The difference is that Red Hat never promised that Applix and Metro-X would be available to everyone. It was clearly stated that these were commercial products. Mandrake stated quite clearly that SO would be available to *all* club members, and they are reneging on that promise.
It's not a question of whether people who forked over $5 should have expected this turn of events. The point is that Mandrake offered them a deal in exchange for their money, Mandrake took their cash, and *then* backed out. This is just a shitty way to do business. (Especially after Mandrake went crying to their user base not a month ago asking for corporate welfare -- sorry, I meant "donations" -- just to stay afloat.)
I agree that in practical terms this isn't all that big a deal, but it's still a lousy way to treat loyal customers.
Whatever happened to the credo "underpromise, overdeliver"?
The basic problem is one of credibility. Mandrake stated unequivocally that all club members would have the same privileges (which included access to Star Office). Now, they are going back on their contract and saying, "Whoops, sorry, we screwed up. I know you already laid your money down, but we can't give you what you paid for." The proper thing to do would have been either to offer refunds to club members who had already paid, or grandfather Star Office to everyone who had already paid.
This just makes Mandrake look both foolish and amateurish. If they wish to be taken seriously as a business, they can't go whining to their users for welfare payments one minute, then renege on promises the next. Mandrake produces a fine distro, but their business acumen leaves a lot to be desired.
Here's a free hint, guys: pissing off your loyal user base to save a few bucks in the short-term is a great way to doom your company.
What strikes me most about OS X is not so much the new underpinnings (Darwin is just a BSD *nix sitting on top of a Mach kernel), but rather the graphics technologies. The graphics subsystem in Mac OS X is based on PDF, which among other things will allow graphics designers and content creators unprecedented accuracy and control. It reflects the Mac focus on graphics and content-creation, and should cement their predominance in this area for years to come. As far as the "Aqua" interface goes: some will like it, some will hate it, but I think it's a good step forward in the GUI paradigm. The use of color, transparency, and control animation are logical extensions (both GNOME and KDE have experimented with these ideas, but they are constrained by X's crappy rendering and lack of hardware acceleration). It's not revolutionary, but it is a solid step forward, and I look forward to it. Apple does not mean the Mac platform to appeal to techies (at least, not *primarily*). Quite clearly, it is intended to appeal to *consumers*, who have already responded to the bright colors and simple form-factor of the iMac. People who bitch about the iMac's lack of a floppy, lack of expansion slots, etc. are completely missing the point. Jobs wants the legions of computer newbies out there to buy Macs, and by and large he is succeeding in his vision. Steve Jobs wasn't kidding when he said he wanted Apple to emulate Sony. It is clear that Apple intends to become a consumer electronics company rather than a "computer company", and these latest initiatives underscore that fact. Apple has always traded on the perception that they are a hip, cutting-edge, revolutionary company; and while the company lost its way for a while, Jobs has reinvigorated Apple and made it truly cool again. A PowerMac G4 and 21" LCD display? Gimme!!
As more publicly-traded companies try to get in on the popularity of Linux, we are going to have more problems like this. The basic problem is that companies are shared shitless of getting sued, and will always try to put in contractual language to limit their liability. This, unfortunately, is completely at odds with the tenets of Free Software (particularly the DFSG). I think what has got Bruce Perens so angry is that he has *repeatedly* dinged Corel on this issue, and apparently they have ignored his cautions. In essence, Corel has violated the DFSG by the restrictive language in the EULA. This has happened before -- Corel linked the apt package (a GPL'd component) to the QT library (non-GPL'd) and had to get special dispensation from the apt author to do this. It just depresses me because I had hoped that Corel *really understood* the DFSG and what it meant to the community. I'd like to think that this was just an oversight, but it would have to be pretty gross negligence on Corel's part to let this get by. At the very least, it shows that Corel has been sloppy in their technical understanding of the DFSG, which is unforgivable given that they have had the direct cooperation of Bruce Perens for several months. Corel should be given to understand in no uncertain terms that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.
