As a long time CentOS (and prior to that, Fedora) shop, we have been taking an interest in these developments. The thing is, as a small business, one of the really appealing things about Open Source is that the friction of licensing is just not there. We could probably qualify for this program, but why would we want to have to worry about auditing ourselves to see if we needed to start paying at some point when we can just switch to Debian or one of the CentOS clones which are in the works? Not that Red Hat
It's absolutely true that you can switch to Debian or one of the CentOS clones in the works - and that's exactly why RedHat is doing this. They don't want new CentOS clones to emerge. But at least they're realizing that small businesses like yours are never going to pay. So the bet is that a free RHEL license will be appealing enough for new clones to ever get enough traction to matter. And that's not exactly evil, y'know. They're playing by the rules, contributing a ton of code and were at one time, at least, a driving force behind Linux viability as a server for commercial uses.
Maybe we don't need them any more, but they're not the enemy. And IBM is trying to play nice. Cloud hosting seems to have caught RH off guard, but this looks like a step toward adapting in a way that allows them to survive and continue to contribute.
Oh, I don't think they're evil, and I appreciate what they have done for years. I can totally see the logic of this move, and I'm happy that they are making money with Open Source and giving back. I'm just saying that, while this plan might work for some people, it won't work for us right now.
So the bet is that a free RHEL license will be appealing enough for new clones to ever get enough traction to matter.
And that's a very poor bet. It can't be good. Believe me, there are plenty of people and volunteers willing to make a free RHEL rebuild. 99% of it is trivial because of srpm build system. Lots of ISPs will be willing to pitch in with the free infrastructure to host the distributions. Lots of large businesses, ISPs, and academic institutions not willing to just fold and pay to RedHat what it
They're playing by the rules, contributing a ton of code and were at one time, at least, a driving force behind Linux viability as a server for commercial uses.
They've committed a lot of redeeming acts, but I'm not sure if it's enough to counter years of PulseAudio shittyness, until it finally worked for most cases (except that networked audio over WiFi still stinks, and then some), same for SystemD (which I can live with, it just divided the community for no good reason),... Basically not telling Lenna
Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time
as the strawberries, knows nothing about grapes.
-- Philippus Paracelsus
Probably A No Here (Score:5, Interesting)
As a long time CentOS (and prior to that, Fedora) shop, we have been taking an interest in these developments. The thing is, as a small business, one of the really appealing things about Open Source is that the friction of licensing is just not there. We could probably qualify for this program, but why would we want to have to worry about auditing ourselves to see if we needed to start paying at some point when we can just switch to Debian or one of the CentOS clones which are in the works? Not that Red Hat
Re:Probably A No Here (Score:5, Interesting)
It's absolutely true that you can switch to Debian or one of the CentOS clones in the works - and that's exactly why RedHat is doing this. They don't want new CentOS clones to emerge. But at least they're realizing that small businesses like yours are never going to pay. So the bet is that a free RHEL license will be appealing enough for new clones to ever get enough traction to matter. And that's not exactly evil, y'know. They're playing by the rules, contributing a ton of code and were at one time, at least, a driving force behind Linux viability as a server for commercial uses.
Maybe we don't need them any more, but they're not the enemy. And IBM is trying to play nice. Cloud hosting seems to have caught RH off guard, but this looks like a step toward adapting in a way that allows them to survive and continue to contribute.
Re: (Score:3)
Oh, I don't think they're evil, and I appreciate what they have done for years. I can totally see the logic of this move, and I'm happy that they are making money with Open Source and giving back. I'm just saying that, while this plan might work for some people, it won't work for us right now.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, I don't think they're evil
Then we will have to agree to disagree. Red Hat isn't known as the Microsoft of Linux for nothing.
Re: (Score:2)
So the bet is that a free RHEL license will be appealing enough for new clones to ever get enough traction to matter.
And that's a very poor bet. It can't be good. Believe me, there are plenty of people and volunteers willing to make a free RHEL rebuild. 99% of it is trivial because of srpm build system. Lots of ISPs will be willing to pitch in with the free infrastructure to host the distributions. Lots of large businesses, ISPs, and academic institutions not willing to just fold and pay to RedHat what it
Re: (Score:2)
they're not the enemy
They broke a core commitment retrospectively. Hardly a friendly act.
Re: Probably A No Here (Score:2)
They've committed a lot of redeeming acts, but I'm not sure if it's enough to counter years of PulseAudio shittyness, until it finally worked for most cases (except that networked audio over WiFi still stinks, and then some), same for SystemD (which I can live with, it just divided the community for no good reason),... Basically not telling Lenna