Actually, the thing that RedHat and SuSE do that is beneficial to the Linux community is to put a price tag on an otherwise free entity. This is an odd, but realistic first step to Linux competing with Microsoft. The price-versus- offerings difference between a commercial Linux dist and anything you can get from Microsoft speaks volumes. In many businesses, things cannot be purchased that do not have a price tag. This is because if it is downloaded for free, it cannot be called an asset. ($0 entries in the books are not acceptable from an accountants perspective.) Without being listed as an asset, it cannot be "replaced" through insurance if a disaster type situation arises -- a company would rely on 2 lists -- the asset list, and the freeware list. It all boils down to a few points: Price (and with large companies, it needs to have one...), support, and recognizable software vendor support (such as Corel, Network Associates, some of the database vendors, etc.) And not ironically, these are the things argued against Linux right now. My favourite thing about Linux: If you must pay for your OS, you can. If you cannot afford to, that's okay too. In any case, it boots up faster on a 486 than WinNT does on a Pentium, leaving a lot of room for improvement on the things that potential MS converts want to see... Oblig flame-retardant statement: I did NOT say *everyone*... I said "many businesses" and "most corporations". And I did not say that this was "perfect" or that this was the only reason why there should be commercial Linuxes. I certainly do recognize that every corporation has different needs, and my opinions are based solely on the companies I have consulted for over the past 11 years. I hope I covered all that is flamable... Karsten
That's not true, Linux can do bussines in MS$ lands, the only thing you've to do is to show all the advantages you and the bussines you're working on can get by using Linux to your boss, when money speaks MS$ isn't an option.
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