Either You Succeed or Explain

Why should people pay when they can get it for free?

One of the most common question people ask me is: "why do you think people will pay for your software when they can get it for free?". Just to put things in context, I'm working on an Eclipse based tool. Eclipse is free and many of the Eclipse plug-ins are free. People working in the Eclipse ecosystem are used to getting stuff for free. So, for me, this question becomes extremely relevant, even though there isn't a free tool that can do exactly what I offer.

I wrote a few posts in the past about giving software for free and the added costs of using free software, including:

• When will the "free edition" work?
• Should I offer a "free edition"?
• When saving a buck actually costs you more

A great post by Bob Walsh over at 47 Hats blog explains why you can still sell, even when your competition is giving it for free. It's worth reading (and I should add it's a good blog altogether).

Bob discusses ways of making yourself more competitive by reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and by making your software and your site more approachable. The emotional side is a strong topic. I would have to add that, plainly, making your software cool is a great factor here. Take the iPod for example. Sure, you can get a cheaper player. But the thing is so freakin' cool. This is a stronger factor when you sell to consumers (B2C), but it will also help getting end-users on your side and eventually convincing the manager he/she is making the right buying decision.

Finally, a new Bloglines

I can't begin to describe the importance of RSS feeds and blogs. I spend at least half an hour every day reading RSS feeds, usually more. It's much like reading the newspaper or watching the news. In fact, I find that a growing number of RSS pieces are finding their way to the printed paper, usually a day or so later.

I have almost 150 feeds in my growing list of RSS subscriptions. If I would read them all every day, that will probably take most of the day... that's a huge issue, which is yet to be solved. But this is a topic for a different post. Today I'm focusing on the RSS reader (or aggregator).

I'm an addicted Bloglines user for more than 2 years now. I ALWAYS have a tab with Bloglines open. I believe I've tried most (if not all) the online RSS reading solutions out there and Bloglines is the best. Period. Well, the new Bloglines beta is finally here. The Bloglines team was lazy for the past two years, releasing only minor (and useless) additions. But not this one, this is a whole new interface.
Or should I say that the best just got better...

If you're using another reader, it's time to check out Bloglines. Yes, even you Google Reader users. Trust me, I've tried it switching several times and returned to Bloglines at the end of the day. If you're using Bloglines, it's time to check out the new Beta. And, if you're not using any RSS reader... it's a good opportunity to start.

Personally, I think there's a lot of untapped potential around RSS. It will be interesting to see what Bloglines has up its' sleeve for the new beta. It's something worth tracking.

The Sun goes down on Java?

Sun Microsystems announced yesterday that they will change their stock symbol from SUNW to JAVA. Check out the following blog post by the CEO, Jonathan Schwartz. It pretty much reminds me of the move Apple made a few months back, when Steve Jobs announced that it will change its' name form Apple Computer to Apple. It's a marketing move, no doubt. I don't see a lot of real substance behind it.

Why is it good for Sun?  As their CEO points out, the Java trademark is far more ubiquitous than Suns'. Let's face it, other than us computer geeks, who knows about Sun?  Do a quick poll, ask your mother, your father, your 60 years old aunt, do they know Sun? How about Java?  I can guess what will be the answer.

Yet, there's a sense of betrayal. One of the best things about the Java platform is the open standards. There's no Microsoft who is the main (read: sole) vendor behind the platform. You have a choice of vendors. You know that decisions regarding the future of the platforms are being made by the community and not by one company that emphasizes its' goal to make more profit.

Java is finally gathering the momentum and it is now a very successful platform.  But one of the key driver behind this success was the fact that this is an open platform. If it was just a Sun proprietary platform it would probably be as successful as Sun's NetBeans IDE (sorry for the cheap shot, I had to take it). It's true that Sun is leading Java for a long time, but it does not own Java. Java belongs to the community now and it is too late to take it back now.

But, no fear. Sun is not claiming to be Java's sole proprietor. Coming back to what I said at the beginning, this is just a marketing ploy, nothing more. Sun cannot reclaim Java even if it wanted to. But even if it could, why would it?  The community is the reason for Java's success, so why cut off the branch they're sitting on?

Now, I like to see the Java platform moving forward. Sun is constantly pushing the Java platform to new levels. Hence, in general, I appreciate Sun's efforts around Java. Hence, I would like Sun to stick around and keep stirring the Java platform. Hence, I would like Sun to be a successful company: the more profit they make the more money they invest in Java. If they lose, the platform loses. If they will perish... this could be a death blow to Java. So, I'm saying that Sun should do whatever it takes to survive. We need them. And if they need the Java flag to keep their head above the water, let them use it.

Summarizing 3 months of blogging

Time flies and it has been 3 months since I started my blog. Here are some random thoughts about it:

• I enjoy it. I like to take a break from everything else and focus on writing a post. I often find myself thinking about good topics for posts or just working on something and saying to myself: "I should blog about it".
• It is time consuming. I did my best to write at least one article per week. It usually takes about 2-3 hours. Some took much more.
• I focused on generating my own original content. Quoting posts from other blogs seems a bit like plagiarism, even when you quote the source. Something feels wrong. Nevertheless, I plan to start doing it in my blog - I read a lot of other blogs and I'm always sifting through tons of posts. Taking the jewels and highlighting them on my blog can provide real value to my readers.
• It sounds funny to say "my readers", but I did get over 3000 visitors during that time, which is an average of over 30 people per day. I have about the same amount of subscribers (you don't count them as visitors, they usually get it by RSS or email). That's not a lot, but that's a start.
• I found that the best way to promote my blog is posting the links on other sites like discussion groups and bulleting boards.
• I tried to reach out to fellow bloggers with little success. I still fantasize  about having a feature on a post I wrote in one of my favorite blogs which have massive publication. I'm constantly thinking about how...

That's it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :-)

Did you know: there's a browser compatibility issue

A few days ago I came across a poll posted on the web site of one of the major Israeli banks. The poll was asking: "what was your browser of choice". I'm not sure exactly where the poll was posted on their site. I got the link directing me to the poll, but I couldn't find it on their main page. I'm guessing that their goal is to decide whether supporting Firefox is a requirement. Today they support only Internet Explorer.

Can they infer the results from their site statistics? Of course not. People who use Firefox on a regular basis already know that it doesn't work there, so they use their site with IE.

Can they really get a good answer from that poll? In my opinion - no, they can't.

Let me ask you a question: what browser are you using? If you answered "Firefox", "Safari", "Opera", "Internet Explorer 7" or any of these, I think you're a minority. Most of the people would say: "I'm using a web browser". I'm saying that most people are not really aware that they have a choice. They install windows and use the browser they get. They don't wonder if they can get a better browser, from the same reason they don't wonder if they can get a better operating system.

From that reason, such people won't even bother taking the poll. Firefox serves the innovators and early adopters. It is also very popular among techies, which are innovators by definition. In my blog, for example, IE users are about 15% of the population. Chances are you're now using Firefox to read this post.

So, my point is, that most people don't know and don't care. It seems like browser compatibility issues are a hot topic. But it's really just a hot topic for those who care.