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December 1999

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Fourth Cambridge gathering
by Edward Welbourne Dec. 13, 1999

Dec. 13, 1999

So last night three Cambridge pythoneers gathered for a pint or N and talked about assorted things for a few hours. Among other things, we came up with a venue for next meeting: CB2. Our excuse is that it's getting near Christmas. Date: to be decided from amongst Tuesday 7th, Thursday 9th or Tuesday 14th of December 1999. Those who might make any or all of the above, please speak out and indicate which dates you could make (among these, preferences might be honoured if stated). Directions to CB2 follow (it's a restaurant, closely allied to CB1, which is a cyber-cafe). I'll send out a message on Friday 3rd saying which date is chosen, and I won't take into account in making that decision any information received after that date. We also now know that each day of the week has at least someone who'd be interested in coming but can't make that day of the week. Which is a pretty impressive crowding of schedules when only five folk have been taken into the survey and two of us are unconstrained. This probably means we'll be more adventurous about dates of future meetings, but that can wait until the new year. I rashly babbled about re-inventing class structure from currying: http://www.chaos.org.uk/~eddy/dev/toy/python.html and adjuncts, notably python.py and class.py (which has a __call__ attribute ...). Both Michael and Paul mentioned things for which I want to see URLs ... but my forgettory has gotten hold of the subjects. Eddy. -- To reach CB2 from The Boat Race (pub, next to Blockbuster video by the lights on East Road) is easy: cross East Road at the lights and keep going away from the City (along a road whose name I suspect of being Norfolk Street, but I vague) watching the premises on your right for a sign saying CB2. If you've gone more than a hundred yards from The Boat Race, you've over-shot. So now all I have to do is explain how to find The Boat Race. Coming from Town: head for the Grafton Centre but go down the wide boulevard that you'll find on its right - Burleigh Street, at the far end of which you'll find The Boat Race, lights and, as above, CB2. >From the North (e.g. Chesterton) follow Elizabeth Way across the bridge, keep `straight on' at the roaring roundabout where it crosses Newmarket Road and becomes East Road; at each set of traffic lights, check for a pub on your right called The Boat Race - the relevant lights are at a narrow part of the road. If you reach Fire Station, Parker's piece or the Roman Catholic church you've overshot. >From any other direction: infer from the above. If you don't know how to find East Road, ask me privately ! Parking (for the petrochemically inclined): the Grafton Centre and its great big Cinema complex have multi-story car parks accessible from East Road and from Maid's Causeway (what Newmarket Road and Jesus Lane are called in between being one another). From either of these, it's an easy matter to reach East Road and follow directions as above from North.

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Open Source questionnaire
by andy＠robanal.demon.co.uk Dec. 9, 1999

