[c-nsp] Smartnet pricing?

[Judah Scott]

If you consider support contracts as insurance then it sounds crazy to pay
for the years you were not insured.  An example is fire insurance:  If you
buy fire insurance 10 years after a home is built, State Farm isn't going to
charge you for the first 10 years.  A quick inspection to verify that all
hardware is working may be required just to make sure there is no
pre-contract damage.

-J Scott

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 2:03 AM, Adam Armstrong <lists at memetic.org> wrote:

> e ninja wrote:
>
>> Nick,
>> *
>> inline...*
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 29, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Nick Hilliard <nick at inex.ie> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 29/09/2009 19:20, e ninja wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> No it is not right.
>>>>
>>>>   1. Anybody that has paid for software, should *never* have to pay for
>>>> bug
>>>>   fixes. See http://resources.multiven.com/dossier-3
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> That is an interesting wish-list.  Have you considered what it would do
>>> to
>>> the price of software if vendors were made liable?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> *
>> So vendors should not be made liable for software that people purchase?
>> When
>> was the last time you happily paid for a brand-new car that won't start?
>> Software is always "new" because it can't break from over-use.* *Do
>> Microsoft, Apple, HP etc. charge customers for bug fixes in their OS? *
>>
>>
>>>  I can't imagine the insurance premiums, and the gratuitous law suits.
>>>  Worse still, open source would be killed by it.
>>>
>>>
>> *
>> The bill of rights clearly refers to software that is paid for. Open
>> source
>> software is free.*
>>
>>
> In the UK we have laws stating that products should be fit for the purpose
> they're sold for (IANAL, though). Perhaps if it was tested in court
> properly, it would mean bug fixes which would prevent the use of the
> software safely would have to be provided free?  I do, however, suspect that
> EULAs try to strip away as much legal protection as possible from the
> customer.
>
>   I know that if I were to be held liable, I wouldn't ever release anything
>>> or contribute anything to open source software.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> *
>> N/A. If you offer free software that nobody has to purchase, you are not
>> liable for the product.*
>>
>>
>>
>>>    2. Forcing people to pay for a service they haven't used is
>>>
>>>
>>>> extortion<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion>- a criminal act -
>>>> seek legal counse
>>>>
>>> Legal counsel would probably argue that if you left your support
>>> subscription lapse and then attempted to renew it several years later,
>>> that
>>> the reason for doing so was because of some failure outside the
>>> manufacturer's control, and that you were pulling a fast one.
>>>
>>>
>> *
>> I'm sure as a smart guy, you know there is no wear-and-tear in software.
>> Therefore, a user cannot 'break' software from over-use. All bugs in
>> proprietary software are inherent from the manufacturer, whether you
>> discover them from day 3 of purchase or 1000 years later.*
>>
>>
> Think of hardware support as "insurance". The cost of providing the service
> when it finally breaks is spread across the entire lifetime of the contract.
> If someone has a device unsupported for 5 years, takes out support and it
> dies 2 years later, the supplier has lost the vast majority of the money
> they'd have used to pay for the replacement.
>
> Now, I don't think this should be the case for simple software upgrades,
> but I can see why it's the case for hardware replacement contracts. (And I
> can see why recert exists).
>
> adam.
>
>
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