Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Barran, Richard wrote: Morning all, I've received a very interesting Mandrake Community Newsletter this morning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs: Even though all of us here at MandrakeSoft are excited about the upcoming release, we've also been distracted by financial concerns. Despite continuous good reviews in the press; despite having millions of users throughout the world; despite producing an award-winning Linux distribution that is a solid competitor to both UNIX and Window$, the Mandrake Linux distribution's short-term future is in jeopardy due to a simple factor: money. As a company, we make our revenue by selling packaged versions of the distribution and by delivering services such as consulting, training, etc. -- but our development costs and community-based services are not yet covered by income. It is estimated that we will break even by the end of 2002, but it is unlikely that MandrakeSoft can remain unchanged during these next few months without drastically cutting costs unless additional revenue is generated quickly. The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP. I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at financial troubles. I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on the expert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in dire straits? Regards, Richard PS Here follows a short message from my employer's legal department... *** This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system. Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inappropriate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods. Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored. Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com *** -- Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com As a member of the club I receive a newsletter regularly. The last one said in part : This time we aren't asking for sweat or blood - all it takes to assure the development of Mandrake Linux in the future is the equivalent of one or two cinema tickets a month in the form of the Mandrake Club membership fee. Explain to them that they will not only receive the pleasure of assuring the future of the Mandrake Linux distribution, but they will even receive some special club privileges: - Club-only download of commercial applications. - A place in MandrakeSoft's Hall of Fame. - Possibility to ask questions (and receive answers) in Ask Mandrake series. - Direct trading of MandrakeSoft shares. - Special discounts on third party software (coming soon). There are millions of Mandrake Linux users out there, but only 2000 have joined the club so far. You are one of these 2000 people, and nobody can explain the reason why you did it better than you can. = I feel that I would have to pay much more by following the MS route. I believe I might easily be forced to pay out more and more as MS dictate rather than when I want or need to. By supporting Mandrake I feel I am at least putting something back for all of the stuff that's out there. If they do fold it wont have cost me much anyway and Linux will still go on. If they succeed then we all benefit from a
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation: PayPal
http://www.paypalsucks.com/ It seems some people have not had good experiences of Paypal... Richard john rigby, Wednesday 13 March 2002 12:37: Hi Femme, True? No! I think that is put around by the Banks. :-) It is especially useful to small traders trading internationally. It is on Fablor's recommended list. Has done wonders for some of their Academy members. The only real worry is that some operator will take them over. Cheers, John - Original Message - From: FemmeFatale [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 12:58 PM Subject: Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation pay pal is also one of the most insecure methods of doing e-business so I'm told by a business friend of mine. True? No? Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Actually, you are safer using a credit card online than a debit card (or a 'check card' type credit card that debits from your checking account) because the credit card company is liable for most of the chares in cases of fraud (assuming you inform them of the situation as soon as possible) however it does not cover overdrafts from your bank account. -Original Message- Maybe they do, Maybe they don't, but the internet is NOT a safe place to be entrusting that kind of information to foreign third parties. I hope debit card acceptance proliferates soon. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
sda wrote: On Tue, Mar 12, 2002 at 09:45:45AM -, Barran, Richard wrote: Morning all, I've received a very interesting Mandrake Community Newsletter this morning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs: That said I'd like to join the club, however each time I've tried it asks for a credit card number and won't let me proceed without entering one. I'm quite surprised that MandrakeSoft doesn't provide for alternative methods of payment. I for one, *never* provide my credit card information online or over the telephone as a matter of principal. AND there are a few who will never get one ( Credit Card ) as a matter of principal. Why do I have to pay for something I don't realy need ?? I hope someone from MandrakeSoft gets this loud and clear. I will contribute, but only by cheque/mo `what-have-you' and a snail mail address. If they want our money I guess they have to ! Bye Peter Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
