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[SAH]

Yes, a nice surprise.  I think the author was hedging on Jcal pro being ready for Joomla 1.5.  I understand that its not, am I correct?  I initially tried to load in on 1.5 and had the error:” Your Extension appears to be written for an older version of Joomla!. You must enable the System - Legacy Plugin in the Plugin Manager to complete this task.

[chadmarshall]

I'm not going to pay it.  What 'Operating Expenses' are they trying to cover?  If it's a matter of paying for the server bandwidth they could move the file a P2P and make it available through BitTorrent.

Did anyone else notice how they intentionally didn't post any of the packages on the repository?  Evidence that the motivation is greed and not supporting the open source community.  I leverage open source technologies for ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget with an all volunteer team.  Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography.  To restrict access to open source software, and proport such ignorant deception as to publish unpackaged source code (in a repository that supports packages), is an action that speaks to the quality of the charachter of the developers.

Thankfully JEvents posts their packages in the repository and there are plenty of other calendar options available from people who practice a higher level of integrity.

[styxx]

I dont see it that way at all. I think the transition was not handled as well as it could have been - and have said so

But I would think there comes a point where you simply cant support and develop a product AND earn a living working 9 - 5 on your "real" job. So one of the the "expenses" must surely be replacing an income you might otherwise earn elsewhere.

Jcal is pretty well supported - has seen regular improvements bug fixes and feature enhancements all of which must take up a lot of time

I just dont see the cause for hysteria over the fact that these guys do not want to give up their day jobs and sit on the poverty line - in order to provide the rest of us with free software!

As I understand the licence we are all at liberty to pick this project up and fork it if we feel the task is trivial.

But then perhaps I am missing something

[V-man]

I just dont see the cause for hysteria over the fact that these guys do not want to give up their day jobs and sit on the poverty line - in order to provide the rest of us with free software!

As I understand the licence we are all at liberty to pick this project up and fork it if we feel the task is trivial.

You have said it very well and I agree, we rushed the implementation of the fees. That said, I don't think the timing would ever be perfect for a fee increase (in this case, from $0 to $5).

And yes, the license allows for the fork, which was the genesis of JCal Pro in the first place. And for those who refuse to pay the current fees (of course I respect their decision), the source is available for them even if they do not want to publish a fork.

Also, hosting costs are trivial, but we employ programmers and pay some of the people who develop, do bug fixes, etc....

As I have said elsewhere, I spent a lot of money in the beginning to get JCal forked and implement the features I (read "my clients") needed, well before it was available to the public. So after expenses, some of the costs offset the initial investment.

Rest assured, we are continually reinvesting into the project financially. This will be very apparent in the next release and the subsequent releases which I expect will be more frequent.

[jmc]

I can't resist...
@chad

...ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget...

It's good to know they won't be wasting any of their "hard-earned"  money on computers and webhosting, then... Oh, wait...

...Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography...

That's only ONE good reason for putting the price right UP, if you ask me!

... proport...

That's not even a word.  If by any chance you mean "purport", then sadly, that's not even in context.

...people who practice a higher level of integrity...

That's simply because their seats are taller. You should learn to be more observant, Grasshopper.
But, Hey! Have fun with your free calendar, whatever it may be!

[V-man]

Did anyone else notice how they intentionally didn't post any of the packages on the repository?  Evidence that the motivation is greed and not supporting the open source community.  I leverage open source technologies for ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget with an all volunteer team.  Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography.  To restrict access to open source software, and proport such ignorant deception as to publish unpackaged source code (in a repository that supports packages), is an action that speaks to the quality of the charachter of the developers.

Thankfully JEvents posts their packages in the repository and there are plenty of other calendar options available from people who practice a higher level of integrity.

MODERATOR NOTE: The above quote was added after the initial 2-line post.

Thanks again for your comments chadmarshall, JEvents is a great package.

[igeoffi]

@chadmarshall:

I'm not going to pay it.  What 'Operating Expenses' are they trying to cover?  If it's a matter of paying for the server bandwidth they could move the file a P2P and make it available through BitTorrent.

Do you know how much seeders you need to have an effective torrent? You still need a computer to torrent the file all the time and that still costs money.
Operating Expense: bandwidth, server, food
Developers also have a life and need to support it.

Did anyone else notice how they intentionally didn't post any of the packages on the repository? 

WRONG. They are available in the SVN.

Evidence that the motivation is greed and not supporting the open source community.

WRONG. It's still GNU GPL which means its Open Source. You have access to the source files still.

I leverage open source technologies for ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget with an all volunteer team.  Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography.

So do I. If you really can't donate $5, you still have access to the SVN and can get the files there.

To restrict access to open source software, and proport such ignorant deception as to publish unpackaged source code (in a repository that supports packages), is an action that speaks to the quality of the charachter of the developers.

It's not restricting access at all. You have access to the SVN.  The SVN repository is NOT meant for packages.

Thankfully JEvents posts their packages in the repository and there are plenty of other calendar options available from people who practice a higher level of integrity.

When developers stop developing due to lack of money, just remember that you wanted everything free and didn't want to help donate one bit.


EDIT: had to add this in

@jmc

I can't resist...
@chad

...ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget...

It's good to know they won't be wasting any of their "hard-earned"  money on computers and webhosting, then... Oh, wait...

...Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography...

That's only ONE good reason for putting the price right UP, if you ask me!

... proport...

That's not even a word.  If by any chance you mean "purport", then sadly, that's not even in context.

