Red Hat Fedora vs. Enterprise Linux WS

[Erik Hemdal]

. . . .
> http://www.redhat.com/software/rhelorfedora/
> 
> My question is:
> 
> Other than getting the paid support, is there any real reason to buy 
> Redhat Enterprise Linux WS or Redhat Linux Desktop as opposed to just 
> using Fedora IN A DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT? (not a server)
. . . .
> 
> AB

Here's my opinion on this:

1.  Paid support can be very valuable when you need an answer right away
and haven't the time/ability/persistence to research issues on your
own.  This is no small benefit.  If working on a Fedora problem means
you aren't doing something more important (like supporting a family),
then paid support makes a lot of sense.

Paying Red Hat for support is one way to help maintain this community. 
If you are not in a position to contribute directly, support the
companies that do contribute.  

2.  RHEL aims to provide stability.  If you depend on your system for
your livelihood, avoiding a steady stream of changes might be very
important.  Fedora specifically walks on the bleeding edge.  Similarly,
if you support many systems, it can be useful to avoid the "latest and
greatest" new software, in favor of more-time-tested code that won't
cause your users to flood you with help requests.

3.  What's included in RHEL is there because Red Hat believes they can
support it for a long period of time.  If you've ever had a favorite
program suddenly go away because the author graduated/got a new job/ran
out of money to run his website/got tired/had an argument with kernel
developers/etc. then you can understand why this can be valuable. 

If these aren't "value drivers" for you, then paying for RHEL might not
be what you want to do.  But these are the big things that would make me
consider it over Fedora.

Erik