On Wednesday 13 March 2002 03:47, Tom Brinkman wrote: [snippet] Last, and probly the least contribution (Mandrake doesn't make much, the middle men do) is to buy Mandrake in a store like Wal*Mart or Best Buy, or other retail outlet. The one thing to be said in favour of this is that buying Mandrake (or whatever) encourages retail stores to keep stocking it, thus improving the visibility of the product, and of Linux in general. Here in Ankara, you don't see Linux distros in shops, though it's started making an appearance on the street (literally) next to all the pirated games and Windows CDs. Actually, the fact that you can pick up Windows 98/Me/2000 on the street for about $2 is probably one reason why Linux is still a rarity in Turkey - when Windows costs the same as two beers, the free speech vs. free beer distinction becomes academic. Paradoxically, pirating helps proprietary software by making sure the alternatives are ignored. In case anyone's interested, here's how I obtained my various distros: Office box: all FTP downloads from our university mirror, currently running 8.1. Home box: RH 6.0 - Cheapbytes Mandrake 7.0 - CD free with a computer magazine. Mandrake 7.2 - Cheapbytes Mandrake 8.0 - off the street I may get a boxed set for 8.2 - the download edition may well work out cheaper than Cheapbytes, when shipping is taken into consideration. I'd take a lot of persuading to buy the powerpack, though. Robin -- Give me the views, and I'll give you the arguments. - Chrysippus Robin Turner IDMYO, Bilkent Universitesi Ankara 06533 Turkey http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/~robin Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation: PayPal
Hi Femme, True? No! I think that is put around by the Banks. :-) It is especially useful to small traders trading internationally. It is on Fablor's recommended list. Has done wonders for some of their Academy members. The only real worry is that some operator will take them over. Cheers, John - Original Message - From: FemmeFatale [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 12:58 PM Subject: Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation pay pal is also one of the most insecure methods of doing e-business so I'm told by a business friend of mine. True? No? Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
sda wrote: Maybe they do, Maybe they don't, but the internet is NOT a safe place to be entrusting that kind of information to foreign third parties. I hope debit card acceptance proliferates soon. I think a debit card is worse than a credit card -- money is drawn directly from your bank account with a debit card. With a credit card there is at least some limitation on your liability under certain circumstances (like a stolen card / number, etc.) Randy Kramer Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Every Linux distro I have and used has been bought. Primarily because downloading any of them is not feasible with my dial up connection and the users who want to go online. If I had a high speed connection then, honestly speaking, would download Linux for free. The donation part is a little goofy side, again speaking frankly, so I tend to believe that my purchasing 4 Linux distros from $40 and up is helping. Please don't get offended with my remarks on the donation part as a way of contributing to the Open Source Community. I can imagine having to work hard and be paid by donations would make me and maybe many others very insecure with their financial future. Its a harsh world and money is a part of it. Still, though this is a bump in the road and don't see it effecting Linux in the whole. Linux-Mandrake on the other hand is having business woes which every company who wants to compete is and has to go through. The management will have to adapt and make the necessary changes to keep alive and eventually grow. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
You make a very interesting point and I think I can follow up with an example. I live near a huge electronic store called Fry's Electronic. I have purchased everything from my laptop, the parts for my own gigahertz tower, two monitors, iMac, Linux-Mandrake 7.0-7.1 and 8.0, WindowsME and XP, digital camera, cabling up the whazoowell needless to say I get all of my toys there. Up to the release of Linux-Mandrake 8.0 they had stockpiled most of the well known Linux distros. Last trip I was told when I asked about where and when the 8.1 would be available and realized that Red Hat had dominated the shelves. Corel was gone so was Linux-Mandrake and Suse had been cut to a 1/3. BSD had now joined the fray. The store clerk told me there was no point in keeping Mandrake since there was a vast majority flocking to Red Hat and BSD had been demanded for a while. There are other stores where they are still keeping Mandrake, but they have mentioned the same thing. For the immediate area there is not much demand for it. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Morning all, I've received a very interesting Mandrake Community Newsletter this morning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs: Even though all of us here at MandrakeSoft are excited about the upcoming release, we've also been distracted by financial concerns. Despite continuous good reviews in the press; despite having millions of users throughout the world; despite producing an award-winning Linux distribution that is a solid competitor to both UNIX and Window$, the Mandrake Linux distribution's short-term future is in jeopardy due to a simple factor: money. As a company, we make our revenue by selling packaged versions of the distribution and by delivering services such as consulting, training, etc. -- but our development costs and community-based services are not yet covered by income. It is estimated that we will break even by the end of 2002, but it is unlikely that MandrakeSoft can remain unchanged during these next few months without drastically cutting costs unless additional revenue is generated quickly. The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP. I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at financial troubles. I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on the expert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in dire straits? Regards, Richard PS Here follows a short message from my employer's legal department... *** This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system. Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inappropriate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods. Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored. Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com *** Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Hello to you Richard From what I have read visiting Mandrakes home page I understand that they really are in trouble so I hurried and subscribe myself to the Mandrake Users Club and intending to buy the new 8.2 Release to support them more.They face, I think, the dilemma of cutting out personnel in order to cut their expenses which are by far bigger than their revenues. It goes without saying, that this will affect the development of their future releases. I think everyone should support an excellent OS like LM since everyone benefits from the use of it, or it's existence, whatever you prefer. After all, the cost (60USD per year is too little compared to what one should pay when using M$ XP for instance. Regards Dimitris P.S. Question: I really didn't understand what the letter of your employer that you are enclosing is about.Why did he sent you this and what is this has to do with Mandrake's need for money? Forgive me if I, sometimes, am slowminded and don't understand some things. Ï/Ç "Barran, Richard" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ýãñáøå: Morning all,I've received a very interesting "Mandrake Community Newsletter" thismorning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs:"Even though all of us here at MandrakeSoft are excited about the upcoming release, we've also been distracted by financial concerns. Despite continuous good reviews in the press; despite having millions of users throughout the world; despite producing an award-winning Linux distribution that is a solid competitor to both UNIX and Window$, the Mandrake Linux distribution's short-term future is in jeopardy due to a simple factor: money.As a company, we make our revenue by selling packaged versions of the distribution and by delivering services such as consulting, training,etc. -- but our development costs and community-based services are notyet covered by income. It is estimated that we will "breaak even" by theend of 2002, but it is unlikely that MandrakeSoft can remain unchangedduring these next few months without drastically cutting costs unlessadditional revenue is generated quickly."The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP.I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at"financial troubles".I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on theexpert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in direstraits?Regards,RichardPS Here follows a short message from my employer's legal department...***This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged.If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system.Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free.Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inappropriate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods.Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored.Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool,L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com ***Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.comDo You Yahoo!?ÁðïêôÞóôå ôçí äùñåÜí óáò @yahoo.gr äéåýèõíóç óôï Yahoo! Mail.
RE: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Regards Dimitris P.S. Question: I really didn't understand what the letter of your employer that you are enclosing is about.Why did he sent you this and what is this has to do with Mandrake's need for money? Forgive me if I, sometimes, am slowminded and don't understand some things. Sorry Dimitri, just having a quick joke (which probably wasn't that funny anyway). As you probably noticed, my emails have a very long footnote. This is attached automatically to every mail I send from my workplace. I've received unpleasant comments in the past when posting to mailing lists: some people accused me of wasting bandwidth by attaching a large and pointless signature. Unfortunately, I have no control over what my employer adds to my emails. I notice that your email has a footnote attached by Yahoo. I imagine that you have no option to remove that footnote either. Luckily, Yahoo only adds a few lines to your emails. My employer has decided it needs to add a long legal disclaimer, and I was merely trying to apologise in advance for wasting bandwidth... *** This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system. Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inappropriate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods. Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored. Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com *** Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
i always kinda felt like buying every other box (and downloading the in betweens) was a pretty fair deal, but i guess not enough do that. just joined the club, and may have to consider a donation this year some time. i knew they were behind on the profit/cost thing, but i assumed they would be ok till the predicted break even. time to up the mandrake contribs. right now the linux companies actually making a difference are pretty few, the rest are just hoping to make money of off free work. lets support one of the good ones lets also all remember before we decide to buy or not that to get a similar software package in windows )office, servers, apps and all) you would be putting down a couple thousand dollars. On Tuesday 12 March 2002 01:45, Barran, Richard opened a hailing frequency and transmitted: The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP. I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at financial troubles. I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on the expert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in dire straits? -- The box said 'Requires Windows 95 or better.' So I installed LINUX shane http://shentzu.home.mindspring.com/ Proud to be a DMOZ editor since 10-98 http://dmoz.org/ cause humans do it better! Profile at: http://dmoz.org/profiles/shen.html Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
RE: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
