Re: [aclug-L] Linux on store shelves

[Carl D Cravens <raven@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 20 Mar 1999 Gpigman@xxxxxxx wrote:

> stick it in a pretty box and sell it. It's all marketing. Nobody works for
> Free. The only way to market a product like Linux is to is to make it for
> everyone. 

No, people do work for free.  Up until now, almost all of Linux and GNU
has been done gratis... nobody was getting paid for it.  

So why do people suddenly think it's necessary to bring big business into
Linux to create an easy-to-use interface?  Why can't ease-of-use be
created in the same way Linux and GNU software has always been created...
for free?  It isn't necessary for someone to make money to get a
highly user-friendly package. 

Tech support's another story, of course... but tech support doesn't have
to be tied to the marketing of any particular distribution or product.  If
paying $40 for Red Hat of the shelf gets you tech support, that's probably
what you're really paying for.  (And the convenience of buying it off the
shelf and all the marketing, etc.)  If that works, other groups will do it
as well, but I'd rather not see it tied to the product like that.  While a
company may not want to provide support for every distribution, I don't
see why I should have to buy a product to get support...  I'd just like to
subscribe to a support contract and be done with it.  

--
Carl (raven@xxxxxxxxxxx)

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