Forward looking to FC2 final and SELinux

[Jesse Keating]

On Wednesday 07 April 2004 11:36, Stephen Smoogen wrote:
> I think the issue is that Fedora is not the product line you are
> looking for your VAR. It has always been listed by Red Hat as a
> proving ground for technologies into Linux distributions.. that
> doesnt lead to the stability that VAR/ISVs want. Those VARs would be
> better to work with RHEL and if they cant to work with the
> GNU/Enterprise or one of the RHEL 'knockoffs' (WhiteBox, Tao?,
> Chaos?) to get a better cost line.

We've tried working with Red Hat.  Bottom line, if we're not IBM, HP, or 
Dell, RH doesn't give a rat's arse about us.  We've tried helping RH to 
come up with OEM pricing/deals that make since for smaller VARs and we 
just get a door slammed in our faces.  On the other hand, SuSE is 
pounding down our door to work with us.  Even though I as an engineer 
feel SuSE is an inferior product, it looks like we'll have to go that 
route to stay afloat.

> The big problem is that you and every other silent VAR cant make it
> into the stable product you want. Even if Red Hat were to open the
> Fedora board to 30 outside people tomorrow, the driving force is not
> business related.

It may not be business related, but it is the public face of the product 
line.  If you can't make the public free version work, why would we 
trust you to make the closed expensive version work?

> My feeling is that the VAR market as it stands has been built on a
> beach of sand, and the supports were never stuck in very deep. The
> assumption that things will always be the same is the easiest one to
> plan for, but the one that bites us in the ass everytime. The fact is
> that the prices are going to change all around as the Free Beer for
> commercial enterprises has ended.

And the unfortunate reality with that is our customers are unwilling to 
pay for the OS.  We have to hide the price of the OS into the system 
cost, and it's getting harder and harder to do.  The sad reality is 
that most small/medium offices and universities can get cheaper deals 
with Windows than with full retail "enterprise" Linux.  Why should they 
venture off the Windows path to a more expensive and initially more 
difficult to manage platform?  Price of the OS was our biggest 
motivational tool to get people on the Linux bandwagon.  Take away 
price, and there goes the fish hook.

-- 
Jesse Keating RHCE      (geek.j2solutions.net)
Fedora Legacy Team      (www.fedoralegacy.org)
GPG Public Key          (geek.j2solutions.net/jkeating.j2solutions.pub)
 
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