[wplug] suse
Vanco, Donald
VANCOD at PIOS.com
Thu Feb 6 11:22:02 EST 2003
Rafael E. Herrera wrote:
> Vanco, Donald wrote:
>>
>> You folks realize that your comparing prices on FREE software -
>> right?
>>
>> When you pay for RH or Mandrake or SuSE what you're paying for is
>> the box, the media, the books, and whatever support the particular
>> package has with it. The $40 version of Red Hat has the EXACT same
>> install binary disks as the $200 version - the difference is the
>> inclusion of the garbage application CDs and the SUPPORT.
>
> Wrong. You pay for someone having put it all together, created an
> installer, etc. In short, making sure all works. You think integrating
> thousands of programs together is done by four geeks in a garage? Try
> installing Linux from scratch yourself and you'll probably become
> productive and do actual work in a few months.
No - I'm not wrong. Linux is free. Always has been. You really
need to do a bit of reading up. The decision to build a new distro is
purely a personal one - and Red Hat started as TWO geeks in an apartment.
I _have_ installed Linux from scratch myself - starting back in 1995
when I downloaded like 24 floppies and fed them to a 386 machine in my
office. I'm well aware of the history, diversity, complexity, and zero cost
of GNU/Linux. I'm currently fiddling with Gentoo - it compiles on the fly,
so I'm back to installing from sources at a minimum... I got my latest copy
at LinuxWorld a couple weeks ago. Some guys were there with a Gentoo banner
and a PeeCee burning copies. I shoved 2 bucks into a used plastic container
from "Gramma's Potato Salad" or something and got me a copy. It was free -
the donation was 1) optional and 2) to defray media costs.
If you think that selling $50 boxes of a Linux distro is enough
dough to maintain:
- a bevy of full-time programmers
- a manufacturing channel capable of full media control (CD/DVD and
printed material)
- a distribution channel
- a sales team
- a marketing team
- a 24x7 support team
...and manage it all in a cyclical loop you're mistaken. If you
think a company can survive and not address all those functions you're
mistaken. TurboLinux tried it - gone. Mandrake tried it - gone soon.
Storm tried it - gone quicker than lightning. Corel tried it - gone, with a
bullet from Microsoft in the form of a cash injection. Half a dozen others
never even saw the light of day.
Read the press - learn from history. Linux _is_ free - the money to
sustain a distro and spur true growth comes from SUPPORT and SERVICES.
Period.
I make my living off Linux - but I don't sell boxed copies of a
distro.
>> If you _need_ support that's fine, but choosing a distro based on
>> price is not good reasoning. It's Linux - it's Free.
>
> Linux and most of the software that comes in a distribution is
> licensed with the GPL. To learn what it is intended when that
> software is referred to as "free", check this link
> http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.
Sure - that and $40 will get you a box of Red Hat
...but this will get it for you for free:
http://www.redhat.com/download/mirror.html
Free as in the GPL is a great ideal, but the fact remains that Linux
is zero cost. Deciding what distro to run based on it's price tag at
BestBuy is not a strong foundation for selecting a distro IMHO. Showing
your support for your distro of choice by buying a copy is certainly "the
right thing to do" - but again, it's not a prerequisite to use said distro
and decide if it's the one for you.
Don
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