i think the letter from employer is probablyan automaticly added signature that the company puts on themselves. -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Dimitris IoannouSent: 12 March 2002 10:49To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation Hello to you Richard From what I have read visiting Mandrakes home page I understand that they really are in trouble so I hurried and subscribe myself to the Mandrake Users Club and intending to buy the new 8.2 Release to support them more.They face, I think, the dilemma of cutting out personnel in order to cut their expenses which are by far bigger than their revenues. It goes without saying, that this will affect the development of their future releases. I think everyone should support an excellent OS like LM since everyone benefits from the use of it, or it's existence, whatever you prefer. After all, the cost (60USD per year is too little compared to what one should pay when using M$ XP for instance. Regards Dimitris P.S. Question: I really didn't understand what the letter of your employer that you are enclosing is about.Why did he sent you this and what is this has to do with Mandrake's need for money? Forgive me if I, sometimes, am slowminded and don't understand some things. Ï/Ç "Barran, Richard" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ýãñáøå: Morning all,I've received a very interesting "Mandrake Community Newsletter" thismorning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs:"Even though all of us here at MandrakeSoft are excited about the upcoming release, we've also been distracted by financial concerns. Despite continuous good reviews in the press; despite having millions of users throughout the world; despite producing an award-winning Linux distribution that is a solid competitor to both UNIX and Window$, the Mandrake Linux distribution's short-term future is in jeopardy due to a simple factor: money.As a company, we make our revenue by selling packaged versions of the distribution and by delivering services such as consulting, training,etc. -- but our development costs and community-based services are notyet covered by income. It is estimated that! we will "break even" by theend of 2002, but it is unlikely that MandrakeSoft can remain unchangedduring these next few months without drastically cutting costs unlessadditional revenue is generated quickly."The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP.I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at"financial troubles".I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on theexpert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in direstraits?Regards,RichardPS Here follows a short message from my employer's legal department...***This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged.If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must y! ou copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system.Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free.Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inapprop! riate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods.Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored.Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool,L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com ***Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com Do You Yahoo!?ÁðïêôÞóôå ôçí äùñåÜí óáò @yahoo.gr äéåýèõíóç óôï Yahoo! Mail.
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 09:18 am, sda wrote: That said I'd like to join the club, however each time I've tried it asks for a credit card number and won't let me proceed without entering one. I'm quite surprised that MandrakeSoft doesn't provide for alternative methods of payment. I for one, *never* provide my credit card information online or over the telephone as a matter of principal. I hope someone from MandrakeSoft gets this loud and clear. I will contribute, but only by cheque/mo `what-have-you' and a snail mail address. MandrakeSoft inc. 2400 N. Lincoln Avenue Altadena, CA 91001 Tel: +1 (626) 296-6290 FWIW tho, I've used my credit card on the Net for years, *never* any problem, including with Mandrake. Unlike many sites they don't store your card number in a database, ie, from the receipt: Payment Method: MasterCard Name on Card: Thomas M Brinkman Credit card number: Not stored in database Transaction Number: 005-634605 Contributions started well over a year ago with most people begging for a way to do it by credit card. But, if y'all really just don't want to, then please send a contributon by snail mail. Otherwise you'll probly end up runnin RedHat . maybe even worse, M$ Linux paid for on a $ub$cription basis ;~ -- Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Regardless of the Free nature of things Linux; I bought the 8.1 Standard
Edition box as soon it was available here back in November. Before that I had
tried 7.1, 7.2, and Freq. Downloads. Since I decided to go exclusively {no
Windows at all for a year now.} I thought it only fair.
As to the Club; maybe. If they decide to make a different payment method
available since I wouldn't use a credit card online or over the 'phone.
I agree with whoever it was that said this is one of the most helpful groups
I've encountered anywhere.
Charlie
__
On March 12, 2002 09:12 am, Shane spake thusly:
i always kinda felt like buying every other box (and downloading the in
betweens) was a pretty fair deal, but i guess not enough do that. just
joined the club, and may have to consider a donation this year some time.
i knew they were behind on the profit/cost thing, but i assumed they would
be ok till the predicted break even. time to up the mandrake contribs.
right now the linux companies actually making a difference are pretty few,
the rest are just hoping to make money of off free work. lets support
one of the good ones
lets also all remember before we decide to buy or not that to get a similar
software package in windows )office, servers, apps and all) you would be
putting down a couple thousand dollars.
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 01:45, Barran, Richard opened a hailing frequency
and transmitted:
The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club
ASAP. I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted
at financial troubles.
I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on the
expert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in
dire straits?
