Hi, > I certainly can't recall messages on any of the Red Hat mailing lists > or any survey asking for Red Hat to price their Linux product at the > same price levels Microsoft charges, yet that is exactly what Red Hat > has done (and in at least 1 case when you extend the price over a 3 or > 4 year lifetime of a product Red Hat is actually more expensive than > Microsoft). The base product is $39.95...... much lower than MS XP at $300. > > The base Red Hat product line (8.0, 9, whatever next) is no longer > suitable for business or the average home user. You cannot expect a > company or joe user to upgrade their operating system every year > (which is now necessary given the 12 month limit on bug/security > fixes). It is just as suitable for business and the home user. No company upgrades every year, where most home users that actually do anything besides IRC and such do. Most corporate systems are still actually running Windows NT or Windows 2000, with no plan to move to XP. > > To get a reasonable period of security fixes you have to move up to > the enterprise line of products, which starts at a minimum of twice > the price and has more restrictive licensing terms. The enterprise products are still cheaper than Microsofts, as well as the support. > > So your average person at home now has a choice of Windows XP at $300 > or Red Hat Enterprise Workstation at $300 ($60 a year after the first > year for access to security fixes). Guess what, XP comes with full > multimedia capabilities including MP3 and DVD, as well as a full range > of software available for purchase including games, tax software, etc. > Which would you choose? And by the way, so far at least Microsoft > still offers free security fixes in the base price. The average home user still has the choice, that is correct. If multimedia is the big concern to you, then choose what is good for you. I prefer functionality. I prefer the .ogg format for my music. Games is the issue, but there are more and more of those made with native linux code, for example, Unreal Tournament 2003, Return to Castle Wolfenstien, and soon coming out Doom 3. Those are cutting edge games. As for security fixes..well...we can always go back to the old way if you do not want to upgrade by following the software you need the most and applying errata as it comes out. More time consuming, sure, but all the security fixes will still be there. Of course this is all just my 2 cents which does not amount to much... Regards, Eric Burke > > > > > -- > Psyche-list mailing list > Psyche-list@xxxxxxxxxx > https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/psyche-list > > -- Psyche-list mailing list Psyche-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/psyche-list
