----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Parish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: newbie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 9:53 AM Subject: [newbie] How to best support Mandrake
> I have read lots of threads about the club memberships etc on this list > and find it very understandable that there are some diverse opinions on > this. Given that, isn't the best way to support the distro we like to > BUY it DIRECT from Mandrake. 8.2 pre-orders are now available. I > suggest that if you want to support Mandrake and get CLEAR value for > your money, order the 8.2 powerpack or server edition now direct from > > http://www.mandrakestore.com > My guess would be that if you buy it from your computer shop, Mandrake > may see only a small percentage of this. ********* VERY small. ----------------------------------------------------- Actually, this seemingly innocuous suggestion from Brian is the very heart of the "Free" issue. Of course that is the sensible thing to do! HOWEVER Human Beans are strange.................. The concept of "free" in technology development is mightily confused. It is one thing to have the idea of GNU - or the knowledge SHARING concept, but "free" as in no charge is something else again and unfortunately, is how most people see this area to be. The very idea of charity is a repugnant thing when viewed intelligently. Support aid is something else entirely. But buying value............................!! All Linux needs, much less Mandrake, which already has enormous goodwill out there, is good word of mouth from the freebie-using (demanding??) geeks and their help/support to the worldwide community of non-geeks who in their tens of millions would gladly change to get away from the BSOD of Windoze. A simple change to payment for *amazing* value received, would get the revenue moving. Even the most avid do-it-myself-for-free geek could see the logic in paying the wages and system maintenance of the organisers/co-ordinators of this grand scheme - once it was presented properly. AND even the most impoverished of them could and - more importantly - most WOULD spring for a lousy ten bucks for their distro download. But not if it is free, too. THAT goes against the commonsense and the natural mindset. Estimated 2 MILLION downloads so far. Real users? Maybe 50,000. But, if Mandrake called in PayPals services and said: $10 for the lot by download in bits. NO FREEBIES, it would work. (If it didn't the worst that would happen is only what *is* going to happen...... another nice company bites the dust, sooner or later.) Shops could still sell the Full Boxes. Nobody should be able to get the full commercial Server system without being FINANCIALLY competent enough to spring say, even $100. Seen M$ Prices for a Server???? Mandrake should have a giant list of available installers - anyone wanting to help defeat the Dark Forces - and a basic price for a domestic help (over the phone) $25 in-house setup, $50 small business network. Say, $100 up. ANYONE successfully installing a working graphics interfaced Mandrake should be able to apply for a "Certificate" and then go help their friends get the same GREAT thing they have just seen *working*, writing a letter, playing a game, sending email, chatting and scanning photos.......... I have a dream................................... One day to send out emails to ALL my connections saying: Guess what I've got? No more expensive annoying Microsoft! No more spying on me looking for expensive-so-pirated software! A $5,000 Microsoft system for $250 - fully installed! EVERYTHING! It's called MANDRAKE LINUX and it is magic and it is Mr Gates's worst nightmare come true, at last. It is now user friendly! AND YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO FEAR VIRUSES TRASHING YOUR SYSTEM AND EMAILING YOUR MOM! It just doesn't happen with Linux! Go here and see the story! http:............................................... Oh happy days at last! Cheers! John ------------------------------------------------ (sigh)
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
