On Mon, 2003-10-06 at 14:29, Brett Franck wrote: > All, > > I don't mean to stir up a frenzy here, but I've been following the > list for the last few days on this Fedora Vs RedHat, and am > confused.......(to say the least) > > I've been a HAPPY RedHat user since 7.x, and am trying to glean from > these posts whether or not I'm going to be able to continue using > RedHat for my HTTP, SMTP/POP, SAMBA and FTP Needs???!!!!??? I would > despise going back to Mandrake. (Started there, didn't like it) > Maybe I've been spoiled by a great FREE product, and want to know if > it's going to stay that way........ > > Since I'm not an enterprise customer, will there still be a RedHat > server product out there for me to continue to use? > > Thanks, > > Brett > > Oooh, Brett, careful with that FREE tag. Red Hat Linux was available > free, but part of the reason that Red Hat is pushing us to Fedora, at > least in what I have gleaned is that RHL is not profitable. A lot of > people download it and copy it and never pay anything. How long can a > listed company stay profitable giving away the software if no one is > buying their support either. Yes, you could get it free, and you could > get a free RHN account to keep your free system updated, however, at > some point someone has to pay. Red Hat has to account to their > shareholders, like me. I want to see them succeed. While they never > may reach the lofty $200 a share they achieved when their IPO went > out, we do want them to succeed. I did a quick scan on Fedora and I > see a lot of the apps that are normally in RHL. In a way, the free > version is not going away. It has been reborn as a community effort. > Red Hat will still contribute towards it, but the community will > support it. This is good for the less fortunate lot that can't afford > their enterprise versions. It will also be great for those who are > trying to find their way in Linux without a capital outlay. Namely > using an old PC and a 'free' copy of Linux. I was a bit put off at > first at hearing the news, but I think it is in Red Hat's best > interest to concentrate on their enterprise version. The hobbyist can > use Fedora to their hearts content freely. This allows Red Hat to > concentrate on the more profitable projects. Remember, they still have > team members that are contributing to Fedora. So they have not exactly > abandoned it. They are looking to the community to build/develop/debug > Fedora. In this way, they are assisting in providing a 'free' product, > but their resources are used in the creation of products from which > they can derive profits. If they profit and succeed they stay in > business. I think a bunch of us jumped on them, but we have to cut > them some slack. They have contributed a lot to the community. They > have made RHL available for downloads. Many have done just that and > utilized the free/survey-sponsored RHN. There is no profit in that for > RH. They are a business. They have stockholders to account to. Ed Croft, RHCE and happy stockholder. -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:redhat-list-request@xxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
