Mandrake Doesn't Want Your Business, Unless...
(Other LinuxWorld Expo: Paris Diary, Page 2)
By T. Bruce Tober
February 14, 2000
Later, I spoke with Mandrake's Le Marois. "It's very difficult
to switch to Linux," he said. He added that for computer users like me who use only a word processor, personal-finance
package and do a lot of work on the Net, there's really no reason to switch to Linux.
"Many people do it for political reasons, they want to help Linux or just discover it, try
it. They are revolutionaries. They don't like to follow the crowd."
But that's not to say users like me shouldn't make the switch. "Even if someone
only uses two or three programs for their work," he said, "they can use those kinds of programs in Linux.
And that way you can tell people you use it and are in the 'New Wave.' "
Contrary to even the strongest Linux advocate, Le Marois doesn't believe even a newbie is going
to find switching to Linux very difficult or time consuming. "For a newbie who's never used it and may only
have seen it run once or twice, it's going to take only about 20 minutes to install and configure the pro version
of Mandrake."
But, he's honest enough to add the proviso that to do so, "You need to read the manual and
if your hardware is not recognized it's very painful. You need to have a specialist to come and help or go on the
Net and get help."
SuSE Doesn't Credit Microsoft's Problems
SuSE's Dyroff told me I was dead wrong to think the public move toward Linux was due, even in part, to Microsoft's
legal problems that began in 1998. "The public awareness of Linux," he said, "increased dramatically
in late 1998, after Oracle and Informix announced their plans to port their database systems to Linux."
He says he believes even more that the growth of the Linux market "was very closely related
to the growth of the Internet. Our business customers used and still use Linux mainly as a Web server. This is,
I would say, 80 percent of our server business. So, the Linux service base just grew with the growth of the Internet."
Dyroff also disagreed with idea that the only way to make money for Linux distro publishers is
though service and support.
"The idea that you can only earn money with Linux from consulting and providing services
and training is false," he said. "Our boxed product business, which stands for two thirds of our revenue,
is a nice business also.
"You make money on the boxed set by selling convenience," Dyroff explained. "The
SuSE Linux box is a very comprehensive package. In addition to the OS, a lot of tools and utilities and application
software for both the server and the client side are also included. In total, we are providing six CDs worth of
software.
"So, we're charging in part for our compiling (in the editorial sense) all these CDs like
a system integrator. We look at all the thousands of software components and projects and we judge whether to take
the very latest version with their bells and whistles but might be unstable or should we stay with the more robust
and reliable older version. And we do everything needed with all the components to make them run smoothly together.
And we put together a 500-page manual and we provide phone and e-mail support. All of that costs money and so is
very fairly priced."
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