Basically, all that's happening here is voluntary donation. This is pretty much the same thing that happens if you buy a Redhat boxed set. You don't need to buy Redhat-in-a-box to get the distro, but you can, and it pretty much constitutes a donation to the company.
It boils down to this: If you think the company is providing a worthwhile service that you would like to see continue, then by all means, donate if you feel like helping out. Otherwise, this needn't bother you at all. Mandrake are to be applauded for not employing coercive methods to augment their income.
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Basically, all that's happening here is voluntary donation. This is pretty much the same thing that happens if you buy a Redhat boxed set. You don't need to buy Redhat-in-a-box to get the distro, but you can, and it pretty much constitutes a donation to the company.
It boils down to this: If you think the company is providing a worthwhile service that you would like to see continue, then by all means, donate if you feel like helping out. Otherwise, this needn't bother you at all. Mandrake are to be applauded for not employing coercive methods to augment their income.