Clark Evans said at ÒRe: [HACKERS] BSD vs. GPLÓ. [1999/06/20 22:14]
> I doubt that it is anything "significant", and if it is, I would
> call Red Hat's situation exceptional. They have a near monopoly on
> corporate/consumer distributions, and their $80 price tag is the
> proof. Do you think after the near monopoly becomes a full monopoly
> that this % of revenue will increase or decrease? I'd bet
> on the latter. The Microsoft pattern, albeit a much less powerful
> strain, is about to re-occur. What good is a bunch of software if
> it can't be named? It isn't. In the software world, a trademark
> is a name for a standard. And RedHat is about to own it.
I didn't really want to get into this discussion, but I thought it necessary to
point out the obvious fact that you can buy RedHat 6.0 from CheapBytes for $3
on CD. If you have an internet connection, you can download it and burn your
own CD, or do an FTP install. RH can raise the price tag as much as they like,
but we'll still be able to get it for free (or virtually free). Also, FWIW,
RedHat spent something like 10% of its revenue on R&D last year, which is
pretty good for a company that lost money. After all, if it were microsoft,
they'd probably save money by cutting the R&D.
--
Nick Bastin - RBB Systems, Inc.
The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead
all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that
it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the
first place. - Douglas Adams