On Fri, Sep 12, 2003 at 07:49:30AM -0700, Rolf Pedersen wrote:
Do you even use Mandrake?
Yup, I have 9.1 on one of my machines. That's why I considered buying 9.2. MDK lost that sale.
A product does not materialize out of thin air: it takes money for the people who produce it to live, no? What other products are you able to consume without recompense until you decide it comes up to your standards sufficiently to pay for it?
Reality check: That's called "free market". If the product on offer doesn't suit my needs/interests/whatever, I don't buy it. Simple 101 of marketing. That only gets me into trouble if there's no alternative - which is not the case here.
Some must pay for what many take for free, be it advertisers or Club members. I wonder what percentage of the complainers about the ads actually support Mandrake with cash versus the percentage who complain merely because they would rather take without being reminded of the obligation.
That's exactly my point: MDK has taken away the obligation by making money of the download edition (nothing wrong with that) *and* making extra money besides the purchase price of the boxed version. Hence, my motivation to buy the boxed version is gone. Or, to put into other words: If MDK feels the need of forcing ads on paying customers, I have no interest in supporting them anymore.
I do feel that I put my point poorly yesterday. I'm actually frustrated. I'm a long time RH user (since 4.1, i.e. 1996/97) and in that time, there still was "spirit" in them. By now, I never went beyond RH 7.3, as I don't like current developments, so I went looking for alternatives. MDK seemed interesting, not only because of a good product, but also because of the setup (Club etc., though most likely I won't need it). On the other hand, I don't go round spending money to "support" companies without observing what's going on for a while. Pity, that MDK spoiled it right away with their announcement.
Cheerio,
Thomas
We have differing views of reality. I ask again, in what other part of the 'free market' are you allowed to consume a product without paying for it? Please answer that. Too many times, especially around release, vocal critics proclaim their intention to support Mandrake has been eliminated by some act on Mandrake's part or some deficiency in the product. These same critics are there at every release. My view is that, instead of doing their part to support Mandrake with the cash that is needed to continue to produce product, they jump on the freeloader's bandwagon where the only ticket to ride is to arbitrarily slam one aspect of Mandrake or another, while continuing to download and use the distro for free. [1]
In my view, linux started with, obviously, one person, Linus Torvalds: http://ragib.hypermart.net/linux/ His code was shared with a few, then more, then many co-developers on the internet. At first, linux was available only to those who could write code and who did this in their spare time, supporting themselves in other ways. Since then, it has grown to an internationally-distributed product that is enjoyed by a whole spectrum of people, most of whom cannot contribute code. There are many who still contribute their time but that is not going to go on forever. The majority of users who don't have the skills to help with development will have to contribute with cash in order for the current level of development and availability to continue.
Linux is in a state of transition from the pastime of the few who create it to a commercial product of value for the whole spectrum of the computer/appliance-using world. As part of that process, individuals have invested their own lives and money into creating companies, such as Mandrake, that provide a product that is useable by a variety of people: http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/about For the process to continue, there must be a cash flow that sustains it. It's your choice. Join the Club: http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/club/ Make a contribution of at least a dollar: http://www.linux-mandrake.com/donations/ Hope that ads or some other marketing innovation will pay the way for you.
Rolf
[1] http://www.water-cool.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17
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