Re: Cost of WDSCi (was Advanced vs. Standard)

The problem is simple: whoever is in charge of the tools is unable to use
common sense to make decisions.

i imagine it's far simpler - whoever is in charge has been told to structure
the versions so that revenue is > cost (ie make a profit).

At Common a while ago in a WDSC session, George Farr took us through
an excercise - everyone was given a budget, I don't remember the amt
but something like $1,000 and every request in a long list had a price.
Some were $10 and some were $200, and everyone in the room got to
allocate what we thought IBM should deliver in future releases.
Whether it was for our education or theirs.... it went a long ways towards
everyone understanding that all development (IBM or at customer sites)
has a cost, and often you just can't cost justify doing "everything". We
had quite a discussion over what should be IBM's WDSC direction.
I'd have to say IBM has or is delivering much of that list. I do think
the Screen Designer issue will be a roadblock to many. When a few
developer licenses (AE) can cost more than the machine & OS, I
think IBM's market perception is upside down.

IBM does derive income from the Standard edition - every machine
where development takes place purchases a licence to 5722WDS to
get the compilers, and that includes standard WDSC.
jim franz