[NTLUG:Discuss] @#$%^&*! redhat up2date!!!!!

[Paul Ingendorf]

I guess simple people need simple explanations.

RedHat has taken something built by a community and maintained by that
community.  They have branded it, marketed it, and now are selling updates
to it.  Its not the updates that are costing them money Victor it is the
branding and marketing.  This is what I find shady about what they are doing
now.  Providing tools of little to no value above what is already out there
and trying to use their position as a respected distro provider to pry
additional dollars out of the pockets of both your average consumer and
their power users as well so they can strengthen their market position
further by spending more dollars or marketing and branding, not unlike what
Microsoft has done in the past and is why you see the comparison.

I guess the real point would be in were your moral turpitude lies.  Do you
think it is right to package the work of others and sell it on the basis
that you are providing a method for that installation and that is all your
charging for above the cost of the media?  Then turn around and charge
subscription services for access to the upgraded/patched packages that are
included in the package you are providing?

I find this whole area of what redhat has gotten themselves into very grey
and somewhat nefarious.  I can't condemn them without seeing were they end
up but I can't condone what they are doing either.


-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-bounces at ntlug.org [mailto:discuss-bounces at ntlug.org]On
Behalf Of Victor Brilon
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 7:29 AM
To: NTLUG Discussion List
Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] @#$%^&*! redhat up2date!!!!!


<sarcasm>
Yeah! How dare they charge you for a service that actually costs them
money??? They should do all the work, pay their engineers and then pass
the results to you for free.
</sarcasm>

Get a grip. Running a service like that costs money -- plain and simple.
This has nothing to do with a "the ole M$ shakedown". This is simply a
business doing what they need to survive.

If you honestly need up2date for critical reasons, go to:
http://www.redhat.com/software/rhel/
RH Enterprise Linux (for a fee obviously) will continue to provide
updates to the software.

I am truly baffled as to why people feel like they're owed free services
for an OS they (generally) never paid for in the first place.

Victor