>>>> In my experience, that would be on the primary mirror at
>>>
>>> Hmm, that's a mirror, and a mirror has to have an original
>>> site that it is mirroring. Is that original site also
>>> available to the public?
>>
>> nope, it's mandrakesoft.com
>
> Hmm, so if there's a repository, why isn't it open to the
> public? I mean, Mandrake isn't some small company any more,
> so the cost for the bandwidth or servers shouldn't be that
> big of a problem (I assume). Don't think it would cost more
> than, what, $20k for the server? And bandwidth is cheap, at
> least for big companies, isn't it?
You just keep telling yourself that. =P
Seriously though, think of the number of people that would
switch to using Mandrake's official site rather than depending
on the (wonderful, thank you!) mirrors. Mandrake's bandwidth
usage would go through the roof, and no, I'm sorry to say,
bandwidth isn't cheap, not even for the big companies. I also
wouldn't consider Mandrake a big company. They happen to be
among the top Linux distros in the U.S. right now, but that
doesn't make them a big company. I would prefer they spend
their money on Linux, not on distributing it. Their distributor
and their mirror sites do an excellent job, let them continue
doing it, while Mandrake concentrates more on the distro itself.
Don Head
Linux Mentor
Wave Technologies, Inc.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
