License Management Facility (LMF)

[Jim Gettys]

By most standards, both Unix and VMS have failed in the mass market to
date.  For each system of either type, there are more than 10 PC's.
This looks like failure to me.  And as these machines have/are becoming
the same price, as PC's, we better have a software distribution mechanism
that is at least as economical, despite the fact the software is often
much larger.  By this standard, we aren't surviving.....

If the costs of media were where the costs of software distribution were,
your points would make more sense. 

Most of the costs however are in order entry, order processing, stocking,
and shipping.  This is where the (overwealmingly large) hidden costs are;
and guess what, we have to price software accordingly.
Other hidden costs include delay to the customer in this loop.
If the bits are already in your hands, the whole transaction can be handled
over the phone, for example, with billing via account or even credit card.
Only one initial subscription order needs to be processed, stocking costs
(like what you do with obsolete media) evaporate, almost all the shipping
costs are gone, etc.  You get instant gratification, and the ability to
"sample" software before buying, as well as easier software installation.

And at this point in time, we (the workstation market) sure doesn't have
the retail distribution channel that the PC market has.

I haven't played with LMF on VMS (or on Ultrix, for that matter), so can't 
comment on the hassle quotient.  As I said before, if it is a pain, then
we are failing.
				- Jim