[TrunkCom] All this whining. WAS Digital Decoder Plugin

[Lindsay C. Blanton]

All this bitching and complaining...

> You can put the blame of the cost on that card directly at 
> the feet of one 
> firm:
> 
> DVSI (http://www.dvsi.com)

Heaven Forbid we PAY for use of a product that one company spent the
time, engineering, and money to develop.  You think that the development
if the IMBE Vocoder took a few days?  Come on RE!  This vocoder is used
for not only for the APCO-25 digital standard, but for a number of other
digital voice solutions as well.  They have developed a VERY valuable
product for which they should charge a reasonable license fee.  

You obviously have no experience in the software industry, because if
you did, you'd realize that 100K license fee for a core piece of a
communications infrastructure is relatively inexpensive.  

What kind of license fees and royalties do you think Qualcomm gets for
their CDMA technology?  Revenue runs into the BILLIONS!

> The codec used in P25 was developed by this company and they have to 
> put it midly "draconian" licensing costs & procedures. Even 
> developers have 
> to sign NDA's, $100K licenseing fee, etc..

So what do you suggest?  They give it away to manufactures and scanner
listeners?  First, they HAVE to protect their investment from folks who
would otherwise steal their technology. ...and Second, they need to
protect their hard earned work from being pirated across the internet.  
 
Just because they won't allow you to download the codec and play with it
at home for free certainly doesn't make them "draconian" and evil.  It's
their codec godamnit, and they can charge what they want for it, and
they WILL charge what the market will bear.  One word... Capitalism.

> The last ** rumor ** was that DVSI wanted $7/radio for each 
> radio sold that 
> had the IMBE codec inside. So The reason for the card is a 
> way to not pay 
> that fee to DVSI on EVERY BC250D/785D. 

7 dollars a radio is a pretty good deal - I'd be the APCO-25 equipment
manufacturers are paying quite a bit more per radio.

RE, the real question is, ARE YOU going to purchase one of these new
scanners, or aren't you?  Welcome the new technology, don't just bitch
and complain every time Uniden doesn't release EXACTLY what you want.
No open-sky decoding.... Tough crap.  No Ericsson ProVoice, what a
shame.  You don't like it, then develop something yourself.  At least
Uniden is taking the lead and releasing a product.  Just like the
president, they can't make everyone happy - certainly not you.

<.. Obnoxious Signature of 14 lines deleted ..>

Lindsay