Fedora and the System Administrator -- incorrect assumptions?

[Bryan J. Smith]

Quoting Edward Croft <ecroft at openratings.com>:
> I was eagerly anticipating the new version of Red Hat and the new
> version of KDE only to find they dumped both KDE and Gnome for
> BlueCurve. Ticked me off, by I adapted.

Huh?  All BlueCurve is, is a theme, icon and default application set for each 
KDE and GNOME.  You still have _full_ KDE and GNOME.
I don't see your point at all.  In fact, I don't think you do either.

> Now they are dumping the desktop and going to the server.

Huh?  What is Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS then?

> Fine, I have all my RH servers here, but on the desktop, I may be
> looking back to Suse. I had tried it on a spare PC once and it worked
> well. Looks like I have to pull out my old PCs again and load Mandrake
> and Suse so that I can evaluate them. 

Mandrake is like Debian Unstable on a bad day.  But that's just me.  ;-ppp

SuSE offers similar to Red Hat now.  They offer their "consumer" 
Personal/Professional as well as their "Enterprise" series.

The _difference_ between Red Hat and SuSE, other than the fact that Red Hat is 
no longer shrink wrapping its "consumer" versions (hence Fedora) is that Red 
Hat is GPL-anal and SuSE is _not_.

So if you're making a "big deal" about Red Hat's recent moves, I don't think 
SuSE offers a compelling "alternative" based on your own criteria.  I'm not 
saying SuSE is "worse" than Red Hat, I'm just saying based on _your_logic_, 
they are "not better."

As such, I can only deduce this is a "I hate #1" attitude.  That is not fair to 
Red Hat just as it is not fair to Microsoft when people do the same.  There are 
legitimate complains to make of Red Hat, just like there are for Microsoft 
(actually, a crapload for the latter in comparison), but I do not see this as 
one of those.  Sorry.

> Frankly, I feel that Red Hat is becoming the Linux version of MS in
> dictating to you.

I don't know so much if it is "dictating," but if you mean that Red Hat is 
following Microsoft's attitude of "volume focus, enterprise focus," yes, I 
agree.  That's just smart business.  Dislike them for it, but I see 
nothing "unethical" about it.

[ NOTE:  There are far more "unethical" things to pick on in the case of 
Microsoft.  But don't beat them up for just focusing on volue.  Again, that's 
just smart business.  So Red Hat's a follower ... not the first, not the last. ]

But unlike Microsoft, or even SuSE and many other UnitedLinux distros, Red Hat 
is _still_ "GPL-anal."  Everything Red Hat does is basically GPL.  All the 
projects the start, support and otherwise put at the _cornerstone_ of their 
product.  Can't say the same for SuSE nor most of the UnitedLinux partners, 
from the Installer to their various, product-only nick-nacks.

> I remember when going to Linux meant choice,

And Red Hat has taken away "choice"?

All I've seen is that they've made some hard decisions, but have instigated 
what it believes are more choices.

The only thing they are taking away is the "free lunch."  GPL is Freedom, not 
Free-of-Cost.

> so I will exercise my right of choice and find another distro.

And you have that choice, yes.

How Red Hat fits either in or out of that choice, versus yesterday, today or 
the future, I have not seen you make that point yet, which you seem you must 
make.

Again, I am confused.

> I will still support Red Hat on the server side,

Via Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS?  ES?  Or Fedora Linux?

> but more and more I am leaning elsewhere for the desktop.

So you will look at neither Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS nor Fedora Linux for 
the desktop?

I'm a bit confused on your logic.

> Ed Croft, RHCE

Bryan J. Smith
Linux+, LPIC-2, RHCE(9)

-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I.  mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org  http://thebs.org
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