FYI; Scott runs a local Linux retail business and consultancy
---------- Forward; originally to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------
Subject: [plug] Mandrake Bug announce warning rant ahead Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 09:58 From: Scott Middleton <DESPAMMED>
<rant> I am pissed off.. Has anyone seen an official announcement to the Mandrake users that using their latest and greatest will completely stuff their CDROM? I don't care that it is not their fault. I don't care that Suse has the same problem nor do i care if they have found a fix. I was told because i subscribe to PLUG. I am on the announcements list at Mandrake but it is usually 2 weeks behind. Maybe i will receive an official notice in two weeks!
I meet people everyday who run Mandrake but are not on any Mailing List. They are not activists, they just don't want to pay for software and they don't want to steal it either. How are they supposed to know when it is not even on the Mandrake Club front page?
I think this is a very important piece of information that should be well publicised by them at least in an effort to have some credibility. This just seems typical of M$ worrying about bottom line rather than the users of the product. I expect a big blazon across their homepage saying "Please be aware that Mandrake 9.2 can destroy your CDROM". Or at least; some official notice.
I suppose what really pisses me off is i have now lost one of my major Linux selling points. "Linux is good because it doesn't hide its faults, it acknowledges them and then fixes it".
I didn't lose any CDROMs only because i didn't (fortunately) upgrade all the machines that are running Mandrake. My home machine luckily doesn't have LG CDROM and is working wonderfully. So for me it wasn't the cost of membership + 1 or more CDROMs but for many others it was.
Even worse for Mandrake it only affects the financial contributors. The people who are starting to make Mandrake profitable, this really can't be good business decision for them. I can live with bugs and mistakes but i can't live with irresponsible behaviour and not informing users is plainly irresponsible. I will have to reconsider being a financial member next year.
Maybe i am overreacting about people having to buy a new CDROM, forget the warranty, who wants to wait weeks/months for a replacement one. I am just a bit disappointed in Mandrake and their lack of urgency in informing the public.
</rant>
Regards
-- Scott Middleton Linux Information Technology www.linuxit.com.au scott AT linuxit.com.au (08) 9331 8051
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Cheers; Leon
I appreciate that much of Linux happens because of wonderful, selfless volunteerism but I am also aware of the strain that occasionally surfaces, due to the rigors of such uncompensated or under-compensated work. The fact is, a distribution requires money to exist. It would not be prudent to impose too heavily on volunteerism when planning a future for the distribution. As one who does make use of the resources such as the Club and mailing lists (all part of that which costs money) to keep abreast of developments, I perceived the work done by Mandrake to analyze, repair, and inform to proceed as quickly as humanly possible. Linux, in its present incarnation, is best enjoyed when some user-side sweat equity is invested. Perhaps, at least in the current economic environment, it would be unwise to commit further, limited resources in the uncompensated service of those who merely "just don't want to pay for software and (...) don't want to steal it either."
Rolf
