> SuSE still offers a $4.500 evaluation version, which comes with the full > service of the full product.
While that's nice, that's still a far cry from the $150 you charged for the previous release, and I'm quite capable of providing my own support. Wrt to the evaluation version, if it's not what the customers will get as the final production release, it isn't useful for me. If I do testing, it needs to be the full release, or it isn't tested. > > I'd be a lot happier if SuSE reinstated the media kits w/o support -- I like > > their distribution, and I generally like their approach, but I don't see a > > good reason to pay for something I'm not going to use. I'm told that media > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > If you are not going to use it anyway, why you _need_ Linux on a mainframe? If > you just want to play with Linux, there is just the same Linux on a much > cheaper platform, e.g. ia32. > Everybody who has a very good reason to run Linux on a mainframe can talk to > SuSE. You're confusing using Linux on 390 with requiring support. There is a difference. I don't need support from SuSE, therefore I don't see a need to pay you large amounts of money for something I can do myself. > > kits are still available in Germany for SLES 7, but not elsewhere. > Media Kits are not available for SLES 7, not even in Germany. Your trade show booth staff need updating, then. > > But, ultimately the market will decide... > ...where the choice is only between the companies that will survive. Or, more likely, the distribution that is most heavily used by the system integrators and solution providers, which is most likely to be the one they can get their hands on with the minimum of effort. Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad that SuSE is offering support, and I understand that you need to pay for the development somewhere. What you need to understand is that your success so far is based on widespread acceptance of your code and that your current market dominance is based on being the first mover in this space. Take that away by making your distribution difficult to obtain or integrate into custom solutions, or annoy enough of the consultants and system integrators by making it difficult for them to value-add onto your product, and you *will* lose that acceptance, and correspondingly, your market share. You're biting the hands that feed you. If that's your strategy, great, it's working. Your gun, your head, your thumb spinning the cylinder. The choice is yours. Out here, we, the folks that recommend purchases to customers don't think it's such a great idea and are trying to give you feedback on your choice before the marketplace does. Take that for what it's worth -- after all, look what you paid for it...8-) -- db
