Slashdot Mirror
New Debian-based Enterprise Linux?
arkanoid.dk writes "Sources close to Progeny, Mandriva and Turbolinux report that a new Enterprise Linux distribution is on its way. Apparently, the distribution will be based on Debian 3.1 Sarge and will form the foundation of the next server distributions from the three companies. The three companies hope that the new distribution will enable them to compete with the market leaders Red Hat and Novell Inc's server distributions. An interesting part is that the new system should support both DEB (Debian package) and RPM (Red Hat Package Management) to enable better cross-compatibility with other Linux flavours. The vendor said: 'It will have a nice, Web-based front end for service management, which Sarge lacks. It's basically oriented toward edge-of-the-network type applications, such as ISP software.'"
Yeah, and for that matter, can Debian at last quit pissing about how it's the One, True, Honest-To_God Pure, Holy, Sacramental, Big Kahuna Free Software Linux and everybody else is shit, now that they're going enterprise? Especially since all they ever did was take the same GNU/Linux programs that ALL other distributions use, only the versions that are two years out of date, and wrapped them in their broken package-manager-format and bury them behind it's broken installer?
but it doesn't appear Debian's major user base are businesses.
Yet another excellent question: just who the heck *are* these people who swear by Debian, anyway? Actually, I think Debian is used entirely by it's own developer base. If anybody asks for business support, they say, "We're free software only." If anybody tries to install it on a home machine for personal use, they say, "It's not for home use." If you try to use it for a desktop, you hear, "It's mainly aimed at the server market." If you try to use it for a server, somebody asks, "Who ever heard of a 14-disk server distribution?" Are the disks still good for frisbees and coasters?
Extra credit: This news coming on the heels of the story of just two days ago, that Ubuntu announced *it's* corporate backing, does this tell us anything?