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Three part Soup:
Part 1. Red Hat dumps consumers
Part 2. How Red Hat drove me into Apple's loving embrace
Part 3. Apple's Bait and Switch on the G5 Dual 1.8GHz
By Eric Dennis
Part 1. Red Hat Dumps Consumers
Red Hat was the first Linux version I installed and used. I was happy with version 8.0 for the most part. There was alot of value to be had for less than the cost of Windows and that value included an office suite, development tools, graphics editors, games, a database server, a web server, a domain server and more. I probably would've ultimately switched all of my machines to Linux sooner or later, but there was a dark cloud on the horizon that would prevent that. No, it wasn't Windows. It was Red Hat itself.
Apparently Red Hat wasn't making enough money from sales to consumers in brick and mortar stores like CompUSA, the only physical store where you could actually purchase Red Hat Linux. Red Hat doesn't really make money from the software. It's the Updates subscription service that they were counting on for revenue. Red Hat Linux could in fact be downloaded for free, minus update support and tech support, and alot of Linux users chose this option. Red Hat is arguably the most well know distribution of Linux and even spawn a Technical Certification that, until recently was actually useful. Red Hat came in two versions- Consumer and "Enterprise". Apparently Red Hat chose to discontinue production and sales of their consumer version in favor of Enterprise business and will discontinue sales and support of the consumer version by march of 2004. What alternatives have they left for consumers? Switch to Redhat Enterprise Linux (too expensive) or the "Fedora Project", which basically means that they post the source code online to be downloaded and used for free with no support of any kind. The Linux community can support it themselves, but any improvements made will find their way into Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Gee that's great. You stop supporting the customers who made you what you are, but you can benefit from their support and improvement of your product?? Sounds alittle like Microsoft to me. Thanks, but I was trying to get away from the Microsoft approach. That's what brought me to Linux in the first place. It's bad enough dealing with an open source OS that requires me to always be in the command line to just install software, have to recompile applications just to get them to work, and become a damn programmer just to install a Media player. I don't particularly need to recompile a kernel or customize my operating system. I just want the damn thing to work, which brings me to our next topic...
Part 2. How Red Hat drove me into Apple's loving embrace
Red hat Linux was certainly an interesting experience for me. As indicated above, it's really more of a "Gearhead" OS with Geek appeal than anything the average consumer or professional would or should use. There are alot of good things about it, but it's better to run it on Servers than on the desktop. The Geeks in the Datacenter can handle it. Mere mortals will be frustrated by it. In order to get alot of things to work, you will find yourself in a terminal window editing configuration files, creating new ones, and searching for reference material just to make things work. Most consumers and business customers just want things to work. That is what drove me into Apple's loving embrace
Since Mac OS X was introduced I've been interested because Mac OS X has Unix underpinnings, much like Linux, accept that I do NOT have to configure anything in the command line, and when I install applications, I do not have to compile them, be a programmer to install them, or engage in any form of rocket science to use them. There is system stability, available software, and plenty of hardware peripheral items that don't even need drivers installed to work properly. Everything just works. I reformatted the hard drive on the PC I was running Linux on, installed Windows 2000 and gave it to my son to play his games on, then went out and purchased a Reconditioned Powermac G3 Blue and White. I'm going to add some memory and install Mac OS X. I'm using it right now to type this in Mac OS 9.2 and I'm happier than I ever was with Linux. Hey, I'm a computer Nerd and I'm not into Linux anymore thanks to Red Hat. Way to go guys!!
Part 3. Apple's Bait and Switch on the G5 Dual 1.8GHz
I've been listening to a bunch of whining and bitching on a Mac News Website about Apple introducing a Dual Processor 1.8GHz system to replace the single processor 1.8GHz system for only $100 more. A bunch of professional early adopters are all upset because it took a month or two to recieve the single processor systems they ordered and as soon as they recieved them, Apple produces a dual cpu system with greater value for $100 more. Get over it folks. That's what happens when you're an early adopter. You gotta expect that a couple of months down the road something faster and cheaper, or at a better price point than what you bought, is gonna become available. Apple computer is a business. They're in business to make money, not cater to a bunch of whining, bitching, early adopting professionals who have to run out and buy something as soon as it's released only to feel like fools in a couple of months when something better comes along. Unless your G4 has died, you just won the lottery, or you're completely bored out of your mind, why not be sensible and wait longer than a couple of days after Macworld Expo to find out what Apple is going to follow up their initial release with? You'd save time and money
You can't satisfy every customer. That being said, the smart ones, or the ones who have access to a brick and mortar Apple Store in their cities bought their single CPU G5 systems there and are returning them to pay the $100 difference and get dual 1.8GHz G5's. Apple isnt' announcing this because they surely don't want to process hundreds or thousands of returns of single cpu systems for dual cpu systems. They would lose money that way, and they do actually have shareholders to answer to. Maybe this whole debacle was a ruse to clear the 1.8's . I'm sure they have more 1.8GHz G5 chips than 2GHz G5's and it's likely that they will release higher clocked G5's in 2004. I think they really just want to clear the shelves of the 1.8 by doubling them up and getting rid of them as quickly as possible, so that they can kick the boost up a notch.. Click on this
Eric Dennis is a Consultant and freelance writer based in Atlanta, GA.