In general, I think that the Linux/Open Source community is going to see some change in the next twelve months (particularly with Apple MacOS X for the PPC). How long can companies continue providing free (i.e. no charge) software vis-a-vis free (i.e. at liberty) Linux distributions? I think the time has come for us to buy our favorite distro (or rather the media, handbook, and support that comes with it) to help secure its future.
Amen to that. With one exception, I have always gone to Best Buy in the States to buy my favorite distribution. I owe it to them. I know the software is free, but they also have a nice manual and offer support. Even if I am just trying things out, I will pay for Linux. I have purchased every single version of Mandrake since they started and since I installed Suse for a client I went out and bought that too. Funny thing is, for all the distro's I have purchased (Red Hat, Mandrake, Progeny and now waiting for Suse 7.2 to arrive) I can safely say that I STILL have not spent as much money as I had to shell out for Windows 2000 Advanced Server. When you install a decent distro like Suse you have all the server components you need. No need to go and purchase Exchange Server or SQL Server or even the programming languages. They are all there. This is a serious savings for everyone. I don't use Linux because it is free I use it because it is superior in reliability and it has the same high standards I hold for myself and my projects: 0 downtime. I don't want to upset anyone by this email, but can tell you from my point of view that the companies I have worked for would welcome a $70 copy of Suse, would even pay the $200 for Red Hat instead of $4,000 for Advanced Server from MS. And think of it this way, there is still NO product activation! -Scott