Dec. 9, 1999

Allow me to be responsible for the first spam in this mailing list... Those of you at the first London meeting kindly helped my wife Alisa review a questionnaire. She's doing an MBA, and her final dissertation is one when it is a good strategy for software small vendors to go Open Source. As part of this, we are trying to get corporate IT managers to answer some questions and find out how they feel about Open Source and the related support issues. (It should be useful research for anyone trying to pitch Open Source packages to their companies as well, and is not unrelated to plans of my own for a Python-based venture). If you think this description applies to you, or to your boss and you can twist their arm to answer, we would be most grateful for any replies you can generate. Answers from individual Python lovers are not really needed, since we know exactly what you'll say anyway - we want to know what the "men in suits" are thinking! Please reply to alisa(a)robanal.demon.co.uk, quoting the text below. Many thanks, Andy (and Alisa) Robinson --------------------- Thank you for agreeing to take part in this questionnaire. The attached questionnaire is part of my final year dissertation for a Masters in Business Administration. The dissertation aims to establish whether the recent Open Source phenomenon is a suitable business model for a new software company selling applications software to corporate customers. In other words, can the software vendor ultimately build a more successful business by giving the software away than by selling it? You should assume that the software product in question is a potentially key piece of the back office infrastructure, offering some significant new features or benefits over the competitions, yet which requires customisation and development - for example, a new database engine, or a software library for generating reports. The questionnaire aims to answer two key questions (a) to what extent are customers swayed by the arguments in favour of Open Source software, and thus ready to try it? (b) if so, would some customers actually pay when they have the option not to? and what factors would be critical to the vendors success in generating revenue? In all of the questions below, please give your own opinions, but also try to indicate how you feel the rest of the organisation feels on this issue. For example, if an IT Director or board is involved in any decisions, indicate how you think they would feel about the issues below. I welcome followup questions, and relevant stories from your own experience Please reply quoting the questions, with your comments underneath each. My apologies for all of the capital letters - mailers vary, and this make it much easier to distinguish the questions from the answers in replies. A more readable copy is available at http://www.robanal.demon.co.uk/mba/questionnaire.html Thank you very much again for your cooperation! --------------- OPEN SOURCE CONSUMERS' QUESTIONNAIRE------------------ A - THE OPEN SOURCE MODEL THIS SECTION AIMS TO FIND OUT THE RECEPTIVENESS OF YOUR ORGANISATION TO OPEN SOURCE PRODUCTS. 1. ARE YOU USING OPEN SOURCE PRODUCTS SUCH AS LINUX, APACHE, PERL, SENDMAIL OR PYTHON? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR SUPPORT ARRANGEMENTS FOR THESE PRODUCTS. 2. DOES AN OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT MODEL LEAD TO HIGHER SOFTWARE QUALITY? IF SO, PLEASE COMMENT 3. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT OPEN SOURCE PRODUCTS CAN DEVELOP NEW FEATURES FASTER THAN PROPRIETARY RIVALS? 4. DO YOU PREFER YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VENDOR TO BE A STRAIGHT PURCHASE FOR A DEFINED SET OF FEATURES, OR A CONTINUAL COLLABORATION AND EXCHANGE OF VALUE OVER TIME BASED ON SERVICE, SUPPORT AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT? 5. IS IT IMPORTANT TO AVOID BECOMING A PRISONER OF A VENDOR, SO THAT YOU COULD GO ELSEWHERE FOR SUPPORT IF THEIR FEES BECAME EXCESSIVE, OR SURVIVE THEIR FINANCIAL COLLAPSE? 6. DO YOU FIND EXISTING SOFTWARE LICENSES RESTRICTIVE IN ANY WAY THAT HINDERS YOUR BUSINESS (APART FROM THE OBVIOUS ONE OF HAVING TO PAY FOR EACH COPY)? IF SO, GIVE SOME EXAMPLES AND EXPLAIN WHY. 7. HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES IN EVALUATING A PRODUCT? * A SINGLE CHIEF ARCHITECT (OR SMALL TEAM) WITH A CLEAR VISION FOR THE PRODUCT * A COMPANY WHICH STANDS BEHIND THE PRODUCT AND STANDS TO PROFIT IF IT SUCCEEDS * A VENDOR WHICH IS STILL GOING TO BE AROUND IN FIVE YEARS' TIME * AVAILABILITY OF SUPPORT CONTRACTS * BOOKS AND PUBLISHED DOCUMENTATION? * LIVELY NEWSGROUPS AND MAILING LISTS FOR SUPPORT? * TRAINING COURSES * AVAILABILITY OF SKILLED CONSULTANTS OR CONTRACTORS ABLE TO WORK WITH THE PRODUCT? * SUPPORT FROM MORE THAN ONE POTENTIAL VENDOR? B - THE VENDOR'S VIEWPOINT ASSUME THAT THE BASIC PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE, AND WITH SOURCE CODE. 8. WOULD YOU DONATE MONEY, JOIN A CONSORTIUM OR A USER GROUP IN ORDER TO SUPPORT A PRODUCT YOU VALUED? 9. WOULD YOU PAY FOR CONSULTING FROM THE VENDOR TO HELP GET YOU UP AND RUNNING QUICKLY AND WITHOUT PROBLEMS? 10. WOULD YOU PAY FOR AN ONGOING SUPPORT AGREEMENT? IF SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY OPINIONS ON HOW THIS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED? 11. WOULD YOU PAY FOR FORMAL TRAINING COURSES? 12. WOULD YOU BE COMFORTABLE WITH A FREE CORE PRODUCT, BUT PAYING FOR ACCESSORIES WHICH MADE IT MUCH EASIER TO USE OR WHICH ADDED FEATURES YOU WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE TO DEVELOP YOURSELF? 13. WOULD YOU PAY FOR PRODUCT CUSTOMIZATION AND ENHANCEMENTS (I.E. ADDING FEATURES THAT YOU NEED)? IF SO, WOULD YOU RATHER THE ENHANCED FEATURES WERE GIVEN TO ALL USERS, OR KEPT PRIVATE TO YOURSELF? 14. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT TIME-LAGGED RELEASES, WHERE THE CORE IS FREE, AND NEW FEATURES ARE MADE AVAILABLE ON A COMMERCIAL BASIS FOR A TIME (E.G. 1 YEAR), THEN RELEASED AS OPEN SOURCE AT SOME FUTURE DATE? C - BACKGROUND INFORMATION 15. NAME: 16. COMPANY: 17. WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?, 18. DEPARTMENT: 19. TITLE: 20. DESCRIBE RESPONSIBILITIES: 21. SCOPING: ESTABLISH WHAT ORGANISATIONAL UNIT WE ARE ASKING ABOUT? 22. SIZE OF SCOPE: HOW MANY PEOPLE, PCS OR SERVERS ARE WE DISCUSSING IN THIS SCOPE? 23. DO YOU HAVE AN IT STRATEGY? 24. IF YES, IS IT COST-ORIENTED? 25. IF NO, WHAT IS IT? 26. HOW MUCH OF YOUR TOTAL IT BUDGET IS DESIGNATED FOR SOFTWARE PACKAGES? 27. HOW IS THIS DIVIDED BETWEEN PRODUCT PURCHASE PRICE VERSUS SUPPORT. 28. PURCHASING AUTHORITY: CAN YOU MAKE PURCHASING DECISIONS? IF SO, UP TO WHAT VALUE? IF NOT, INDICATE BRIEFLY WHAT THE PROCESS IS AND WHO IS INVOLVED IN A SIGNIFICANT NEW SYSTEM.

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