At 02:29 PM 09-01-00 +0100, you wrote:

>From: "hannes hernler" <ibo.hernler@...>
>
> >From: Helen Borrie <helebor@...>
>
> >Hasn't this subject been exhausted now? I'm sure that, if and when we need
> >to solicit funds for anything, you will find that the process will be easy,
> >secure and fully documented.
>no. sorry. I don�t think the subject has been exhausted.
>even if there are things like open source it doesn�t mean you
>don�t need to bother about money.

I did not say "don't bother about money". I said "don't bother about it now".
There are other committees working on these details, you see...
So until we know what Inprise are really going to do and what (if any)
financial input is needed, I feel it's just flogging a subject that's going
nowhere.

But if you want to talk about money, go right ahead.

>I have a tiny company and I have to earn my and my family livings
>out of my programmming projects. so money is important and always
>connected with my decisions.

Hey, there are a couple of others in your situation. We **are** batting very
hard for you, you know! Just don't think that, if it's not being discussed in
this forum, it's not being discussed. That is the wrong assumption.

<<technical resources are not enough. you have to touch all aspects of

>making a product sucessul. and there�s also coordination, marketing,
>funding, infrastructure....

Exactly! pick one of these topics and get a thread started. **These** are
the tactical things that are really important at this stage.

>not only RDBMS developers or low level tool&component building spezialists
>are concerned about the future of IB but many developers like me who
>are using databses in most bits of code but never think of going
>into DB development themselves.

Well, that's ok too. Get a discussion going about possible pricing structures,
update schedules, user documentation.... these are just three issues that are
relevant to you. No doubt there are more....

>in http://www2.linuxjournal.com/articles/conversations/010.html
>Dale Fuller says "....What we're setting up will be the host organization
>outside our company. We don't want to do what Netscape tried to do,
>which wasn't very successful. We need a separate entity."
>
>....what is what IBDI is preparing as I can see.

Correct. We have a group VERY BUSY on that. We need as much input
as possible from all quarters of the IB community, all types of users. It is
the only way to get a "voice" from the community, don't you see?

>and Dale says "We are funding it, but only as one source of funding.
>We want the community to help fund it, and own shares in it. "
>
>so, when will Inprise stop funding newIB? will we see simmilar
>struggles again next year? if we developers own some single shares in it,
>how
>can we influence future of IB?

Well, clearly that has to be negotiated so that the community has a very strong
voice in the future of IB, both in its development and in the ways it is
infiltrated
into the market, especially the non-Inprise dev. platforms. So INFLUENCE is
what we are pursuing. This forum is the place for you to pinpoint the concerns
that are important to you - but it's not helpful to be so general. Get
specific and
get people discussing the specifics.

>so what I am thinking of is kind of a Union of developers. kind of a company
>where we own shares that owns a bigger amount of shares of newIB.

Sounds pretty good to me! :)

but the ownership of shares is a long way down the track from the current
position.
When it is possible to discuss that with some **FACTS** to work on, be assured
that it will be discussed and, if there are shares to buy, you can be right
there with
all the rest of us and get yours.

Helen