I think it would be far more beneficial to discuss and debate the
technical merits rather than the
price of something like this. f0dder sort of alluded to that when he asked what was the unique thing (or things) about Minibasic that justified it's existence.
Pricing should not be an issue if the product fills a niche. It's only when price is divorced from function that it becomes it's own separate issue. Because f there's no real functional differences, all you
can discuss is the price.
And close functional similarity shouldn't be seen as an issue either. Most software falls into general categories, with dozens, or hundreds, of "me too" products competing for space on our hard drives. That's why something as basic as a programmer's text editor is available in so many price and feature ranges. Each has its own special "something" that some group of users can't live without. And those things are often what sparks such debate and emotion when text editors get compared. Most forum veterans know that few discussions get uglier sooner than those about which editor is "the best."
Which is really odd when you think about it. Because except for those little "somethings" each editor brings to the party, they're all basically the
same tool.
IMO if Minibasic fills a need or function, it's worth whatever the author can get for it. And if it doesn't, it's not worth having at all. Even if it were being offered for free.
So maybe if instead of arguing price (or bandying about things like
script kiddies or 'it's no different than') somebody could throw up an elegant example of something Minibasic does extremely well? Ideally something another product like AutoIt or Autohotkey couldn't do as easily - or maybe at all?
I'm pretty good at making an informed decision when I have some examples to look at.
I'm not too good at deciding when people are slamming each other. When that happens, I tend to either stick with what I already have - or start looking elsewhere.
Just my 2¢
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