On Sun, 17 Aug 2003, Lance Davis wrote: >On Sat, 16 Aug 2003, Stephen Smoogen wrote: > >> On Sun, 17 Aug 2003, Lance Davis wrote: >> >> >We have always felt that cheap cds are a good way to introduce new >> >users to different distributions, and some will then go on to purchase >> >> Red Hat has very good lawyers who know a lot about the GPL and have >> spent most of their time defending it when used in products that do not >> give any support. The main issue is that TradeMark law is very very > >I think that you are wrong there, Redhat have used trademark law to >prevent the distribution of 100% GPL code, and have restricted the rights >under the GPL of someone who has purchased a GPL product to redistribute >it. The FSF has had no problem with this and does not see this as a restriction of 100% GPL code since the code is very available for download and the other methods listed in the GPL. Please find another windmill... one that the FSF agrees with. >> XYZ place. The people would still go to www.redhat.com and expect it to >> be supported because it had Red Hat's name on it. > >So Redhat should have recognised that as an opportunity to sell mini >support contracts without the baggage of having to produce the retail >boxes etc, and it also meant that at least 60% of the increase in their >user base was being driven by outside companies at no cost to them !! We tried that. Very few people wanted to pay a second fee because they had already BOUGHT the product. User base that does not pay for support but wants 100% support is not a very useful userbase. > >We quite clearly say that the software comes with no support. > So did CheapBytes and MacMillan... customers expect it and become very irate when they dont get it because the company that has a name on it wont support it. After the 20 or 30th phone call in a WEEK of 'I bought this product to get away from Microsoft, and you are treating me like them..' and then 'I dont care if I bought it from XYZ, it has your name on it, and you should support it.' it is pretty obvious that putting a label on sayinb 'NO Support' doesnt mean much to people. >Lance > > -- Stephen John Smoogen smoogen@xxxxxxxx Los Alamos National Labrador CCN-5 Sched 5/40 PH: 5-8058 Ta-03 SM-261 MailStop P208 DP 17U Los Alamos, NM 87545 -- So shines a good deed in a weary world. = Willy Wonka --
