[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
proposed new pricing
Hi Folks,
1.99n still isn't out. Sorry about that. However, as a separate
matter we are going to be unifying our price structure. Since I've
botched before, I'd like people to look at this and send comments
before we finalize it (when 1.99n ships in the next few days). Please
send your comments directly to me "ctm@ardi.com" instead of to this
list, unless you're absolutely sure you want other people on the list
seeing your commentary.
The E/NS prices are dramatically lower than what they have been of
late, although until 1.99<x> is available for NEXTSTEP, we won't be
actively selling E/NS. We've introduced a student price for
Executor/DOS and raised the Executor/Linux student price, but in
reality the student price buys you both E/D and E/L for the same
price. This is a discount for students buying E/D and a discount for
students who buy both E/D and E/L, but a price increase for students
who only want buy E/L.
Our original Linux prices were as low as they were because we thought
E/L would be a very rough product with no tech. support, but it's come
a long way and I think it is at parity with E/D, especially once our
SVGAlib port is available.
Our previous policy was that E/L users would be entitled to free 2.0.x
releases (but not 2.1, 2.2, etc.). Now we've made that policy all
inclusive, so E/NS and E/D owners will also be entitled to those free
updates. We'll have to recompute authorization keys before 2.0 comes
out.
Between the "=========="s is the proposed text that we'll put in our
new FAQ, README, unofficial WWW pages and license panels. Please let
me know if there is ambiguity or other badness.
==========================================================================
Here's our licensing fees (all price increases will be effective July
1, all price reductions effective immediately):
E/NS E/D E/L
1.99 stu $99 $49 $49
1.99 edu $99 $49 $49
1.99 com $199 $99 $99
International shipping is $20
1.99 Student licensees will be able to use both E/D and E/L for the
same $49 price. Educational and Commercial licensees can pay an
additional $25 to the E/L fee to receive an E/D license as well (and
vice versa).
All 1.x owners will be entitled to free upgrades through and including
2.0.x, as long as the upgrades are picked up electronically. 2.0.x
releases will fix bugs in 2.0, but will not add new functionality;
that will be reserved for 2.1.x, etc.
Once 2.0 is in beta, the 1.99 prices will no longer be valid. 2.0
will be a shrink-wrapped produce available from a variety of sources.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for 2.0 is:
2.0 stu X X X
2.0 edu $249 $125 $125
2.0 com $499 $249 $249
It is unknown whether there will be be student pricing for 2.0, but if
so, it will be at least as expensive as the 1.99 student pricing.
All prices are subject to change.
==========================================================================
NOTE: because the E/L student price won't go up until July 1, we will
still be accepting $25 student purchases, but at that price you won't
get a free E/D license. However, if you are a student and want to buy
both, you'll be able to do so for $49. If you're a student and you've
already purchased E/L for $25 and you want to add an E/D license for
an additional $24, we'll allow you to do that, but those licenses
can't be split, you can't let a friend use the E/D while you use the
E/L. If you're a student and you've already purchased E/D for $99 and
you'd like an E/L license for free (can't be split though), you can
send us e-mail (orders@ardi.com).
We still haven't licensed PGP for commercial use, but we should be
doing that soon so that we'll be able to take credit card orders via
e-mail. Any other suggestions to improve our cashflow will cheerfully
be read.
--Cliff
ctm@ardi.com