Re: [Evolution] open letter to Ximian Evo team: RH 6.2 blues

[Fernando Pereira <fpereira flipdog com>]

On 08 Feb 2001 15:09:31 +0000, jjoerges opendoorsoftware com wrote:

> This would be a valid arguement if this wasn't open source
> software. If you want commercial software accountability then that
> is what you should buy. I tend to focus more on the fact that all
> this is done for free. That fact, I believe outweighs any concerns
> you have raised here.

I disagree. Ximian is a company, not a charity. If they want to
survive in the long run they must attract paying customers. I don't
know their intended business model in full detail, but from what I
have read I would assume that they expect eventually to impress people
enough with the quality of their software and *with their
responsiveness to customers* that customers will be lining up to pay
them for support. Their responsiveness to early access customers is a
measure of their priorities, and of how likely they will be to respond
to customers (even paying ones) in the future. 

They are not doing this work for free. They are spending the money of
their investors, who I'm sure are expecting that Ximian's ability to
impress people will attract lots of paying customers. I am testing out
Evolution because eventually I would like a supported email client of
Eudora quality on Linux that I would be happy to pay for. I made that
clear in my original message.

> I know its hard to be patient, but I look at it like this........I
> remember a few months ago (maybe 6) that this project was at .4
> realease. In 6 months for this to move from .4 to .8 is nothing
> short of miraculous. Not too many commercial software giants can
> match that performance level. Considering that this is loosely
> organized and controled makes it even more amazing and a true
> testament to the open source movement.

I hope it is not loosely organized. Ximian (and Eazel, which works on
some of the same underlying components) are for-profit corporations
that hope to be eventually paid for their efforts. I for one will be
happy to pay if their measure up to the standards that I have found in
the best closed-source suppliers. My original letter was not about
their ability to cut code, but about their customer focus. Customer
focus is a good thing in for-profit ventures, since customers will
eventually pay the bills and reward the investors. I am a prospective
customer. I'm suggesting that improving their customer focus in a
particular area could be helpful.

There are plenty of other open source Linux mail client projects
around. The reason I'm trying out Evo is that it offered the
promise of a more well-rounded effort because of Ximian's financial
backing. If that's not the case, I fear for their future. Which I
hate, because I very much hope open source companies will prosper and
offer serious competition to their closed-source counterparts.

-- F