This is not really a website issue, but it seemed the best place. I have been reading a lot of posts from frustrated people trying to get ZM up and running, some with little to no Linux experience. So that got me thinking of how handy it could be to build, configure and ship some systems to people that just need a bit more help. Of course this has the potential to tick off a lot of people so I wanted to discuss it first. A few points I had considered;
1) The ZoneMider project needs to get a portion of each system. I am not doing this to make money, but I do not want to loose any either, so there will be some added cost for me. There should also be some for the project that makes it possible... But how much?
2) This is not a commercial offering, but a preconfigured setup of ZM on Ubuntu with a lot of options, but a few known bugs. Support is limited to forums and e-mail.
3) It is also an assortment of hardware including an selection of known working capture cards. All hardware is new, and warrenteed.
This is not an offer yet! This is a discussion of weather or not making an offer is reasonable. I am not doing this for profit, but to help others get involved in the project. However, if the project feels that this is inappropriate, I will not do it.
So, what are the thoughts of everyone? Would this help anyone? Would it offend anyone? Is there a way to set this up to not offend anyone?
"Selling" Zoneminder
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jameswilson
- Posts: 5111
- Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:07 pm
- Location: Midlands UK
my 'personal' thoughts
youd be suprised how little financial support zm actually gets for all the work that Phil and others provide.
I have been for some time personally wanting to push a zm system disk etc like the live cd that is the preferred way to get zm. Unfortunalty most people just add it via their distro and of course that causes (you might have seen them lol) various support issues.
I think its a good idea as it will probably provide more donations than the current system does. I know your a ubuntu fan and maybe this will help development on that platform. Whatever the platform i wish there was just one that we offered support on. While i can see the advantages of 'rolling your own' i feel this should as a rule be left to more knowledgable people and i exclude myself from that as i dont think i have the required knowledge to.
So its a non zm, non official, personal yes from me lol
James
youd be suprised how little financial support zm actually gets for all the work that Phil and others provide.
I have been for some time personally wanting to push a zm system disk etc like the live cd that is the preferred way to get zm. Unfortunalty most people just add it via their distro and of course that causes (you might have seen them lol) various support issues.
I think its a good idea as it will probably provide more donations than the current system does. I know your a ubuntu fan and maybe this will help development on that platform. Whatever the platform i wish there was just one that we offered support on. While i can see the advantages of 'rolling your own' i feel this should as a rule be left to more knowledgable people and i exclude myself from that as i dont think i have the required knowledge to.
So its a non zm, non official, personal yes from me lol
James
James Wilson
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
Disclaimer: The above is pure theory and may work on a good day with the wind behind it. etc etc.
http://www.securitywarehouse.co.uk
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zoneminder
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5215
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2003 2:07 pm
- Location: Bristol, UK
- Contact:
Hi Lee,
I have no problem whatsoever with what you are proposing. People who like to get their hands dirty can do it themselves but if people need a bit of hand holding then I have no problem with them paying someone for help or to make things easier.
Part of the benefit of open source is the potential for generation of this kind of spinoff enterprise and if ZM gets any kind of slice then so much the better!
Cheers
I have no problem whatsoever with what you are proposing. People who like to get their hands dirty can do it themselves but if people need a bit of hand holding then I have no problem with them paying someone for help or to make things easier.
Part of the benefit of open source is the potential for generation of this kind of spinoff enterprise and if ZM gets any kind of slice then so much the better!
Cheers
Phil
Lee,
I've been reading through the forums extensively lately and you seem to be the most knowledgeable of the posters (aside from the admins of course). If you have a natural entrepreneurial inclination, I would highly suggest taking this on. In fact, it's even something I've considered.
In doing some basic market research I found that security companies charge an arm and a leg to install video security systems for small businesses. A system based on ZM could easily undercut them on the hardware costs. However, a major component of the deployment is the physical installation of the cameras and all their wiring. Unless the business owners want to do it themselves (and some would) then I have no desire to start my own business and install cables all day.
What you're proposing would be to sell pre-made boxes for people to hookup cameras into; correct? If so, I see a wide open opportunity for you. Have you seen any of the pre-made DVR boxes sold that are based on open source software? It's the same concept.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the open source software movement. The way people in that community make a living is by charging for:
1) deployment
2) customizations
3) support
This way the open source community can continue providing software for free, and businesses that need support for it can fund the development projects. As examples of this see Red Hat as well as (formerly) MySQL (now owned by Sun).
I've been reading through the forums extensively lately and you seem to be the most knowledgeable of the posters (aside from the admins of course). If you have a natural entrepreneurial inclination, I would highly suggest taking this on. In fact, it's even something I've considered.
