Doug makes some good points here. I too think Mandrake was innovative for a while, but the "user-friendly install" niche is getting crowded with competitors and Mandrake's business model wasn't flexible enough. This is not bad news, but signs of a healthy marketplace. Be sure to put your BS filtering googles on when M$ or the like starts spewing FUD concerning Mandrake's bankruptcy.
Concerning user friendly installs, I think the time is coming very soon where we will see a one-click distribution, possibly based on the excellent hardware detection routines in Knoppix. Basically, I imagine one screen where you are asked: "This will install Linux on your PC with a bunch of defaults. Click OK to do an automatic install, or click Expert Mode for more options." And at that time, the AOLers will invade... ;) John Hebert Doug Riddle wrote: > Linux certainly has some steam. I use Mandrake, and will be sorry to > see them go. Actually, it is my 10 year old that like it. I am sure > y'all remember her... She is the one who is always upset we aren't > rebuilding servers in the meetings. If she wasn't mine, I would not > think she was so cute... > > I only see two sucessful methods for commercial distributions. One > is Redhat. Aimed at Enterprise, staffed by core developers, leading > the hurd, OK, herd. Hurd is still a dream for now. But Redhat is > out there at the front of the pack with their own product. Mandrake > was a work-alike aimed at a niche. No sale. Large scale, people are > going to go to the original. If Mandrake pulled any users in, they > generally migrated to Redhat. > > The other is Libranet-like distributions. Small companies, not IP > ventures. They are small companies with a loyal follwing with a > flat-structure aiming at niche they own. You can migrate from > Libranet to Debian, but there isn't a large incentive to do so > because the support, new developments, and innovative features are > better with the original. No one ever accused Debian of being > user-friendly. Libranet provides a saleable service that isn't going > away. > > If they do not fall prey to to the grow to fast, get too big too > qucik idea, they should do quite well. > > Doug Riddle > > --- Shannon Roddy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>I am not too sure about the French laws, but I read that they are >>only >>reorganizing. I was never too happy with mandrake, though I know a >>lot >>of people here and also newbies like it. I am sorry to see any >>Linux >>dist. have hard times though. Although Linux did well before there >>were >>commercial versions out there, they sure have put some steam behind >>the >>movement. >> >>Shannon >> >> >>On Thu, 2003-01-16 at 15:56, Doug Riddle wrote: >> >>>Did any one read the articles on Mandrake going bankrupt? I have >> >>read that chapter 11 in France is the end of the road, like a >>chapter 13 here. >> >>>The herd is getting thinner. >>> >>> >>>Warmest Regards, >>> >>>Doug Riddle >>>http://www.dougriddle.com >>>http://fossile-project.sourceforge.net/ >>>http://www.libranet.com >>>-- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; >> >>they are the Peoples' Liberty Teeth." - George Washington -- >> >>> >>> >>>--------------------------------- >>>Do you Yahoo!? >>>Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now >> >>-- >>Shannon Roddy >>__________________________________________________________________ >>Systems Administrator California Institute of Technology >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] LIGO Livingston Observatory >>ph: (225)686-3106 19100 LIGO Lane >>fx: (225)686-7189 Livingston, LA 70754 >>Web Page http://www.ligo-la.caltech.edu/~sroddy >>Calendar/Schedule See Home Page >>Wireless Email (255 Chars) [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>General mailing list >>[email protected] >>http://oxygen.nocdirect.com/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > > > > ===== > Warmest Regards, > > Doug Riddle > http://www.dougriddle.com > http://fossile-project.sourceforge.net/ > http://www.libranet.com > -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the > Peoples' Liberty Teeth." - George Washington -- > > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. > http://mailplus.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://oxygen.nocdirect.com/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net -- John Hebert: [EMAIL PROTECTED] System Engineer: I T Group, Inc. http://www.it-group.com 225.922.4535
