Subj : Re: How much should I charge for fixed-price software contract?
To   : comp.programming,comp.lang.java.programmer,comp.lang.lisp
From : Duane Bozarth
Date : Wed Jul 13 2005 10:10 am

Gerry Quinn wrote:
> 
> In article <8v08d1p1e7gl3otslqo4vtg0nv4tpft0q1@4ax.com>,
> Chris@Sonnack.com says...
> > Michael Sullivan writes:
> >
> > > Are you kidding me?  The price per byte of source code is exactly zero.
> > > Nobody cares how much source you write.  They care about what your
> > > program *does*.
> >
> > It's like the old joke about the ocean-going vessel that broke down
> > at sea.  The ship's engineer--no slouch--just couldn't identify the
> > problem, so they had to call for help.
> >
> > Guy arrives on a helo, spends some time walking around the ship, takes
> > out a large wooden mallet and bangs on one particular pipe a few times.
> >
> > Ship starts working, and the guy gives the Captain a bill for $10K.
> >
> > "Ten thousand dollars," exclaims the Captain!  But all you did was
> > pound on a pipe.
> >
> > "Ah," replies the guy, "it's knowing where to pound."
> 
> Probably based on a similar story about Picasso, who was asked to make
> a drawing on a handkerchief.  He did so, and was asked how much he
> wanted for it.  "10000 francs", said Picasso.
> 
> "But it only took you two minutes."
> 
> "No", said Picasso, "it took me thirty years."
> 

No, it's a classic in which shows up in a million guises.  The original
prototype supposedly was Westinghouse.

.