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Yes, please do
by jmayer on Monday 20/May/2002, @14:33
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Just a few points:
1) You basically argue that a) the free (GPLed) version for Linux is being subsidized by the Windows users. b) A port of Linux Qt to Win (GPLed) would seriously hurt Trolltechs business. So, if one day (which comes soon hopefully) Linux achieves the goad of "world domination", Trolltech will loos it's source from thos inhouse users of Win Qt anyway. What will they do? If you are right with your assumptions, then they will stop subsidizing Linux and make version 4.0 (or 5.0 or ...) non GPLed. That's the time, when KDE will have to work on Qt anyway.
2) There are some open source applications, that should be available on Windows as well as on Linux that use Qt. These applications cannot be ported in a way that gives Win users their "look and feel", because it's currently XFrees look and feel instead. This is an obstacle many win users will not even attempt to master. |
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Re: Yes, please do
by Bryan Feeney on Monday 20/May/2002, @14:55
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A lot of people don't seem to understand what I was on about. Most of Qt's business goes to programs developed in house, or programs developed by a company for a particular customer. It's not about making boxed products. In most cases the source is available anyway, if it's in-house it benefits everybody to have it, and for bespoke solutions (i.e. programs made to request) it's probably a part of the contract. That's why Qt non-commercial specifically states that you can't program with it in a company. If Qt/Win became GPL, it would make no difference to it's main customers, as they're usually making the source available for free anyway, so they could simply get the free GPL version (Qt might be able to charge, but everyone else could just copy it on, and it's been shown to be extremely difficult to make money from support).
As regards the loss of the Windows market, as Linux becomes more mainstream, more boxed software will be made available under proprietary licenses, and Qt should do well (though if the Free Software Foundations ideal comes to pass, Qt could find itself in trouble). I expect that the majority of Qt's money comes from Windows licenses.
As for making open-souce apps work on Windows, Windows users can get the look and feel by installing a theme. In a rootless X server running the WinXP theme for KDE most KDE apps would blend right in. Remember, a lot of the cheaper Windows applications don't look so homogenous. From the user's perspective a Cygwin system should look fine. Most Windows users who toy with the idea of installing Linux will have no problems with Cygwin.
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Re: Yes, please do
by Philippe Fremy on Tuesday 21/May/2002, @00:39
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I used to think that too but I changed my mind: no company will buy a product without a license or without a support. Trolltech's CEO Eirik Eng once told me that something like 1/5 of their sales was for Unix inhouse development where the client obviously could have used GPL Qt.
And you'll get more with Trolltech's true Qt on windows, like the promising ActiveQt, than with a port that will always be late, doesn't provide support, is not commercially backed, ...
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