> Our experience with standard commercial enterprises such as > MDL shows us that when a program like Jmol goes commercial, > we as educators are left with table scraps again. Better than > nothing, yes. Good enough? > No.
Based on the history of Chime and WebLab/DSViewer, your skepticism is well justified. Only time will tell. But in the case of the enterprise I envision, and unlike with MDL or Accelrys: (1) virtually all of the code remains BSD, LGPL, or GPL open-source (2) the company is 100% owned and controlled by open-source developers who have proven their dedication to the cause through years of participation (3) the company has a mission statement that specifically includes meeting the needs of students and educators (4) most revenue is earned through recurring service relationships, collaborations, and grants -- not licensing. This is no standard commercial enterprise. It is more an amplification of will for open-source developers and collaborators who reach understanding that they can't do it all in their spare time -- that serious software development, support, and distribution requires serious financial resources. But at the same time, it is a defiant rejection of the standard commercial model: where profit and growth become the dominant concerns, and where that crucial sense meaning and purpose are lost. There are of course other valid approaches, such as academic projects and nonprofit efforts. However, for a variety of practical reasons, I believe that a private free enterprise approach is the one that will prove most effective over the long run in meeting the needs of both educators and those in industry. [Indeed, that is my central hypothesis. One such experiment is already underway, but it may be a decade or two before a firm conclusion can be drawn from the result.] Cheers, Warren -- Warren L. DeLano, Ph.D. Principal Scientist . DeLano Scientific LLC . 400 Oyster Point Blvd., Suite 213 . South San Francisco, CA 94080 . Biz:(650)-872-0942 Tech:(650)-872-0834 . Fax:(650)-872-0273 Cell:(650)-346-1154 . mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- SF email is sponsored by - The IT Product Guide Read honest & candid reviews on hundreds of IT Products from real users. Discover which products truly live up to the hype. Start reading now. http://productguide.itmanagersjournal.com/ _______________________________________________ Jmol-users mailing list Jmol-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jmol-users
