Benjamin Sher wrote:
> Dear Charles, Paul and friends:
>
> Thanks so much for the info.
>
> I love Mandrake, but this decision NOT to include KDE 2.0 Final when a)
> it is available by FTP download and b) Mandrake knew in advance
> precisely when KDE 2.0 Final would be made availalbe has to be one of
> the dumbest marketing decisions I have ever heard of. It reminds me of
> Intel's famous chip fiasco some years back. Chairman Grove tried
> initially to explain away the defective, inaccurate chip by saying that
> most people don't care for accuracy anyway. According to Grove, this
> dumb mistake and even dumber attempt at fooling the public cost Intel
> eventually $500 million and it took them years to regain their
> credibility. What it means, practically speaking, for Mandrake is that
> for the next 4 or 5 months Mandrake will be getting irate, angry
> complaints from hundreds if not thousands of disappointed people who
> have spent $30 or $70 plus shipping on a beta product (in view of the
> fact that the central feature of 7.2 is KDE 2).
i have read that mandrake did this in order to get mandrake in the
stores before the christimas. i can understnd it from this perspective.
i dont understand why they just dont add 2.0 to 7.2 and mark the
boxes so we can buy it with 2.4 real. i am really anxious to see
konquer at work as i have seen some snapshots of it and it looks
killer. and from what i have read it reads everything .
>
>
> This is a very strange development. I have been buying the official de
> luxe versions of Mandrake for the past year in order to show my support
> and in order to have the official version. This time, when rumors
> started circulating that Mandrake's official, commercial version would
> be a beta, I took insurance by also ordering CheapBytes' version because
> they use the FTP download. I intend to send Mandrake's new "experiment"
> in public relations forthwith back to them with a demand for a full
> refund. Thank God I did not order the $70 deluxe version.
>
> One thing that puzzles me, though, is that Macmillain does not yet have
> LM 7.2 listed on their site. May I ask if those of you who reported this
> sad news are speaking from first-hand experience or are you quoting a
> press release. In other words, do you actually own a copy of
> Macmillain's 7.2 Complete?
i was wondering this also.
>
>
> If I have misunderstood anything here, if LM 7.2 really does have KDE
> 2.0 Final, then my apologies to Mandrake. If LM 7.2 is not yet
> available, then I do hope somebody from Mandrake clarifies this critical
> matter to us. Macmillain clearly says on mandrake's Products page: KDE
> 2.0 Final. That is the basis on which I ordered it online. If this is
> not the case, please explain yourself. If it is NOT 2.0 Final but Almost
> Final, then Mandrake should state "Almost Final." The difference between
> an "Almost KDE 2.0 Final" and "KDE 2.0 Final" may see like nothing more
> than a downloadable patch, but, I submit that it is unprofessional and
> unethical to do so without letting the customer know in advance.
>
> In sum, I very much hope that I am wrong. Will someone from Mandrake/
> Macmillain please step forth and tell us exactly what's going on.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Benjamin
>
> --
> Benjamin and Anna Sher
> RUS: http://www.websher.net
> SHK: http://www.shakespeareindex.net
> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
