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Hi, Another group that would benefit would be the vendors that focus on hardware. Right now they are somewhat at the mercy of the large automation houses that sell tightly integrated software/hardware systems. Here's a list of points that is a starting point for benefits (not just for vendors). - drivers are easy to develop and add by the vendors and users, so... > no need to wait for the next release of the software > if something is broken, somebody else can fix it > the control software is no longer used to capture users > the driver model doesn't change every two years - it runs on a free operating system, so... > no tax for each copy of an OS (-$100) > no costly development cycle to build your own embedded system > high end mature features such as data bases and web servers built in > no need for costly development kits and frequent training to keep up > no drive to make the life cycle of a product 2-3 years - software features can be added as required > a developer can opt to do programming when required > open source does encourage alternatives, so if one doesn't do what you want, use another - others > can be run in a small memory machine > comodity hardware (such as $20 ethernet cards) beats ($1000 proprietary) > there is no cost for the control software, so all benefit (-$500) > the open review process will make software more reliable > the software becomes an ad-hoc standard that works across all platforms (in effect going beyond IEC-61131) > modern PCs have much more power than proprietary systems > real technical help is available free or for $$$ > you know who wrote the software, and they will talk to you Hugh >Perry wrote: > >Based on current business models, I don't see much benefit in the LPLC for >large automation vendors. > >However, they only represent a small portion of the total picture. System >Integrators in particular could benefit greatly. As will the more >sophisticated OEMs and users. > >All you have to do is persuade those who hold purse strings of a large oem that >they will make more money doing it this way than another way. _______________________________________________ LinuxPLC mailing list [email protected] http://linuxplc.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxplc
