Why do Mac Users Have To Pay?

[kodama]

For the Actual MySQL ODBC connector when MySQL makes one?

It just seems like Mac clients get screwed once again. $29 is not much money, but when you're dealing with a cheap company with several Mac clients who need a purchase Vs. Windows clients that can have free access out of the box...

;)

[Ender]

I don't know anything about your ODBC connector, but I don't know why you're surprised that software sometimes costs money. The nerve of people wanting to be paid for something they developed!

I suppose a Windows user might likewise be annoyed that movie and DVD editing software comes installed on Macs, but maybe not on their PC. If your company can't handle $29 a seat for that connector, it doesn't bode well for you advancing development in any solution they've got.

[kodama]

Wow, clever response. Thanks for taking the time.

I mean Vs Windows users who do not have to pay.

It's something that happens time and again on the Mac and one more thing that makes it hard to keep a Mac infrastrucure in IT when managers complain about extra costs.

It may be Filemaker's fault, or it may be the fault of the OS X connector made by MySQL being inadequate, either way the end result is the same.

[AudioFreak]

This reminds me of when we purchased a few Zebra label printers. 170$ for the adapter that makes them Networkable....Pretty lame. Oh you want them to print with a Mac? That will be another 150$ for the driver.

Good printers but come on networkable should be standard in this day and age....lol.

Best story again off topic, I heard when I was in the military was a company that was bidding on a contract to make all the generators for the ARMY. He came in so low that they gave them the contract for like 100,000 Diesel Generators.

In the end the military could not repair them due to the fact they used some custom screw making them impossible to repair without their SPECIAL tool.

Edited July 19, 2007 by Guest

[John May - Point In Space]

Talk to MySQL about it - it ain't FileMaker's fault.

Actual Technologies' drivers rock. WELL worth the money. The nice thing is, you get support with them, unlike with open source solutions like MySQL's own drivers and the likes.

- John

[Ender]

TANSTAAFL, people!

That's right, 'There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.' You've got to pay for it somewhere along the line.

A corollary to that is: Why should I have to pay for options I don't need? (I just made that one up and haven't come up with an acronym yet). If stuff like that is included in the OS, it might raise the price of the OS. If FileMaker includes it, maybe it raises the price of a FileMaker license.

Heck, for all I know somebody's got a unix hack for that ODBC deally--of course, then your still "paying" by risking your data with questionable code.

Same deal with networkable printers. Ya, that costs more because not everyone needs it. Or you could fiddle with printer sharing--but then you've got the inconvenience of that whole process.

[AudioFreak]

TANSTAAFL, people!

'There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.'

Soo true. If you want everything to flow you have to spend the cash.

[pmconaway]

Talk to MySQL about it - it ain't FileMaker's fault.

Actual Technologies' drivers rock. WELL worth the money. The nice thing is, you get support with them, unlike with open source solutions like MySQL's own drivers and the likes.

- John

I will second John's statement. I had a problem connecting to an oracle data source after one of their updates. (2.6 I think) I contacted support and they got back to me quickly and resolved the problem shortly. I've had good experiences with them.

I also like the fact that you can use the drivers to test your connection without the license code (Drivers will only return 3 rows without a license code) This allowed me to make sure that I could make everything work and get my system configured correctly before buying. A big plus in my view.

Paul

[Genx]

Guys, Give MySQL a break. They produce a pretty great product for free... could always try PostgreSQL though.

Hmm, actually that's not supported by FM yet is it, oh well point is don't dis the open source guys . If you want MySQL support, pay for the enterprise subscription and I'm sure they'll get back to you as quick as Oracle did: http://www.mysql.com/support/

Lol, really random, LonleyGirl15 is on the MySQL customer list ahahahahahah. Funny to me anyway.

[kodama]

My point is, simply:

- MySQL Makes a free connector for OS X and Windows

- FileMaker is advertising (big time) that they now connect to MySQL (among others)

- In the fine print, you find that FileMaker can utilize the 1st party free MySQL connector made for Windows, but not the free 1st party one Made for OS X

= Mac users screwed once more, even if only by $29.95 each (yes I know you have to pay for people's work, yes I believe Actual makes good connectors, yes I know software costs money, etc...)

It's just a small example of something that happens time after time.

I didn't even assign blame, it's just frustrating to deal with having to get permission, quotes, bidding, preferred vendor check, funding information, purchase requests, approval, etc.. for yet another item that you have to explain is needed only for Mac clients.

I guess no one has ever dealt with the crap and superstition you have to put up with being a cross platform admin trying to keep your Macs?

[kodama]

Maybe part of the solution would be making them pay for the Windows connector as well...

[kodama]

But you really can't, since only the MySQL one is supported on Windows...

[Jonathan Monroe]

it's just frustrating to deal with having to get permission, quotes, bidding, preferred vendor check, funding information, purchase requests, approval, etc.. for yet another item that you have to explain is needed only for Mac clients.

I can sympathize with this - I was once in your shoes.

When we started Actual, our goal was to make a product that didn't need any support from corporate support groups. If you couldn't get approval from your manager to buy it, it was still cheap enough that a Mac lover could afford to pay for it out-of-pocket.

Mac users screwed once more, even if only by $29.95 each

I don't think FM is trying to screw you. I think they are trying to give you a solution that works.

Beyond the short term, a Mac-based solution that doesn't work or is a constant headache will kill the Mac faster than a $30 add on, IMHO.

kodama, please feel free to contact me if there's anything I can do to help you get what you need on your Macs.

Jonathan Monroe

Actual Technologies - ODBC for Mac OS X

www.actualtechnologies.com

[email protected]

[fmpwnerer]

switch to windows?

you know, if you host the file you only need one license of the actual driver.

[cjaeger]

Hi, it took me almost a day to get the FreeTDS ODBC driver up and running with FileMaker and it still has some quirks.

With actualtech, you can have a working driver for only $ 30 saving you at least 10 hours of compiling and testing - thats a very good deal provided you value your time more than $ 3 /hour.

Chris Jaeger, Germany

[kodama]

As a follow up, I did end up needing the Actual driver for an MS SQL site, and it was smokin'!

Very nice/easy setup, made a sweet solution to mass update, edit, & preview a MS SQL site in less than a day.

No complaints about Actual whatsoever.