What price do you want?

[Buck]

This has got to be a most difficult question to answer. 

Unfortunately, I can't answer your question as asked.  I don't know!

The real dilemma is that the provider, whether Red Hat or another Linux
operation, needs to make a profit or they will go away (I assume).
Linux was created with the idea of offering an operating system at NO
COST required, an open license to allow a user to have and use as many
copies as desired without violating the copyright and to be freely
distributed.  I believe his goal is to have offered a product available
that anyone with a computer can afford.  

I don't have a fixed price I would be willing to pay.  I'd certainly
find it easier to dish out $60 than $100 and likewise $100 is easier to
pay than $1200.  I would be willing to pay the $60 for up2date once I
have committed myself to Red Hat and once I found an installation that
pays me to install and support it, I would include the cost of at least
minimum support... The $60 in the least, or up to $150 for pre-pay one
or two support events for the year.  I would certainly want the option
of additional support if needed. 

What bothers me is that the GNU license on the product says that If I
have the product and wish to distribute it, I can - without recourse!
But Red Hat now requires the buyers of their product to sign a contract
that takes that very purpose out of the license.  If I were to work for
a company that has that product, that contract would prevent me from
getting a copy to learn from or from installing it on another computer
for a backup at the office without paying for it again. 

If Red Hat's contract is deemed legal, then they have just effectively
found a way around the GNU license.  Now they can take what is required
to be public by license and taken it for themselves and restricted the
distribution.

I believe that's what the license was trying to prevent.

Just my opinion, for whatever its worth.

Buck


-----Original Message-----
From: fedora-list-admin at redhat.com [mailto:fedora-list-admin at redhat.com]
On Behalf Of Stephen Smoogen
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 12:59 PM
To: fedora-list at redhat.com
Subject: What price do you want?


Ok I lets just cut to the chase.. what is the price people are willing
to pay and how many machines are you going to have? Then figure out how
many others you would need to sell at that price for RH to become
profitable and grow (going off of SEC filings or whatnot).