Re: [cobalt-developers] 3rd party Control Panel

[Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Aussie Servers wrote:

> Those owning Autosetup are being offered Autocontrol free for 12
> months. More than enough time to evaluate it for its potential future
> use I think. :-)

Problem is that once you've set up something like this, you're
committed; you cannot take it away from your customers without having
defections.

> Is there anything else like it to compare it with? Not really. So we
> look at the cost of US$299/12 months per server.

Plesk (I agree, it's not ready for the RaQ yet, but it will be).  300
domains capability, us$599.  One time fee.  Yes, installation will be
available for a fee, and there's both support contracts and per-incident
support, but you only buy them if/when you need them.

Of course there will be upgrades available, but the one you've got won't
stop working, and that's the key point.

> Will there be a
> return on that investment? You betcha. Just the freed up time would
> pale it in comparison. At least it's not a per user pricing model. It
> allows a few domains to pay for the best management of the RAQ as a
> whole.

What if it goes up in price after the first year?  After the second
year?  What if Richard gets hit by a car?  Do you have a third-party
escrow on the code to make it work after your year?  If something does
happen to Richard and the code stays static can you keep it year to year
without getting and paying for upgrades and still have it work?

> Anyways...we're obviously biased. :-) We ordered it (autosetup) months
> ago online..followed it up with a call to the States and had a chat
> with Richard...within about 12 hours the software was installed and
> within 10 minutes of that we had about 20 domains up and running.
> Autocontrolpro is huge step forward. No doubt Richards' model will be
> replicated in many different flavours, but he's led the push in my
> opinion.

His software looks great.  However my questions are valid, there IS
single-price alternative, and when I tried to reach the company the
phone rang forever without being answered.

If I'm going to pay for software I expect a bit better than that.

I'd love to hear from someone at the company who can convince me to buy
and support Auto Control Pro.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman <jblists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Linux and Cobalt/Sun/RaQ Consulting
nobaloney.net
P. O. Box 52672, Riverside, CA  92517
voice: (909) 778-9980  *  fax: (702) 548-9484