At 10:31 PM 12/30/2001 -0500, you wrote: >so now 4.0 could be free or at least deeply discounted... >creates new sales for dead products as well...
FWIW, that is something that a lot of software companies tried these many years ago. It turns out to be a really bad call for the most part. It cannibalizes your current sales because people figure it is better to go for free than to pay for the latest. It forces you to support older versions which means more training for technicians. It also creates a perception that your software has no value, if you give it away for free you can't charge for it later. Corel used to do this. One of the more current models that is similar is Linux and some server products where there is a free version and a supported version. If you look at how those companies have faired, Macromedia's journey of the last few months looks like a church picnic. It is good to ask these things and to think out of the box, but this isn't the way. I like the idea of being able to buy features as you go. That is really cool. I don't know if there is any research on that, but it might be worth looking at. _________________________________________________________ Matt Brown Community Manager Macromedia (650) 481-4525 [EMAIL PROTECTED] FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/cf-talk@houseoffusion.com/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
