[Zope] Status of Collector?

[Hadar Pedhazur]

Joe wrote:
> I see that the bug report and feature request
> lists are implemented using the "Collector".

> What's the status of this?
>
> 1) Is it shipped with ZOPE 1.10.2?  (I couldn't find it)

Nope.

> 2) Is it purchased from Digital Creations?

Yes. At the moment, we are selling Collector. A number of
copies have been sold already. There are a couple of things
to note about a few of the packages that we have been
selling (relatively privately lately):

1) Most have little documentation (read the source Luke :-)

2) Our license specifically reserves the right to give the
software away at some future point (so you need to realize
you are paying to get it now, and shouldn't be annoyed
when/if others get it for free!)

3) Our license specifically prohibits redistribution, or the
creation of derivative works (for distribution)

4) We permit unlimited internal use of the code, including
operating public websites

5) We offer email-based support for 90 days (for 2 contacts
usually)

6) The license is for 5 developers only. If you have more,
you buy more copies

7) Additional support options are available for purchase.

The point of the above isn't to make a lot of money. We're
selling more copies than we anticipated, but hardly enough
to make this our business model. The point of charging is to
cover the inevitable support costs of shipping a product
that has little documentation, but is more technically
advanced to use than the content-oriented Zope general
release.

A secondary benefit is that people who purchase now are
clearly motivated to use the product(s). Therefore, the
support questions tend to be focused around real-world use
of the products, and help us make them more robust for the
inevitable Open Source release (whenever that might be).

So, which products are we currently offering for sale?

1) Collector
2) Z Tables
3) Z Network Client
4) Infoseek DA

In general, pricing is at $1,500 per package. The exception
in the above list is Collector, which is $2,000. The reason?
It makes heavy use of Z Tables, so essentially you are
getting two products for the price on 1.3333 products :-).

Those who wish to discuss this (either to become customers,
or to tell me that we're "off base") should write to me
directly, and _not_ post to the list.

Hadar Pedhazur