Re: Open Source

[Karl Denninger <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert L Bass wrote:
> "Karl Denninger" wrote:
>>
>> When the response to someone who is publishing FREEWARE to "pay me",
>> my answer is "fuck you."
>>
>> I don't publish Home Automation software for money.  If HomeDaemon was
>> a commercial product, or I had any intention of making it a commercial
>> product, then I'd see this differently - the cost of the SDK and data
>> definitions could easily be rolled into the cost of doing business.
>>
>> But HomeDaemon has been freely accessible, in source, for nearly 10
>> years...
>
> I'm sure that Home Daemon is an excellent app.  I don't run a Unix box
> so I have no need of it but I'll take your word for it.
>
>>  Clearly, my intent is NOT to make a business out of this...
>
> That's fine but Zensys is in it for business.  They don't offer a
> freeware SDK or even a cheap one.  Giving it away to everyone who wants
> it won't help their business plan.  If they sold it for cheap, they
> would then have to field tech support calls from hundreds of garage
> developers.  That would add overhead without any gain.  If you run a
> business you must know that adding expense without adding profit is not
> a good thing.
>
> So, when folks like you or Dave ask for a free SDK, their answer is,
> "f--- y--."  Sound familiar?
>

Fine with me.

See how their "fuck you" was effective in preventing me from adding
ZWave support?

NOT!

The amusing part of this is the arrogance of Zensys in thinking that the
MANUFACTURERS of devices who speak Zwave have interests aligned with theirs.

Of course they do not; the device manufacturers have an interest in
selling devices!  Their interests align with mine - that is, to have
protocol definitions and support available.

This is simple economics - the more different pieces of software and
hardware that can "speak" to their devices, the more devices they will
sell.  Without other products ability to speak to their devices they are
worth far less.

This is the conorundum of so-called "consortia" specifications where
some "central body" holds the specs and sells them off for what are
often rather insane prices.

The members of the consortium have a decidedly strong reason to ignore
that and publish their own interface documents, because by doing so they
gain competitive advantage.

As just one example, HomeDaemon now explicitly supports the CA9000
Intermatic PIR.  That is, it knows how to manage the device in "battery
friendly" mode, including keeping track of the battery power level.

This makes the CA9000 the ONLY PIR-class device that HomeDaemon
explicitly supports, because Intermatic disclosed that which I did not
obtain via brute-force reverse-engineering (after I went after them
verbally.)

The result?  Those who wish to run HomeDaemon, use ZWave devices, and
want to use a ZWave PIR will buy Intermatic CA9000s in preference to the
other brands and models of PIRs that may be on the market, now or in the
future.

This gives Intermatic a competitive advantage; that is the "quid pro
quo" that they obtain by disclosing their state machine details to the
public.

I now have no interest in hammering any of the OTHER PIR manufacturers
to obtain the same documentation. In fact, I have a strong interest in
REWARDING Intermatic's behavior (their disclosure), and for that reason
the only way other PIRs are going to be written into the code with
specific programming support is if those manufacturers SEND ME ONE AT NO
CHARGE, or if THEY disclose all the programming frames necessary to
speak to THEIR devices.

My interest is in seeing Intermatic's behavior replicated; ergo, I act
in a fashion that REWARDS Intermatic's actions by supporting their
product and STRONGLY RECOMMENDING that people buy it.

It is also why Zensys' position is economically bankrupt, as it is in
the best interest of the manufacturers to intentionally undermine their
attempt to force people to buy their SDK, and those manufacturers who DO
work to undermine Zensys gain competitive market share as a direct
result of the actions of people just like me.

--
Karl Denninger (karl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
http://www.denninger.net