I think those prices for RedHat (read the fine print) are for a certain number of hours of support contract. The basic Red Hat system is about $39.95 with no support whatsoever. With the SuSE boxed set, again you get a certain amount of support from their support centre, and again you can get just the CDs with no support for a low cost.
If your company has its own IT support, there is probably no reason to supplement it with pre-paid support. However if you were embarking on a new installation for your company, and you actually needed that support line, then you might weigh up that cost against hiring someone to do the same thing. It's a business decision - in both cases you get the same physical software. You can buy the books separately if you like. I found the information in the boxed set SuSE helpful for a first time, however the on line help with the standard CD distro is pretty easy to follow. I've been reading the Debian READMEs and they seem pretty straightforward, too, for something with no "apparent" support (yeah, and a cast of thousands...). So I think it depends on your experience. Probably for a business you would want to have a separate new machine setup for the upgrade, get everything working on that, then swap it over with the present live system. In business, it is a bad idea to just rely on one computer and hope an upgrade works. Doesn't matter if it's Linux or Windows or whatever. Business continuity comes first. Regards, Jill. -----Original Message----- From: Dan Banyard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, 18 August 2003 10:44 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [SLUG] Linux and the future? Hi, I would like to try and get some opinion on the future of Linux. I have been using SuSE Linux for over 3 years now for my business. I am currently configuring a new server on which I will host my web server, email and other vital components. I am happy with SuSE (I currently use v7.2) and have been looking into the latest version. I am now confused as to what SuSE (and RedHat) are offering as they both seem to have moved to either a desktop version for home use (pricing in at around $120 for the box set) or an Enterprise version for business use (pricing in at around $4500). I have been reading through the marketing type blurb on their websites and from what I can tell if you have a business critical system the only choice is to purchase the Enterprise grade system. So I am faced with the decision of the standard version SuSE or the Enterprise version and the enormous price difference. I have technology/software based company which is not an enterprise level business with massive IT budgets for software - but I do not want have my business system supported on a desktop product. Where does a small business go? Surely this is not the future for Linux as wasn't this the whole point of Linux in the first place? It would be great to get some comments from anyone out there? Regards. Dan -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTICES This email (including any documents referred to in, or attached, to this email) may contain information that is personal, confidential or the subject of copyright or other proprietary rights in favour of Aristocrat, its affiliates or third parties. This email is intended only for the named addressee. Any privacy, confidence, copyright or other proprietary rights in favour of Aristocrat, its affiliates or third parties, is not lost because this email was sent to you by mistake. If you received this email by mistake you should: (i) not copy, disclose, distribute or otherwise use it, or its contents, without the consent of Aristocrat or the owner of the relevant rights; (ii) let us know of the mistake by reply email or by telephone (+61 2 9413 6300); and (iii) delete it from your system and destroy all copies. Any personal information contained in this email must be handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws. Electronic and internet communications can be interfered with or affected by viruses and other defects. As a result, such communications may not be successfully received or, if received, may cause interference with the integrity of receiving, processing or related systems (including hardware, software and data or information on, or using, that hardware or software). Aristocrat gives no assurances in relation to these matters. If you have any doubts about the veracity or integrity of any electronic communication we appear to have sent you, please call +61 2 9413 6300 for clarification. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
