--- Jason <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > First, I am not a Mandrake club member (though my > father is, and he is > the one who downloads the ISO's for me). I am not > because the lowest > tier still costs $60 USD/Yr. I am in New Zealand and > that is over $120 > NZD/yr. A lot by some peoples standards. I would > like to suggest > Mandrake add some lower tiers to the club. Say a $10 > or $20USD/yr. tier. > I know many people cannot afford $60 USD/Yr. but I > think most users (no > matter what currency they own) can afford $10 or > $20/yr.
It wouldn't be so bad if you could pay it monthly rather than having to pay it all up front (or has something changed?). > Ok you say, but then what should they get for this > fee?? I say nothing > more than the availability to get ISO downloads as > they are released. It > seems to me (after reading in the press and on the > lists) that the > biggest problem is freeloaders downloading ISO's. > This cuts the feet out > from under the commercial distro's viability, > especially when the ISO's > hit the mirrors BEFORE the boxed sets hit store > shelves. I suggest a > "cooling off period" of say 1 month. This would mean > that current ISO > downloads would not be available until 1 month after > the boxed sets hit > store shelves. The newly created (if you choose to > go this route) lower > tiered members of the club would still get (via a > password or whatever) > immediate access to ISO's via the mirrors. I LOVE > the fact that Mandrake > allows ftp downloads of it's ISO's (and cooker > packages) and I think if > this was eliminated then many users would swith to a > distro that allows > ISO downloads (like RedHat) but if Mandrake went the > way I suggest then > I think most users would either a) join a lower tier > of the club to get > the downloads as they are released or b) buy a boxed > set or wait the 1 > month to download the free ISO. Either way, this > tightens up the ISO > policy just enough to hopefully help Mandrake > significantly while still > staying true to the ideals of free software in > general. > > Mandrake may say, yeah but we need help NOW. Ok, I > agree, create the > lower tiers to the club today (and tell the Linux > press and media > outlets ASAP) and I will join today. Me along with > several other users I > have helped convert to Mandrake here in New Zealand > (and hopefully > millions of users the world over). Mandrake doesn't > need handouts, it > needs to refine its business model. The availability > of ISO downloads > before boxed set arrival not only reduces potential > sales (and possibly > club membership sales) but it also is a double edged > sword that ensures > your mirrors get hosed driving up the bandwidth > costs for Mandrake and > the mirror owners. ISO availability when the product is finalized pays back all the people who gave their time to beta test. Take that away you'll lose the beta testers, and the quality of the product will decline. There's no easy solution. It *would* be nice if someone would answer my question about educational institutions and LUGs joining the club though... __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
