RHEL Desktop

[Matt Temple]

Chris Spencer wrote:

> On Mon, 2003-12-08 at 10:14, Preston Crawford wrote:
> 
>>That's why I went with Fedora instead of buying this. I'd love to
>>continue to support OSS with my dollars, but not if I'm going to be told
>>I can't run Samba or MySQL or Apache for development on my box. This
>>kind of arbitrary breakdown in licensing is what Microsoft does and is
>>part of why I prefer Linux instead and don't use MS any longer.
> 
> 
> They aren't telling you that you can't run Samba, MySQL, or Apache for
> production on that box.
> 
> They are just not rolling out the packages or offering the superior
> service options.
> 
> You pick what you want to do.  It's a stable platform for you to work
> from.  
> 
> <FLAME ON - somewhere around here>
> Moreover it is far from arbitrary lines being drawn.  They are targeting
> the distributions and support according to certain price points which
> that type of distribution and support offering makes sense.
> 
> If you think it's not worth it that's fine plenty of others are doing it
> a little bit different with a different price point.  
> 
> RedHat is a good company trying their best to do the right thing and
> walk a tight rope.  They need to charge enough to continue their service
> and to help open source as well as to make some return for their
> shareholders...etc.  
> 
> They also have to contend with people taking cheap and unfair shots at
> them.  
> 
> I support the entire OSS movement and respect any company that makes a
> commitment to it even if I personally don't want to pay what they want
> to charge.  
> 
> In the past I have been rough on companies that produce non-free
> distributions when they are non-free (as in freedom) because of the
> incorporation of 3rd party proprietary ad-ons.
> 
> I do so because these types of distributions keep potential users from
> using the whole of their OS for the sake of some 3rd party ad-on.  
> 
> It is better to release a free (as in freedom) OS (with the allowance of
> including brand identification non-free material) and providing any 3rd
> party ad-ons as an additional purchase option.
> 
> This is a step that SuSe has taken.  I just hope other companies will
> choose to divide these things out going into the future across all
> distributions.
> 
> RedHat has gone above and beyond this call of duty by offering a free as
> in freedom and beer OS to us and restraining all of their distributions
> to only include free software (as in freedom) in their base.
> 
> </FLAME OFF>
> 
> So in summary...just give them a break, they are trying to be as
> responsible and respectable as they can.

What a refreshingly cogbent stand, free of zealotry and purism.   An d
also, a fine quotation fvrom a great Justice.


> 
> -Chris
> 
> "As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both
> instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly
> unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of
> change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of
> the darkness." - Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
=============================================================
Matthew Temple                Tel:    617/632-2597
Director, Research Computing  Fax:    617/632-4012
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute  mht at research.dfci.harvard.edu
44 Binney Street,  JF 314     http://research.dfci.harvard.edu
Boston, MA 02115              Choice is the Choice!