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Caldera OpenLinux 3.1 Reviewed
Patrick Mullen writes: "The Duke of URL has just posted its review of Caldera's OpenLinux Workstation 3.1. Caldera is probably best known for going against the grain in the Linux world and is the first Linux distribution to introduce per seat licensing. Version 3.1 has made a lot of advances such as full OEM testing, but is it worth the per-seat licensing?" Is this any different from other distributions' "power packs," which bundle Free software with proprietary? According to the Caldera site, you can download the ISOs as well as the source to the server and workstation varieties of Open Linux on a (eh?) "single, non-commercial license."
I think I speak for the majority of experienced sysadmins when I say that closed source software is a huge pain to support. Excluding relational databases and the like, the majority of the time, using OSS exclusively just makes sense. I'm not a Stallmanite and I don't mind software that is released under a non-Free Open Source license (like IPfilter) - although those packages do have limited benefit to the community because of distribution restrictions. It's just that being able to change the source and recompile it of the utmost importance when dealing with software conflicts, bugs, and customization. And that's why I think these "powerpacks" are a bad idea - they're just a bunch of bloat, and they tie my hands as a sysadmin because I can't fix them when they break.
If I wanted to have a job where I had to wake up every day and tell my users, "sorry, that's just the way it works" or "I can't do anything about that", I would administer a bunch of Win2k boxes. But I run a cluster of Linux systems because I like the environment, and it helps me serve my employer and my users to the best of my ability. Nothing is impossible if the admin is willing to do a little hacking and recompiling. And that's why closed-source powerpacks are undermining all of the advantages that OSS has brought to the marketplace.
-sting3r
The GPL was never intended to protect the code from commersial use.
It was intendet to protect the GPL'ed code from being used in closed source and restrictive licenced products/projects.
You can sell GPL'ed products all you want as long as you give the buyer the rights the GPL says you have to give to the buyer.
Another thing is that the GPL make commercial use difficult if you are making an "of the shelf" product because it requiers you to give away the source code and the right to redistribute to all buyers.
If you are making customized applications for spesific customers using GPL'ed projects as a starting point can save you lots of work and the requirements of the GPL can even be used as a selling point; "you get the source so if I go broke you can get another company to do any furhter developments needed".
>So, GPL does not protect the code from commercial use after all.
It never did. That's NOT the purpose of the GPL.The purpose of the GPL is not to overtly prevent people making profit off of software; but rather to force people who use GPLed code to release any code they combine it with or changes they make to it to be publicly available, which Caldera apparently does (see the blurb in the article).
--I hate people when they're not polite -"Psycho Killer", Talking Heads
One of the strongest arguments in Linux's favor in many business settings is the avoidance of licensing encumbrances. This is becoming even stronger with the licensing changes and copy protection coming with XP.
Caldera is shooting itself in the face with per seat licensing.
What's a sig?
This is great. You might think that the per-seat licensing requirement is a bit naff, but in the corporate world they will see this as proof that the OS is good. You know, "You get what you pay for" sort of thing.
If OpenLinux 3.2 comes out soon with the latest and greatest KDE, KOffice and Open/StarOffice integrated, it will be even more compelling for corporates. $60 instead of $200 for WinXP.
I wonder if Caldera do bulk-discounts on their fees? Purchasing 100 seats for $30/seat, say. That will make them even more attractive for those newly-cash-strapped companies.
The hardest part for Caldera is to get companies to think about upgrading(cross-grading) their systems. If the company is happy with the current Win2000/Win9X environment, then why will they cross-grade to Caldera? Microsoft have no problems getting users to upgrade however! They just make future licensing fees really harsh, giving you the option to "upgrade now, or pay a lot more later"...
In fact, Microsoft's licenses and business practices are positively anti-corporate now. Increasing prices, forcing corporates to upgrade sooner rather than later, etc. But I am getting off-track.
Personally, if I was an IT manager, I would look at the current computer network, and if the PCs were good enough, I would keep them the same. Hold off hardware upgrades and software upgrades for a year. There is little compelling reason to upgrade a network of PII 266s running '95 to P4 2000s running XP right at the moment. If they do the job, leave them doing the job!
Gawd, why don't corporates buy their computer systems to last more than 3 years? Suns last over 10 years in a company, Macs over 5 years. Is it just because the bog standard PC is so crapply built that it dies after 3 years?
I use Slackware pretty exclusively, and always install from my downloaded mirror. However, every customer I set up Linux with must purchase the Slackware CD set (about $40). This is my way to help Patrick keep going. I am not exempt from this, as I have every version released on CD in my library. If I had went with Caldera, I would have those disks.
On another note, I have purchased the Tarantella Express package (pre-Caldera buying SCO). For the $600, I got Caldera eServer. I did try it out, but instead am using Tarantella on Slackware. But, I never minded having a portion of funds going to Caldera for their server Linux system.
Click here or here.
But as a home user, you can only install it on one computer. Still some restriction if you have two or more home machines and you'll be forced to run other versions or OSes to conform to its license.
If I were an admin I would try to standardize on one distribution.
Return the bells of Balangiga.