looking at the survey (pricing)

[Roger Dingledine <arma@mit.edu>]

Ok...we should all go through the survey and take a look at the questions
we have so far, and answer them. If we all end up answering them the same
way, then we should consider that perhaps most people will answer them that
way, and they're not all that useful. If we all answer them differently but
are thinking the same thing, then we should conclude that it needs a reword
(or to be dropped).

Rating scale:

Crucial: This issue is one of the most important things I consider in
  evaluating a computer system
very important: This issue is very important to me in evaluating a computer
  system
important: This issue is important, but I am willing to compromise for more
  important issues
relevant: I consider this issue when I evaluate a computer system, when all
  else appears equal
unimportant: This issue is not relevant for/to me



Hope to figure out from either question, either
 - What does this tell us about the respondant?
 - How can Linux be improved by the responses to this question?


Pricing:
  - Cost of hardware for your computer, including initial purchase price and upgrades 

very important. i look for excellent price/performance ratio, and purchase
from small vendors.

  - Cost of software for your computer, including cost of pre-installed software 

crucial -- they must be zero.

  - Cost of software upgrades for your computer 

crucial -- they must be zero.

  - Cost of becoming proficient with new application software 

woah. does this apply to me? This seems like a different use of the word
'cost' than the ones I just answered. I don't pay anything to learn new
application software. Except time. In which case it is 'important' because
I don't want to spend forever becoming proficient with something, but if
it's worthwhile then I'll make it happen. Note that for the most part, I
don't need to be 'proficient' with something to use it usefully.
Perhaps we could clarify, and add "(time or money)" in there.

  - Cost of becoming proficient with new system software 

same problem as last time. but proficiency with system software is
more important than with application software, so 'very important'.

  - Being able to buy and / or use no-name brand hardware obtained from a reputable retailer 

I'm assuming this should be interpreted as "no name brand", rather than
"no-name" "brand", which doesn't make sense to me. If the former, then
'relevant' (see below).

  - Being able to buy and / or use brand name hardware 

crucial. With what I use my computers for, I need top-quality high-warrantee
parts. Perhaps put the 'brand' question first..

  - Being able to buy and / or use no-name brand software obtained from a reputable retailer 

I don't buy software. So the term 'retailer' seems weird to me in this
question. But I guess I will interpret this as "how important is it for
redhat to have a contrib/ directory that it makes available?"
In which case I'd say 'relevant', because I don't mind if my off-brand
software comes from the actual site in .se or from a more 'reputable'
site.

  - Being able to buy and / or use brand name software 

crucial. Some software, like sendmail or apache, needs to be
well-known and well-tested. Am I using the same definition of
'brand name' as you guys are?