Re: Informix running on Linux

Richard Stanford wrote: > > On Sat, 26 Apr 1997, Tim Schaefer wrote: > > > So, having breathed all that, I say don't be so quick to defend Informix > > and say "no" to components of the port. Port the whole damn thing. All > > of it. Reward my loyalty by dumping in my lap everything I need to > > use the product on Linux, just as if it were on the HP or Solaris > > system at work. > > One main problem here -- the inherent differences between Linux installations. > > IMO, the biggest pain would not be porting Online to Linux, but supporting > it once its there. Since Linux is in flux so much of the time, this would > be very difficult indeed. > > -Richard Good point, however, we can wait for something that will never be. The opportunity for Informix to distribute their own kernel is here. There's no need to worry about "who's" distribution. But this is new ground for all of us. Data base products can be viewed as a commodity as much as operating systems as much as hardware. Think about it. The data base software is available basically for no cost. But the support and licensing are available on a scalable cost basis. This is heresy to even suggest, however, we see this model being applied to Netscape products, and other software. The current internet "web-week" thinking is looking constantly to market penetration FIRST, then licensing, which is counter to accepted thought. It's what confuses the hell out of everybody. Instead of getting your money up front, you build consensus of your product, develop a standard, and license your products on a scaled basis. You develop a standard, which can be extremely risky for a start-up, but for an established vendor it's really low risk, just like spreading seed on a field. Some, probably most of the seeds will sprout, and produce, some, a much smaller per centage, will probably not make it. But it is a time tested method, that trancends products, computers, or even people. It's a natural law. Informix wants to build Universal Server consensus from the top down, which is an extremely risky proposition. New Era flops, chokes and sputters on this model. It did not cycle through developer channels first, building a ground-swell of approval by the very people who would use it. It's a counter productive way of doing business. But what's interesting is that they probably are letting the big gun companies use Universal Server for free right now, BUILDING CONSENSUS. So, I know this concept is probably unavoidable. I'm saying that if 7.x is EVER going to go into wide-band acceptance, ESPECIALLY on the small business side, it needs to adopt the wide-band-dispersion strategy or it will soon be just another version of Informix that is for big systems, and the rest of the MAJORITY of businesses out here will have to choose MS products or Oracle or even worse Sybase. They'll reach out, get the business, and the opportunity for Informix will once again have been missed. Tim -- Tim Schaefer \\\\|// tschaefe@mindspring.com (6 6) ------------------------oOOo---( )---o00o--------- http://www.mindspring.com/~tschaefe