Invisible wrote:
> Warp wrote:
> 
>>   I don't see any problem in that kind of business model.
>>
>>   Many companies use even a more radical business model: Their 
>> software is
>> free for individuals for non-commercial use, while for companies using it
>> commercially it costs a considerable amount of money.
> 
> For example... Oracle.
> 



> it. And they give you every product that Oracle makes.
> 
> It's just that if you try to make money from using it, theoretically 
> Oracle sues you. Which would appear to be impossible, but hey...
> 
>>   This business idea is actually clever: Let them
>> just have it for free. This way they will get accustomed to the software,
>> and if they ever get a related job, or create their own related firm, 
>> then
>> there's a high probability for the firm to buy the software because the
>> employees have experience using it.
> 
> Indeed.
> 
> So maybe it truly is the case that the only difference between 
> Mathematica for Students and Mathematics Professional is the terms of 


> perpetual license.)
> 
> Still, I'm reminded of that incident with BackupExec. We purchased an 

> send us an envelope with a piece of card inside it, and the card had a 

> wrong line of business. :-P
> 
> 
> 
> The thing that's really bugging me now... So, I can get Mathematica for, 

> very simple question: How the HELL do you use something like Mathematica 
> "commercially"?!?!!
> 
> It solves equations and draws graphs. I can't think of a single domain 
> of commercial endevour where such a thing would actually be useful. I 
> mean, who the hell does math as part of their day job?

Are you kidding me? In my former position, I was a programmer for 
motion-control systems, much of which was very math heavy. Mathematica 
could have been very useful for some of the things I worked on. I knew 
one developer who would use it regularly to solve some of the problems 
dealing with encoder counts and angular motion on 3 axes plus linear 
motion on one or two axes.. It came in handy for figuring out how many 
counts to send to the motors.

> About the closest thing I can think of is engineering; but they aren't 
> going to use Mathematica, they're going to use a dedicated CAD system to 
> do finite element simulations and so forth.

Yeah, our engineers use some fancy cad program to do a lot of what they 
do, but some even fall back on pocket calculators and such...

> Mathematica is a wonderful toy, but I can't think of a single serious 
> "use" for it.

Nonsense. It's a tool, just like a ruler, or a calculator.
-- 
~Mike

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