and support
Motif on Suns.  Let's be generous and say he only has to work half time on it.
(I'm assuming they are trying to keep up-to-date, apply patches and the like.
And of course there is the question of support.) The cost of supporting an engineer
and equipment usually is figured as about $100K/year.  So we say it costs $50,000 to
release Motif.  Looks like they have to sell about 100 copies to break even.  Now
there are apparently around 15 companies in the business of doing Motif on Suns. 
And presumbably they are only selling these binaries to developers, not end users.
Frankly, I have trouble seeing how they can support themselves on only $500/copy.
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I'm not sure which upsets me more: that people are so unwilling to accept
responsibility for their own actions, or that they are so eager to regulate
everyone else's.