J
James Ingraham
Tony, there's a big difference between an end-user application and a required configuration tool for hardware. Note that the VFD's you mentioned often have free configuration software. True, PLC programming software is rather more complicated. That doesn't stop Visual Studio Express, Eclipse, and Netbeans being free. All are at least as complicated (and usually vastly more so) than the $5000+ PLC programming software.
By the way, making me pay $5K for PLC software is a bad business model. It means that I can't use your PLC on a one-off project, and I don't want to switch from my current vendor to your brand because it means I'd spend tens of thousands on licenses for my engineers and technicians without getting any improvement in my processes. It also puts you at a severe disadvantage against a company (e.g. Turck) that gives away their programming software. In fact, the original post was a troll / leading question pitching the fact that his company's software was free.
Direct cost isn't the only reason that "free as in beer" and "free as in speech" are better for me, either. Keeping track of licenses is a major pain. A laptop hard drive goes out, and suddenly I spend two days on the phone trying to get everything straightened out.
So no, this ISN'T "the dumbest argument ever." Software is one of the great enablers of productivity, and cost-benefit analysis is an important part of any modern company's business.
Tony: "If you're good enough to earn a living programming then you should have enough to pay for the software."
That's a nonsensical statement. Are you honestly saying that every software package is priced perfectly for every individual and company as long as they're competent? If so, a one-man online T-shirt shop should run SAP and Oracle, and write his business logic using Rational.
-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.
By the way, making me pay $5K for PLC software is a bad business model. It means that I can't use your PLC on a one-off project, and I don't want to switch from my current vendor to your brand because it means I'd spend tens of thousands on licenses for my engineers and technicians without getting any improvement in my processes. It also puts you at a severe disadvantage against a company (e.g. Turck) that gives away their programming software. In fact, the original post was a troll / leading question pitching the fact that his company's software was free.
Direct cost isn't the only reason that "free as in beer" and "free as in speech" are better for me, either. Keeping track of licenses is a major pain. A laptop hard drive goes out, and suddenly I spend two days on the phone trying to get everything straightened out.
So no, this ISN'T "the dumbest argument ever." Software is one of the great enablers of productivity, and cost-benefit analysis is an important part of any modern company's business.
Tony: "If you're good enough to earn a living programming then you should have enough to pay for the software."
That's a nonsensical statement. Are you honestly saying that every software package is priced perfectly for every individual and company as long as they're competent? If so, a one-man online T-shirt shop should run SAP and Oracle, and write his business logic using Rational.
-James Ingraham
Sage Automation, Inc.