--
The box said 'Requires Windows 95 or better.' So I installed LINUX
shane
http://shentzu.home.mindspring.com/
Proud to be a DMOZ editor since 10-98
http://dmoz.org/ cause humans do it better!
Profile at: http://dmoz.org/profiles/shen.html
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
I would have been a Gold member if I could have had Mandrake charge by the month instead of by the year They should fix that So I can upgrade... ;) On Tue, 2002-03-12 at 01:45, Barran, Richard wrote: Morning all, I've received a very interesting Mandrake Community Newsletter this morning. I'm including here the two most relevant paragraphs: Even though all of us here at MandrakeSoft are excited about the upcoming release, we've also been distracted by financial concerns. Despite continuous good reviews in the press; despite having millions of users throughout the world; despite producing an award-winning Linux distribution that is a solid competitor to both UNIX and Window$, the Mandrake Linux distribution's short-term future is in jeopardy due to a simple factor: money. As a company, we make our revenue by selling packaged versions of the distribution and by delivering services such as consulting, training, etc. -- but our development costs and community-based services are not yet covered by income. It is estimated that we will break even by the end of 2002, but it is unlikely that MandrakeSoft can remain unchanged during these next few months without drastically cutting costs unless additional revenue is generated quickly. The newsletter then goes on to urge people to sign up to Mandrake Club ASAP. I received a newsletter from the Club yesterday which also hinted at financial troubles. I haven't seen this mentioned yet by anyone on either this list or on the expert list. Is this a bit of scaremongering or is Mandrake really in dire straits? Regards, Richard PS Here follows a short message from my employer's legal department... *** This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named recipient(s) only and are confidential and may be privileged. If they have come to you in error you must take no action based on them, nor must you copy or disclose them or any part of their contents to any person or organisation; please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail and its attachments from your computer system. Please note that Internet communications are not necessarily secure and may be changed, intercepted or corrupted. We advise that you understand and observe this lack of security when e-mailing us and we will not accept any liability for any such changes, interceptions or corruptions. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this e-mail and its attachments are free from any virus, we advise that in keeping with good computing practice the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. Copyright in this e-mail and attachments created by us belongs to Littlewoods. Littlewoods takes steps to prohibit the transmission of offensive, obscene or discriminatory material. If this message contains inappropriate material please forward the e-mail intact to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it will be investigated. Statements and opinions contained in this e-mail may not necessarily represent those of Littlewoods. Please note that e-mail communication may be monitored. Registered office: Littlewoods Retail Limited, Sir John Moores Building, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L70 1AB Registered no: 421258 http://www.littlewoods.com *** Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com -- Bryan Whitehead SysAdmin - JPL - Interferometry Systems and Technology Phone: 818 354 2903 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
shane wrote: On Tuesday 12 March 2002 08:28, Tom Brinkman opened a hailing frequency and transmitted: Otherwise you'll probly end up runnin RedHat . maybe even worse, M$ Linux paid for on a $ub$cription basis ;~ you really know how to scare a person, don't you? the thought of MSLinux alone is worse any of those hollywood horror flicks. -- ... and if you drown, die knowing you were headed for the shore. -from farenheight 451 shane Ever noticed how fortune seems to pick an apt sigfile for the post a good percentage of the time. ...and if Mandrake drowns... -- It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 12:39, PENA FAMILY opened a hailing frequency and transmitted: Still, though this is a bump in the road and don't see it effecting Linux in the whole. a good many people who are paid by companies like redhat, mandrake, and suse, are paid to basically work for the free projects like KDE, gnome, xfree, the kernel, etc. who will they let go first, the ones working directly for the company, or the ones working for all OSS? it effects linux as a whole. -- ... the only people I fear, are those who never have doubts -Billy Joel shane http://shentzu.home.mindspring.com/ Proud to be a DMOZ editor since 10-98 http://dmoz.org/ cause humans do it better! Profile at: http://dmoz.org/profiles/shen.html Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 11:55 am, Seedkum Aladeem wrote: Can we become share holders in Mandrake with our contribution/subscription? That will give some of us more