On Wed, 2003-03-05 at 12:35, Jim Hubbard wrote: > This thread is beginning to stray from the original point I was trying > to make, which is that Mandrake has an opportunity to pick up where > Redhat has left off. There are many folks out there that are looking > for the same benefits that running Redhat provided only a few months > ago, but now does not. All Mandrake needs to do is extend the EOL. I > only hope they're smart enough to see it.
Another consideration which allows Mandrake to meet the dual needs of a) cost control in the short term and b) face-saving WRT the amendment of a new policy so soon after its initial announcement is simply to make their revised EOL schedule apply only to 9.1 and later releases. They get the cost containment of not having to support the existing releases any further down the road than they expect to now, while they struggle to put their financial house in order (presumably, in a year's time when 9.1 would otherwise go EOL, they will either be stronger or be defunct), and they minimize any potential perception that this is a wholesale change born out of some sense of desperation rather than a sincere desire to meet the valid needs and expectations of their loyal customer base, based on feedback which they both listen to and respect. As Anne and I both pointed out, this extended policy doesn't need to apply to the entire release. We're talking security updates for server apps and their associated utilities, not backports of KDE 3.3 or even patches of buffer overflows in XMMS, for that matter. You could probably limit out every X app (including MDK's own GUI config tools, and even X itself) and a considerable majority of the console apps, and still meet the basic needs of this target market for something that they can expect to be a) similar enough to Red Hat to provide them with a reasonably uncomplicated transition at the outset (in which realm it's already the best choice out there) and b) provided by people who are cognizant of their strong desire to stick with a release once they've gotten it working to their satisfaction, and willing to do at least the minimum needed to enable them to do so (which, as Jim said, is what makes the current blanket EOL policy a deal-breaker for them). What it requires is precisely the same sort of confidence in both the inherent quality and appeal of their own product line and the natural willingness of a satisfied user base to support their efforts without having to be coerced into doing so that brought about the whole Club concept to begin with. In essence, this is merely an extension of that same stance, one that says not merely, "If we build it, they will come," but furthermore, "Once they get here, they will stay voluntarily because we will treat them with respect for their needs, and they in turn will support us because we will give them no reason not to respect ours." Mutual respect. Far from being the revolutionary and wholly unproven business model that the technology and financial press would have one believe, it is in fact the single most important foundation pillar for the long-term sustainability of any legitimate free-market business enterprise, and has been so for centuries (and anyone who regularly associates with a better class of people that that shallow and sottish lot does knows this perfectly well already <g>). It is a model which appears to already be beginning to work for you, Mandrake, just be consistent and stick with it in this area as well, and you just might prove all the doubters wrong even sooner than you think. -- Bill Mullen [EMAIL PROTECTED] MA, USA RLU #270075 MDK 8.1 & 9.0 "Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done." - Andy Rooney
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