 | May 1, 2000 |
It’s free
STRATEGY: OS vendor gives away tools to build talent pool
These days, the name of the game for OS vendors is creating a vast and experienced developer community. The availability of programming talent weighs heavily into OS selection. For example, the fact that legions of programmers know Windows might spur a product-development team to pick that OS, even when another choice might be technically superior. Linux and the Palm OS enjoy the same kind of support.
To develop a similar advantage, QNX Software Systems is now letting programmers download its development tools for free. QNX invites developers to use its OS and tools for any commercial project, and only demands royalties when the QNX OS goes into a shipping product.
The download varies from 15 to 40 Mbytes, depending on the components a developer desires. The 40-Mbyte package includes multimedia support such as an MP3 player, a Dolby Digital decoder, RealPlayer, the X-Windows GUI, and Macromedia Flash. Developers can quickly build applications such as web pads or digital music players using the OS and the included add-ons.
QNX pitches its OS as an attractive alternative to Linux. The OS uses a Linux-like binary file format, and developers can execute Linux binaries directly from QNX. Moreover, QNX can host not only Linux and Unix APIs (application programming interfaces) but also the same X-Windows GUI that's popular in the Unix and Linux community. Finally, QNX developers can use the same GNU (GNU's not Unix) toolchain Linux developers often favor.
A year from now, it will be interesting to assess this offer's impact. QNX believes the freebie will lead to increased revenue via royalties and support services, despite the loss of revenue from development-system sales. Should the plan succeed, it could instigate a change in how other commercial OS vendors do business.
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