<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Adam,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, it can work. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>However, to run any business, you need to
understand the customer need, and find something to fill it at a price which 1)
the customer will pay, 2) will make a profit for you. </FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2>You need to understand things from your customers' perspective, which
involves thinking through exactly what it is you have to offer in terms that the
customer can relate to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"A simple to use, stable system that does what they
want - no more, no less at a minimal cost (ie free)".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My problem with this is that it isn't free. At
least, not free in a way that the customer will understand. The customer does
not CARE how much a Windows licence costs. The customer CARES how much the whole
package will cost, including hardware, software, and installation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If I were you, I would cost up some machines, and
work out how much you would need to charge the customer to give them the system
you describe. Then compare that price to what the customer would pay from, say,
Dell. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you can show the customer a good saving, and
make enough profit to make it worth your while then you have a market.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you can't show the customer a good saving, then
you don't. The split of the costs between hardware / software / labour is
irrelevant.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mark</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=adamjsmith@clara.co.uk href="mailto:adamjsmith@clara.co.uk">Adam
Smith</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=sussex@mailman.lug.org.uk
href="mailto:sussex@mailman.lug.org.uk">sussex@mailman.lug.org.uk</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 06, 2003 10:12
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Sussex] Linux for
simplicity</DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>.....</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The aim of this is to give customers exactly what
they want, a simple to use, stable system that does what they want - no more,
no less at minimal cost (i.e. free). Windows cannot offer this, linux
can, it's just a question of implementation. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The question is - am I mad or could this really
work? Any input welcome. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>