...people who practice a higher level of integrity...

That's simply because their seats are taller. You should learn to be more observant, Grasshopper.
But, Hey! Have fun with your free calendar, whatever it may be!

Right on!

@chadmarshall
Most of the sites I develop are for non-profits (schools, churches, etc.). Our organization uses money wisely and budgets accordingly. That's how we get money for tech use.

[danayel]

I'm not going to pay it.  What 'Operating Expenses' are they trying to cover?  If it's a matter of paying for the server bandwidth they could move the file a P2P and make it available through BitTorrent.

Did anyone else notice how they intentionally didn't post any of the packages on the repository?  Evidence that the motivation is greed and not supporting the open source community.  I leverage open source technologies for ministries and non-profits that have $0 tech budget with an all volunteer team.  Folks that, if it were not for open source, wouldn't have a website or any other way to communicate beyond their local geography.  To restrict access to open source software, and proport such ignorant deception as to publish unpackaged source code (in a repository that supports packages), is an action that speaks to the quality of the charachter of the developers.

Thankfully JEvents posts their packages in the repository and there are plenty of other calendar options available from people who practice a higher level of integrity.

Actually it speaks a lot for the character of people who fling abuse and insults at someone who doesn't want to give them something for nothing.

Vman isn't obliged to give you Jcal, he doesn't have to develop it for you. Until this point everyone had a nice fun free ride. But people get tired of giving everything when no one gives back.

Accusing people of greed when all they want is a more than fair reward for a service they provided to you shows who is truly the greedy one.

When you go so far as to insult someone who is offering you dozens if not hundreds of hours of work for a measly $5, you need to sort out your priorities. I bet your church groups provide you coffee and sandwiches. I also bet you they cost more than $5 and took a LOT less time to prepare than JCal.

So why don't you go back to them and start insult insulting the coffee companies for obvious 'greed' and the bread company, and I bet they pay for hosting and power bills too! omg the GREED. People wanting fair compensation!     

Why won't these greedy people do everything for me and give me everything of theirs for free? I just want to save my money because I am not greedy I only want to not spend my money on other people's hard work?

Please. If you don't want to pay that's cool. Go get another Cal. Then when they give up because (greedy) people wanted to keep taking their work without donating, don't start crying on their forums about the lack of support for something you don't want to pay for.

People wonder why so many GPL projects shut down. It's because developers get tired of ungrateful people who think that other people are obligated to give them stuff for nothing when they refuse to return the favor by donating even a measly $5.

Quick price check $5 gets you:

• a hamburger and fries (if you are lucky) - benefits last 6 hours
• a carton of milk and a couple of loaves of bread - benefits 1-4 days
• 1/3 - 1/2 of a movie ticket - benefits < 1 hour
• a cup of coffee at starbucks - benefits 1 hour
• a *small* toy for your kid - benefits a few weeks/months
• JCal for your website - benefits as long as you have your website

For most of you $5 is also less than your hosting for the month...

Get a grip on reality guys.

The GPL doesn't = Developers have magical money fall out of the sky to help them feed their families so they can write free code for me.

Vman needs to eat too! Look how skinny he is in that photo!

Hillarious side notes:
1. At a normal (western world) minimum wage, you just SPENT more than $5 worth of time writing your post to insult Vman.

You refuse to pay $5 for the product but instead spend more than $5 in time insulting him and end up with no product and bad feelings.

2. People 'threatening' to go and use another calendar. How are you punishing Vman by not paying? If he obliged your wishes and stopped charging you still wouldn't pay. So what exactly are you taking from him?

Your 1 download which you refuse to provide anything in gratitude for will bring no benefit to him at all.

You are threatening to not, not help him?? Isn't that a double negative :p

"Give me your hard work for nothing or I will go take someone elses hard work for nothing instead, and that will teach you!" err ok. 

[V-man]

Vman needs to eat too! Look how skinny he is in that photo!

hehehe, I'm not so skinny here (taken in 2004).

[danayel]

Maybe not, but you do look a few commands short of a program with that expression. 

[V-man]

but you do look a few commands short of a program with that expression.

ya right! I was trying to 'fake out' a defender, lol.

Code:

vic playing rugby != good (or timely) code

[AmyStephen]

This is great to see and such a reasonable distribution price for a great product and for your support. I do not believe most of us end users fully appreciate the time and skill and intelligence poured into this work. I hope this program is very successful and serves as a model for other developers during this time of change in our community. I also hope the end user community steps up and helps support open source development. If we all do our part, it can work.

Thanks!
Amy

[V-man]

@Amy: Respect.

And yes, I think the community has in general supported me. We receive approximately 50% fewer new site registrations now, but usage is steady.

[vito27]

V-man,
I need to install this on 10 websites, does it mean that I have to pay $250 for one year?
In the license and Terms you said:
Unimited usage granted: Your membership grants you the rights to download the products as often as desired within the Membership Term shown in the matrix below. For example, a 1 year membership entitles you to download the entire suite of products an unlimited number of times with 1 year. If you renew your subscription, you are entitled to download the products for another year. Even after your membership expires, you may continue to use the products, so JCal Pro is not time-limited.
I don't need to download it everyday, I just need to install it on my Intranet sites.
Please let me know.

Thanks.

[V-man]

You may use it on all of your sites, no limit as per the GPL. The terms I am stating here describe the terms of the download service. However, if you plan to use it heavily, feel free to contribute a little extra to the project. You can contact me directly if you'd like to make an extra donation.