> If anything, it tends broaden the base of RH compatible > systems out there, making it more attractive to market products > for RH systems. In the long run, it will probably increase RH's > sales as some users migrate to RH as their support needs grow. > After all, that is really what RH is selling. > > Mikkel While several views have been expressed on the moral/ethical nature of CentOS being a branding-removed RedHat rebuild, I think one of the key questions that has been overlooked is "How does RedHat benefit from CentOS (or any other rebuild)?" I think Mikkel's comment is right on. The other aspect of this that has not been mentioned is because of CentOS, more people are helping RedHat by finding & fixing bugs. >From my own experience, I find it easier to work with the folks maintaining CentOS-- they seem to care more about finding and fixing problems than shuffling Bugzilla tickets. When a fix is found for a CentOS problem, most of the time, it also applies to RedHat and is sent to them for incorporation into their product. The community support for CentOS directly benefits RedHat by off-loading some of the developer/bugfix workload. Just my $0.02. -- Cristopher J. Rhea Mayo Foundation Research Computing Facility Pavilion 2-25 crhea@xxxxxxxx Rochester, MN 55905 (507) 284-0587 Fax: (507) 284-5231
