[ale] Notes from Jun 19th meeting

[Jeff Lightner]

Well one difference is that what they gain is the fact that they are NOT
"paying".

For people with unlimited budgets this may not seem like a selling point
but I guarantee you it is for others.

People are certainly resistant to change - it is the first thing they
teach in any management class.  However, change DOES occur all the time
even for "paying" clients and it often has nothing to do with what is
"better" or "offers the same" functionality as what existed before but
rather who is making the decision.   Getting teachers on board for a
change won't help much if for example the Superintendent of schools is a
MicroSloth fan.   

Nobody has suggested ignoring the issue completely but rather focusing
on the "selling points" of open source rather than the possible
downside.  That IS something one would do with a "paying" client.  More
than once in my career I've seen a PHB choose a product due to vaporware
promises over what we already had installed despite objections from
those who could see what we were giving up.

-----Original Message-----
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of
Geoffrey
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 9:46 AM
To: ale at ale.org
Subject: Re: [ale] Notes from Jun 19th meeting

Jim Kinney wrote:
> Yay! Daniel sees what I see!
> 
> It really is not an issue of what they give up to switch but rather
what
> they gain.

Do you actually really believe that?  I continue to take it back to a 
paying client, but I guess you see a different approach when it's not a 
paying client.

I can not imagine telling a client that I've got a solution that is 
going to make their life so much easier, but they'll lose certain 
functionality they currently have.

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
  - Benjamin Franklin
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