First off, My apologies, I had never read this Trustware Licence
agreement.

But this, now raises further issues..

Jason - trustware page
"I want IBO to be thought of as being just like a true Open Source
product but I still want the basis of my income to be a licensing fee
rather than support"

The product is either OS or not. If we are to assume it is partly
open source, then that would indicate, that the people using the
product with the sources can make changes to it and update the full
version. If they do, do they get paid for their input? If I deciced
to invest in IBO, who am I paying? What exactly am I buying? A
commercial product or an ongoing open project?

"just like true Open Source"
True Open Source, to me at least, is a methodology of allowing a
group of like minded people to develop a product which is free for
all to use, with full source code. There is no charge.

Jason - Main page (Advertising)
"Switch from BDE to IBO in seconds with no loss of functionality!"

It was this advertisement which brought me to IBO in the first place.

This statement is totally untrue (imo) unless the app being converted
is small and does not use MIDAS.

Now, quoting from amail I sent to Helen...
"Our problem is that we have on the flip side of the same coin, paid
out large amounts of money for support and ended up rewriting stuff
because the people supporting could not come up with viable
solutions. This is in no way a reflection of you or IBO but, rather
indicative of 'once bitten, twice shy'."

Further..

"It is a 'chicken and egg' scenario. You need financial support for
your product, we need assurance, knowing your product will justify
the cost. Which comes first?"

I think the above, is a very good queue for you to respond with a
trustware licence to allow me to fully evaluate and trace code. And
thereby alleviate me from constantly having to seek answers.

I never "asked" for a trustware licence as 1. I assumed the product
was not "Open Source" and therefore required a licence anyway. 2. I
never read the trustware page. 3. I have never ever heard of this
kind of scenario before. "It's Open Source, but you pay for it"

I have no wish to enter a head bashing contest with anyone. I was
just unfortunate enough to believe the advertisements.

I am unsure of other peoples opinions, but to me, from a commercial
point of view, one does not invest in something unless there is a
high probability of a return on investment and a guarantee of support
for whatever it is you are investing in. If the product is Open
Source, then you take the obvious risks, if it is not, then one
evaluates it, until a decision has been reached.

Ben