I'd just like to make sure that everyone understands that this relationship is the result of a lot of work and many, many hours of discussion. As both companies have grown we're facing new challenges, and we have come to the conclusion that a joint approach is the most effective way to meet these challenges. This deal will allow the new VA to keep pace with the explosive growth in the community while continuing to provide exceptional customer satisfaction.
I've got a VA T-shirt from LinuxExpo last year with this slogan on it. (Yes, I even wear it!:-)
We've got a poster for our booth and literature that has Tux riding on a pocket watch with spinning hands. It says How Fast Do You Want to Get There? We had this made for Comdex 1997 and have displayed it at every show since. I wonder if we'll see any of the MS legal team in Chicago next week?
Possible, given that Spring Comdex starts the 19th, but I'd be more likely to put my money closer to Linux Expo. I haven't paid any attention to the 5.9 situation, but if that hasn't locked down pretty tight that would be another strong indication that it will be sometime in May rather than April.
The headline of the article is enough to get the chuckles started. After you start reading the assinine drivel attributed to Mr. Ed (my apologies to the horse by the same name, since the horse made infinitely more sense) you can hardly keep yourself from rolling in the floor.
Given the known instability of Windows products the statement about "quality control" is the biggest load of garbage I've seen in a long, long, time.
If anyone missed the last line above, the conference passes are all spoken for. However if you would like an exhibits-only pass we will gladly send one out in the mail to you.
I apologize for my apparent lack of foresight, but I fail to see the connection between Caldera selling out to MS and the end of the world. There's absolutely nothing that is stopping MS from legally distributing "MS Linux." Lots of political and marketing reasons, but absolutely no legal reason whatsoever. So please explain what would be so catastrophic if MS were to have the "rights" to Caldera OpenLinux?
Anyone can take any GPL distribution and redistribute it just about any way they want, so long as they comply with the GPL.
I knew from the moment I saw the article that it was a hoax. After seeing The Truman Showeveryone knows that Microsoft will start at conception, not with a 9 year old that's been exposed to so many outside influences. That's the only reasonable way they can accomplish their goals.
This article does a good job of summing up all that I've seen on the topic over the past several months. What I find amusing is that they try to promote DVD as "less convienient". If you are the rent once/watch once user that may be a valid point. However I think most people see a movie a couple of times before they purchase. I see Divix as a way to produce more landfill waste and fleece the unsuspecting consumer.
Get a DVD as a gift that just isn't what you thought it would be and you can pass it along to someone else after a preview. Pass along a Divix and they have to buy it again. It wasn't entirely clear, and I haven't seen anything to this effect, but does anyone know if a Divix disk can be unlocked on one player and then the "Silver" option purchased for another player in the future? What would the ramifications be if your player were destroyed (struck by lighning, the kids put a PBJ sandwich in it, whatever) and you had to replace it? Would you have to "repurchase" the movies or just spend hours on the phone getting it all sorted out?
Yep, sounds like what I want in an entertainment system, more hassle.
I dare say that LHS and VA have been no less opportunistic than Red Hat, Caldera, SuSE, Linux Mall, etc. We sell high quality hardware, and that quality comes with a price. If you don't care what your system is built from, I encourage you to visit your local shop and purchase all the $9 floppy drives, $20 power supplies and gray-market processors you like. Don't worry about that memory, either, I'm sure it'll work on the off-brand motherboard.
We provide a service, that service is ensuring that the components we install in our systems are the best available. Have you priced a PC Power & Cooling power supply lately? Yes, they cost more than most other power supplies, but they last . Some of them have a 5 year warranty.
As far as the software, we know where it comes from, and we care where it comes from. I've used Linux since the early days of the SLS distribution (10 floppies). Yes, we've been in the trenches supporting and pushing the development of Linux for many years, unlike the opportunistic people out there who just want to sell computers, we want to sell Linux computers.
Now, if you would care to come out from behind the AC mask I'll be happy to discuss this in more detail as you like. Otherwise you'll be off the scope since I normally don't see AC posts. Thank Rob for the filtering!
It's obvious that the larger vendors are only giving a degree of lip service to Linux. In the meantime there are still those of us out here who have been in the trenches for 3 or more years doing everything we can to promote Linux. Of course I'm speaking of Linux Hardware Solutions (us) and VA Research. The Fortune 500 is full of servers from LINUX system vendors.
For example, we've got a client that has used 4 of our SMP boxes with 100+ GB of RAID storage to help replace a couple of mainframes. I'm sure the folks at VA have similar stories. We're both offering onsite service and you can get Linux installed the way you want. No hassles, no worries.
Before anyone calls either of us a "garage" business we've just signed a lease for a new facility and VA is in the middle of relocating. Neither of us are Dell (yet:-) but we're both a long way from where we started.
Slashdot Mirror
--Kit
We've got a poster for our booth and literature that has Tux riding on a pocket watch with spinning hands. It says
How Fast Do You Want to Get There?
We had this made for Comdex 1997 and have displayed it at every show since. I wonder if we'll see any of the MS legal team in Chicago next week?
--Kit
--Kit
Given the known instability of Windows products the statement about "quality control" is the biggest load of garbage I've seen in a long, long, time.
--Kit
--Kit
(who happens to be sitting in Wilmington)
--Kit
(who happens to be sitting in Wilmington)
We just need name and address for those.
Thanks,
--Kit
Anyone can take any GPL distribution and redistribute it just about any way they want, so long as they comply with the GPL.
Sorry, I don't get the connection...
--Kit
:-)
--Kit
Get a DVD as a gift that just isn't what you thought it would be and you can pass it along to someone else after a preview. Pass along a Divix and they have to buy it again. It wasn't entirely clear, and I haven't seen anything to this effect, but does anyone know if a Divix disk can be unlocked on one player and then the "Silver" option purchased for another player in the future? What would the ramifications be if your player were destroyed (struck by lighning, the kids put a PBJ sandwich in it, whatever) and you had to replace it? Would you have to "repurchase" the movies or just spend hours on the phone getting it all sorted out?
Yep, sounds like what I want in an entertainment system, more hassle.
--Kit
We provide a service, that service is ensuring that the components we install in our systems are the best available. Have you priced a PC Power & Cooling power supply lately? Yes, they cost more than most other power supplies, but they last . Some of them have a 5 year warranty.
As far as the software, we know where it comes from, and we care where it comes from. I've used Linux since the early days of the SLS distribution (10 floppies). Yes, we've been in the trenches supporting and pushing the development of Linux for many years, unlike the opportunistic people out there who just want to sell computers, we want to sell Linux computers.
Now, if you would care to come out from behind the AC mask I'll be happy to discuss this in more detail as you like. Otherwise you'll be off the scope since I normally don't see AC posts. Thank Rob for the filtering!
--Kit
For example, we've got a client that has used 4 of our SMP boxes with 100+ GB of RAID storage to help replace a couple of mainframes. I'm sure the folks at VA have similar stories. We're both offering onsite service and you can get Linux installed the way you want. No hassles, no worries.
Before anyone calls either of us a "garage" business we've just signed a lease for a new facility and VA is in the middle of relocating. Neither of us are Dell (yet :-) but we're both a long way from where we started.
--Kit
Although we're certainly not Dell, Compaq, Gateway, etc., etc., we're a long way from a garage operation.
I have all ideas VA won't fit in Larry's garage, either. We're both doing very well without pushing MS products.
Dell started in a dorm room, so what's the stigma there?
There are alternative OS shops that sell and support Linux.