In doing some basic market research I found that security companies charge an arm and a leg to install video security systems for small businesses. A system based on ZM could easily undercut them on the hardware costs. However, a major component of the deployment is the physical installation of the cameras and all their wiring. Unless the business owners want to do it themselves (and some would) then I have no desire to start my own business and install cables all day.
What you're proposing would be to sell pre-made boxes for people to hookup cameras into; correct? If so, I see a wide open opportunity for you. Have you seen any of the pre-made DVR boxes sold that are based on open source software? It's the same concept.
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the open source software movement. The way people in that community make a living is by charging for:
1) deployment
2) customizations
3) support
This way the open source community can continue providing software for free, and businesses that need support for it can fund the development projects. As examples of this see Red Hat as well as (formerly) MySQL (now owned by Sun).
Seems like a good idea to me.
I just want to show what i was thinking about trying to install ZM onto at some point...
http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=10704
its a nice small box that should fun zone minder well. problem will be the storage in it
I just want to show what i was thinking about trying to install ZM onto at some point...
http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=10704
its a nice small box that should fun zone minder well. problem will be the storage in it
Being sick stinks... First, you are sick. You can't do anything. Then you start to get better and you have to do all the stuff you couldn't do the week before. It is too much, so you get sick... 2 weeks later you start to be human again. Now to catch up on forums.... Agghhhhh! Gonna be sick again. 
Anyway, yes the install is the hard part. Or it should be... However many people have an unreasonable difficulty getting X card to work in Y system. The plan here was to provide a known good combination. I have sold a vew ZM installs, and I like them a lot. However, this is more for other people to get in without having to climb the learning curve cliff.
As to small systems, I don't recommend it. Capture cards get hot, and ZM is a power hungry app. Small systems don't do either of these well. I like nice big boxes with large slow fans.
Anyway, yes the install is the hard part. Or it should be... However many people have an unreasonable difficulty getting X card to work in Y system. The plan here was to provide a known good combination. I have sold a vew ZM installs, and I like them a lot. However, this is more for other people to get in without having to climb the learning curve cliff.
As to small systems, I don't recommend it. Capture cards get hot, and ZM is a power hungry app. Small systems don't do either of these well. I like nice big boxes with large slow fans.
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theorganloft
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:29 pm
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Re: "Selling" Zoneminder
I am building pro-audio systems as a consultant. I do not see any reason you cannot consult zoneminder systems. Just share some of your profits with this team. I have a customer that wants this. I think it is better than the windows systems and certainly more stable and secure. I plan to have them give enough that I can give a good donation to zoneminder. It is only fair.Lee Sharp wrote:This is not really a website issue, but it seemed the best place. I have been reading a lot of posts from frustrated people trying to get ZM up and running, some with little to no Linux experience. So that got me thinking of how handy it could be to build, configure and ship some systems to people that just need a bit more help. Of course this has the potential to tick off a lot of people so I wanted to discuss it first. A few points I had considered;
1) The ZoneMider project needs to get a portion of each system. I am not doing this to make money, but I do not want to loose any either, so there will be some added cost for me. There should also be some for the project that makes it possible... But how much?
2) This is not a commercial offering, but a preconfigured setup of ZM on Ubuntu with a lot of options, but a few known bugs. Support is limited to forums and e-mail.
3) It is also an assortment of hardware including an selection of known working capture cards. All hardware is new, and warrenteed.
This is not an offer yet! This is a discussion of weather or not making an offer is reasonable. I am not doing this for profit, but to help others get involved in the project. However, if the project feels that this is inappropriate, I will not do it.
So, what are the thoughts of everyone? Would this help anyone? Would it offend anyone? Is there a way to set this up to not offend anyone?
The system I built has been tested with 5 cameras watching and motion detecting a TV set screen for 48 hours straight. It performed well. This was a brand new AMD Mobo with 1 GB mem and a 160Gb SATA. I used a cheap knockoff 120fps Brooktree clone 4 port analog PCI and a Webcam NX Usb. Cameras were all set to color and have night vison configured. Email worked too! I was impressed! I think it would fair well in a commercial environment.
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theorganloft
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:29 pm
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
I would help you if you were near Atlanta, GA. I would give a modest donation to Zone if I serviced your system.roach wrote:I would be interested in paying for support or a consultant to enable a couple features that are currently broken on my zoneminder system.
I think "services" has better revenue potential than selling hardware without all of the pitfalls that anyone who has ever sold hardware can share with you.
A good service technician can be valuable.