incentive. Seedkum Well, IMO, the incentive should be for preserving the best free Linux distro going, both in a freedom and free beer sense. Not 'what's in it for me'... you're already gettin that just usin Mandrake. BUT, Yes you can invest http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/investors IIRC it's also an OTC stock on American exchanges, contact your broker BUT (I've always got'a BUT don't I ;) IMO, your best way to immediately support Mandrake is to directly contribute, eg, The Mandrake Club. ( Una$$ a few bucks, you'll feel better ;) http://mandrakeclub.com Next best would be to buy Mandrake products directly thru their store http://www.mandrakestore.com including 8.2 when it's available. Very soon. Word is you'll be able to pre-order it shortly. After that, next best would be to d/l, beg, borrow or buy CD's (eg, Cheapbytes) AND THEN send Mandrake a contribution and/or join the Club. Last, and probly the least contribution (Mandrake doesn't make much, the middle men do) is to buy Mandrake in a store like Wal*Mart or Best Buy, or other retail outlet. Otherwise you'll probly end up runnin RedHat . maybe even worse, M$ Linux paid for on a $ub$cription basis. _Seriously_ -- Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas On Tuesday 12 March 2002 08:28 am, Tom Brinkman wrote: On Tuesday 12 March 2002 09:18 am, sda wrote: That said I'd like to join the club, however each time I've tried it asks for a credit card number and won't let me proceed without entering one. I'm quite surprised that MandrakeSoft doesn't provide for alternative methods of payment. I for one, *never* provide my credit card information online or over the telephone as a matter of principal. I hope someone from MandrakeSoft gets this loud and clear. I will contribute, but only by cheque/mo `what-have-you' and a snail mail address. MandrakeSoft inc. 2400 N. Lincoln Avenue Altadena, CA 91001 Tel: +1 (626) 296-6290 FWIW tho, I've used my credit card on the Net for years, *never* any problem, including with Mandrake. Unlike many sites they don't store your card number in a database, ie, from the receipt: Payment Method: MasterCard Name on Card: Thomas M Brinkman Credit card number: Not stored in database Transaction Number: 005-634605 Contributions started well over a year ago with most people begging for a way to do it by credit card. But, if y'all really just don't want to, then please send a contributon by snail mail. Otherwise you'll probly end up runnin RedHat . maybe even worse, M$ Linux paid for on a $ub$cription basis ;~ Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Hi , There is a simple alternative: PayPal Don't know why every commercial Site doesn't have it oh commercial. That is what Mandrake isn't is it? :-( Everyone should use it - it stops the typical Bank ripoffs and anyone in most countries CAN use it http://www.paypal.com What Mandrake could do is offer everyone of their friends a free boxed set and upgrades for the next 3 years for $100 and membership for life as a Foundation Member works every time. OR $10 p.a. paid via PayPal per year. Cheers, John The only thing I DO understand is marketing. It costs a lot of money to do it. Rigby circa 1980 Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
- Original Message - From: shane [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 3:00 AM Subject: Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation On Tuesday 12 March 2002 08:28, Tom Brinkman opened a hailing frequency and transmitted: Otherwise you'll probly end up runnin RedHat . maybe even worse, M$ Linux paid for on a $ub$cription basis ;~ you really know how to scare a person, don't you? the thought of MSLinux alone is worse any of those hollywood horror flicks. AAARGGHH THAT there is the best motivator I've heard of in many a decade!! No sleep tonight... Dot NET 'em is bad enough. Cheers? John Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
pay pal is also one of the most insecure methods of doing e-business so I'm told by a business friend of mine. True? No? Femme john rigby wrote: Hi , There is a simple alternative: PayPal Don't know why every commercial Site doesn't have it oh commercial. That is what Mandrake isn't is it? :-( Everyone should use it - it stops the typical Bank ripoffs and anyone in most countries CAN use it http://www.paypal.com What Mandrake could do is offer everyone of their friends a free boxed set and upgrades for the next 3 years for $100 and membership for life as a Foundation Member works every time. OR $10 p.a. paid via PayPal per year. Cheers, John The only thing I DO understand is marketing. It costs a lot of money to do it. Rigby circa 1980 Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
On Tuesday 12 March 2002 09:58 pm, you wrote: pay pal is also one of the most insecure methods of doing e-business so I'm told by a business friend of mine. True? No? I vote False -- Gerald Waugh Connecticut USA Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [newbie] Mandrake's financial situation
Linux by the whole was not started by companies, but grew faster because of them. This may slow progress, but won't stomp it out. Then again Time is the ultimate judge. Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
