[Zope] Zope needs this (and Dynamo has it)

[Alexander Staubo]

> From: John Goerzen [mailto:jgoerzen@complete.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2000 4:26 PM
> To: Alexander Staubo
> Cc: Zope Mailing List (E-mail); 'Thomas Stenhaug'
> Subject: Re: [Zope] Zope needs this (and Dynamo has it)

Thank you for completely sidetracking me and instead choosing a flame
angle for petty word games.

My point specifically was that the mass of mainstream appreciation of
Zope versus a product like Dynamo was specificially _not_ related to
openness. IBM does not open its money floodgates to invest in Linux
merely because Linux is an open technology -- Linux was not the first,
nor the last, not arguably the finest open technology in the history of
IT. It and others do so, and give momentum to Linux, because of money,
pure and simple.

> > If the suits in managements (assuming you work in such a 
> place) tell you
> > to go learn Dynamo because that's what they want to use, 
> wouldn't you
> > say it's a problem?
> 
> It's not Zope's problem.  It's their problem .

Let me relate a short anecdote for you, about the incident which
triggered this thread. See, my colleagues are currently involved in a
large project for a large company. They are buying Solaris 8 to run
Dynamo. I've made a very strong case for Linux and Zope.

There is, today, only a marginal difference between these two setups,
and that difference is in price: The Linux/Zope combo is significantly
cheaper than the Solaris/Dynamo combo. This has zero bearing upon their
choice, and indeed on most ordinary computer investments for any
company: The cost of buying a computer and licensing the software is
"nothing" compared the maintenance costs and the insurance a big company
needs that their investment is safe. In other words, heavy support plans
and brand names.

And guess what? Despite the fact that both Linux vendors and Digital
Creations offer such support plans, my advice to my colleague and this
company falls dead on the ground.

Zope doesn't have the flashy packaging and sexiness of a product line
Dynamo -- which, actually, I strongly urge you (and everybody else in
this forum) to experience yourself, before you snap back at my again --
and this affects management decisions. Dynamo is exceedingly sexy, and
it boasts the kind of bullshit magic that have management and tech
people alike drooling.

So is it "their problem"? In the end, I don't think so. I think they're
going to be quite happy with Dynamo.

As one of my colleagues pointed out, the problem starts with the name.
(Somebody out there is hyping what they call Linux' next-generating GUI.
And it's called... GNOME. What's wrong with this picture?) I don't care
myself, but I recognize the problem.

-- 
Alexander Staubo         http://alex.mop.no/
"QED?" said Russell. "It's Latin," said Morgan. "It means, 'So there
you bastard'." --Robert Rankin, _Nostramadus Ate My Hamster_