[wellylug] Microsoft At WellyLUG last night.

[Cliff Pratt]

Jethro Carr wrote:
> On Wed, 2005-07-13 at 09:35, Cliff Pratt wrote:
> 
>>Centurion Computer Technology Ltd wrote:
>>
>>>Could you honestly say that Microsoft is the only one. 
>>
>> > Is an employee automatically evil just by association?
>>
>>Microsoft is not the only one and not the worst. One of the 
>>worst is RedHat who have the cheek to charge for free 
>>software by pretending that they provide "service". That is 
>>truly evil. Not only does it put individuals off from trying 
>>it, but it stifles innovation and promotes lock-in to 
>>'their' product. Remember, what you now pay over $600 for 
>>you used to pay $80 for. Per annum. Or more likely 'per anum'.
>>
> 
> 
> But Redhat pays developers to make their products. They must get an
> income to pay the developers.
> 
> $600 may seem like a rip off (and it proberly is), but lets explain
> this:
> you are a in a large company and want to convince the management to
> switch from Windows to Linux. If you tell them that a Linux server
> solution costs $80 and a Windows is $1000, what are they going to think?
> They will think that there is something wrong or flawed with Linux, no
> matter what you tell them.
> 
> However, if you say Linux is $600 and Windows is $1000, they see Linux
> simply as a cheaper alternative, but still just as good as Windows.
> (from their viewpoint - we know linux is BETTER than windows)
>
> Redhat aims their products at the commercial server market, and to get
> into that market they need to charge high prices to keep in line with
> all the other solutions out there.
>
I don't believe that you can seriously advance that 
*justification* for RedHat charging an enormous amount for 
their packaged version of Linux.
> 
> Redhat does no stifle innovation, they are constally expanding
> opensource software, and releasing it to the community. Sure, you may
> dislike Redhat for being too commercially driven, but if you want to
> compete, you need to be.
> 
> And Redhat DOES NOT run a monopoly, DOES NOT use closed standards, DOES
> NOT promote lies and DOES NOT try and lock people in.
> 
It DOES promote lies! One lie is that its $600 Linux is 
better than a freely downloaded Linux. Another is that its 
$600 charge is for support. And it does try to lock people in.

Cheers,

Cliff