The Register is reporting on Dell business director’s comments that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 is too expensive for a variety of Dell customers.
Actually, I’ve begun to wonder the same thing. Isn’t Redhat Enterprise every it as expensive (in real dollars to purchase, not in any cost of ownership sense) as similar Microsoft solutions?
Yes, yes, open software is more than just bucks to purchase, but I have seen a trend toward greater expense in Linux distributions, and I wonder what’s behind it.
But.. you can’t put a price on freedom! 😉
Seriously, even if Red Hat Enterprise is the same price as Windows Server, I’m gonna pick Red Hat, because I know what I’m in for, and that I can atually change things if needed… “Open-source software” is not the same as “free” and of course there is also “free-software” but I won’t get into that one…
Editor’s note: I’m well aware the open source advantages, but I think that Red Hat is encouraging people to actually continue to consider other, less open possibilities) in their attempt to generate significant profits for their business. They are of course, entitled to do so, but I’m beginning to see less of a difference between Red Hat and other companies, and the trend actually scares me a little.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I like FreeBSD: the operating system is fairly lean and mean, and so are the developers. 🙂