Maybe We Should Charge For Linux
It got me wondering about all the various reasons why Linux is promoted, and how being free is in beer (one would think) should be a huge draw. But, as history shows, while being free (gratis) is an advantage, it has not brought people over in waves. When people come to Linux, they cite other advantages first, and sometimes mention the gratis part only as an after-thought.
I am not the only one who's noted this. There has always been the concern that "gratis" means "cheap." This is not the case in Linux's situation, but nonetheless the idea is a pervasive one. Indeed, commercial vendors like Red Hat and Novell have been more than willing to put a price tag on Linux to sell to customers. Of course, this is actually a fee for support, but if support fees also give the impression that people are paying something for software, who are these vendors to disabuse them of the idea?
So here's my idea: perhaps the Linux community should, as a group, start charging a fee for all distros. Nothing big, mind you. Something like US$20.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 1425 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
re: Charge for Linux
So here's my idea - LinuxToday should hire someone who can spell "MBA" to write their business articles.
RHEL and SUSE both charge real money for their enterprise disto's and provide real support.
None of the smaller distros can even come close. They have neither the infrastructure or the management to setup anything close to real support - nor do they have the capitol to do so (and $20 a pop isn't going to make a dent in that price tag).
Business 101. Before you can charge money for a product, you first have to prove it's worth it.