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The difference is that Red Hat never promised that Applix and Metro-X would be available to everyone. It was clearly stated that these were commercial products. Mandrake stated quite clearly that SO would be available to *all* club members, and they are reneging on that promise.
It's not a question of whether people who forked over $5 should have expected this turn of events. The point is that Mandrake offered them a deal in exchange for their money, Mandrake took their cash, and *then* backed out. This is just a shitty way to do business. (Especially after Mandrake went crying to their user base not a month ago asking for corporate welfare -- sorry, I meant "donations" -- just to stay afloat.)
I agree that in practical terms this isn't all that big a deal, but it's still a lousy way to treat loyal customers.
Whatever happened to the credo "underpromise, overdeliver"?
The basic problem is one of credibility. Mandrake stated unequivocally that all club members would have the same privileges (which included access to Star Office). Now, they are going back on their contract and saying, "Whoops, sorry, we screwed up. I know you already laid your money down, but we can't give you what you paid for." The proper thing to do would have been either to offer refunds to club members who had already paid, or grandfather Star Office to everyone who had already paid.
This just makes Mandrake look both foolish and amateurish. If they wish to be taken seriously as a business, they can't go whining to their users for welfare payments one minute, then renege on promises the next. Mandrake produces a fine distro, but their business acumen leaves a lot to be desired.
Here's a free hint, guys: pissing off your loyal user base to save a few bucks in the short-term is a great way to doom your company.
What strikes me most about OS X is not so much the new underpinnings (Darwin is just a BSD *nix sitting on top of a Mach kernel), but rather the graphics technologies. The graphics subsystem in Mac OS X is based on PDF, which among other things will allow graphics designers and content creators unprecedented accuracy and control. It reflects the Mac focus on graphics and content-creation, and should cement their predominance in this area for years to come. As far as the "Aqua" interface goes: some will like it, some will hate it, but I think it's a good step forward in the GUI paradigm. The use of color, transparency, and control animation are logical extensions (both GNOME and KDE have experimented with these ideas, but they are constrained by X's crappy rendering and lack of hardware acceleration). It's not revolutionary, but it is a solid step forward, and I look forward to it. Apple does not mean the Mac platform to appeal to techies (at least, not *primarily*). Quite clearly, it is intended to appeal to *consumers*, who have already responded to the bright colors and simple form-factor of the iMac. People who bitch about the iMac's lack of a floppy, lack of expansion slots, etc. are completely missing the point. Jobs wants the legions of computer newbies out there to buy Macs, and by and large he is succeeding in his vision. Steve Jobs wasn't kidding when he said he wanted Apple to emulate Sony. It is clear that Apple intends to become a consumer electronics company rather than a "computer company", and these latest initiatives underscore that fact. Apple has always traded on the perception that they are a hip, cutting-edge, revolutionary company; and while the company lost its way for a while, Jobs has reinvigorated Apple and made it truly cool again. A PowerMac G4 and 21" LCD display? Gimme!!
As more publicly-traded companies try to get in on the popularity of Linux, we are going to have more problems like this. The basic problem is that companies are shared shitless of getting sued, and will always try to put in contractual language to limit their liability. This, unfortunately, is completely at odds with the tenets of Free Software (particularly the DFSG). I think what has got Bruce Perens so angry is that he has *repeatedly* dinged Corel on this issue, and apparently they have ignored his cautions. In essence, Corel has violated the DFSG by the restrictive language in the EULA. This has happened before -- Corel linked the apt package (a GPL'd component) to the QT library (non-GPL'd) and had to get special dispensation from the apt author to do this. It just depresses me because I had hoped that Corel *really understood* the DFSG and what it meant to the community. I'd like to think that this was just an oversight, but it would have to be pretty gross negligence on Corel's part to let this get by. At the very least, it shows that Corel has been sloppy in their technical understanding of the DFSG, which is unforgivable given that they have had the direct cooperation of Bruce Perens for several months. Corel should be given to understand in no uncertain terms that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.