Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Free hardware for Frontier developers?

Author:Dave Winer
Posted:3/25/1999; 10:08:29 AM
Topic:Free hardware for Frontier developers?
Msg #:4500
Prev/Next:4499 / 4501

An interesting discussion has started on the Script-Meridian Community list. Seth Dillingham says he got a "beefy" machine. Someone said that I have a "honker". I corrected him. I actually have a SuperHonker. Then someone said I should give away free hardware for people who develop useful add-ons for Frontier. I think some of them were surprised when I agreed.

I then went into story-telling mode. "There's nothing like free hardware. In the eighties I used to say that software is made out of free hardware. We used to get lots of it, from Apple and all the PC clonemakers. It was part of the pecking order in our labs, the people who were performing the best always had the best hardware.

"One day Apple decided we should be developing all our software for the Mac. So a new Mac with a big hard drive and printer arrived for everyone in the company including the board. Fifty complete systems. To show our gratitude we gave them a thousand licenses for MORE. Guess what happened? We made lots of software and opened up a new market for Apple (the Pentagon) and my board was behind me all the way."

It could work this way again. Would any hardware companies like to join a partnership with UserLand to flow new hardware thru the Frontier community? Someday it will happen. It might be time now.

I can tell you this much, a few years ago Microsoft gave me a free NT Server machine. I had to do nothing, had to sign nothing. It's still here. It helped me get over my fear of Windows.

We have a lot of super-power users here. Hint hint. It would be great to give them some beefy new hardware. And for the best, let's get them honkers. And for the very best, SuperHonkers. It would be profitable.

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