Pangolin overpriced?

[flecom]

we have had a hardware-centric licensing model basically for the past 23 years. So this means you buy the hardware, and then you can run lots of software on that piece of hardware.

I am sorry to bump such an old thread but I was searching for something and ran across this...

this is something that has always driven me crazy about Pangolin... I bought a QM system, I paid for the hardware and the software (I am sorry but you cannot tell me the software has ZERO value) but now if I want to extend the functionality of that software (with more projectors) I have to buy MORE hardware/software packages...

if I want to control 3 projectors why do I have to buy pangolin 3 times?

why cant I buy a "stupid" QM card that can only run as a "slave" to a proper QM card licensed for the software?

this is especially frustrating when I see how much the FB3's are doing since I can buy 3 FB3's for the cost of my one QM card...

and you can't tell me the QM card costs $1500 to make... I understand the software has huge development costs, but the QM card has been around for a looooong time, I am fairly certain (and would hope) you made back your R&D costs on the hardware already so I guess I just do not understand why I can't buy hardware to get more functionality out of my software without buying the software again and again

[heroic]

and you can't tell me the QM card costs $1500 to make...

The QM card's BOM cost is about $400 given that most of the parts on it are well down the obsolescence curve.

[-=Jim=-]

The QM card's BOM cost is about $400 given that most of the parts on it are well down the obsolescence curve.

If Bill could just find programmers willing to work for free I'm sure the cost would go down... Know anyone?

[flecom]

If Bill could just find programmers willing to work for free I'm sure the cost would go down... Know anyone?

but thats the thing, I already purchased the software... why do I have to purchase it twice more to use functionality thats already in the software to begin with? (multiple output via multiple QM cards)

thats like saying you had to buy an extra copy of windows for every video card you installed in your computer... its totally illogical

[heroic]

If Bill could just find programmers willing to work for free I'm sure the cost would go down... Know anyone?

Plenty. Ever heard of Linux?

[White-Light]

An Ilda splitter might in part solve the problem if you want 2 identical projectors running identical outputs.

[-=Jim=-]

but thats the thing, I already purchased the software... why do I have to purchase it twice more to use functionality thats already in the software to begin with? (multiple output via multiple QM cards)

thats like saying you had to buy an extra copy of windows for every video card you installed in your computer... its totally illogical

It's quite logical... in order to provide further development Pangolin needs to make a profit. If they sold everything for what it cost them they would not stay in business.

[flecom]

An Ilda splitter might in part solve the problem if you want 2 identical projectors running identical outputs.

no

It's quite logical... in order to provide further development Pangolin needs to make a profit. If they sold everything for what it cost them they would not stay in business.

yes obviously they need to make a profit...

it would be more logical if you could buy the pangolin setup, and then buy add-on QM cards, they cannot run by themselves, they must have a QM card that is licensed for the software

the development cost you are referring to is software development... I already paid for the software, if I want to run 3 QM cards, why do I have to pay for the software twice more if I am not using it 3 times? I am still only using one copy of the software

the QM card is simply the output device for the Pangolin software.. sure there are other applications that can talk to a QM... but for the sake of argument they are irrelevant...

again, its like if you had to buy an additional windows license for every video card you added to your pc to have additional monitors, it does not make any sense since you are still using a single copy of windows...

just change windows for pangolin and video card for QM2000

[-=Jim=-]

Plenty. Ever heard of Linux?

I have to give you that one.....

[heroic]

I have to give you that one.....

Or Mozilla, Firefox, GCC, Octave, Coreboot, FreeBSD. There are dozens of examples of successful open and free software projects, some of which are making millions of dollars for the people using them.

More appropriately, look at CUPS, the Common Unix Printing System. It's a set of free, user-developed printer drivers, a rasterization engine, and all the bumph that is needed to put ink on paper with thousands of different printers. It's integrated into MacOS X, shipping millions of units yearly (don't sneer at Macintoshes- they just passed PCs in terms of laptop sales to consumers!). If it were a closed system, it would not be able to support the many thousands of models of printers it does, because any time a Linux user wants to use a new printer that's not supported, he or she is free to make a CUPS driver for it, release it back to the community, and then everyone can use it.

CUPS is an enabling technology, because it means that if a printer manufacturer helps out with driver development, they get the whole guts of a printing system for free, rendering engine, the works.

The situation with Pangolin right now is that you buy a $10000 'printer', then you have to spend $500 on a crappy printer cable or $1500 on an outdated hardware design for a 'RIP box', and then you have to spend another $500 on the good software. And you can only 'print' to it with Pangolin's own 'word' application, or use their free 'Notepad' application. And if you suggest that this is wrong, that innovation would be better served by an open software environment supporting diversity in hardware, the zealots jump down your throat.

Of course, you can't just change to someone else's 'printing software' because Pangolin refuses to publish interface information, claiming that it contains secret sauce and lucky charms, and Pangolin refuses to make their application software work with anyone else's 'printers' because they are scared of piracy. When, in fact, they should realize that if their stuff is good, piracy is a gateway drug- it's how people try your software on cheap hardware so that they can be sure they want to move to the good stuff you sell.

I mean, assuming that you sell good hardware- which may be the sticky wicket here.