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"Put up the email dam, ma. We got a flood comin' in."

At publication time, I've had 88 responses to Red Hat comments. I asked for your thoughts and you provided them. I read each and every one as they came in and I must say that you're a thoughtful bunch. Most of those emails were well-crafted and insightful arguments both for and against the direction Red Hat has taken regarding free system updates.

And, in reviewing my own article, it did seem a bit whiny. I'd only just opened the email prior to publication of Tuesday's Penguin Shell. It seemed like one in an increasing stream of email from Red Hat and, in fact, it struck me in a very adversarial way. That's not to say that I completely agree with Red Hat, though. Let me clarify before I get to your notes.

First, let me say that Red Hat has done more for the Linux world than any other company, hands down. They've moved Linux in several directions - a very usable model for the enterprise and toward an unsurpassed ease of use for consumers. Whether you like Red Hat or not, you have to concede those facts. Really, Red Hat is Linux to many on the fringes of the community. That's a remarkable story both for Red Hat as a company and for the Linux community at large.

My objects arise in two areas in particular. First, Red Hat has recently begun to move away from the public face of the Linux community. Where once they were a real leader, they've recently begun to pull away a bit. Yes, the apps they develop in-house go into the bigger pool of GPL software. Specifically, I'm addressing the Desktop Linux Consortium. One look at the list of members will make my point. Red Hat is conspicuously absent. Few companies have more to offer the DLC than Red Hat. And if we all agree that the Linux community as a whole (both commercial and non-commercial) benefits by a focus on the desktop, it seems a bit off-putting that Red Hat has chosen not to participate.

Now, lay that alongside the timeline of reduced free update services from Red Hat. You start to get a picture of my concerns. Coupled, the two moves begin to look like a real withdrawl from participation in the Linux community - actions in which profit seems to tip the scales away from participation in the community. Taken individually, these decisions by Red Hat might not bother me quite so much. Taken together, they seem to paint a pretty clear picture of the long-term direction of Red Hat.

The other issue is even more simple. Attempting to move current consumer-level users toward pay services by cutting off system updates seems, at best, boneheaded. Don't misunderstand my meaning. I am not averse to making a buck and paying the developers in the open source community. I think it's inevitable that we'll see much more consumerism in the Linux world, and I don't, by any means, consider that a bad thing. Nothing, really, is "free as in beer." Instead, I think it would have been a far better move for Red Hat to do one of two things: a) leave the user level update services free (even with server priority given paying customers), relying on enterprise customers to pay for the service or, b) initiate the "for pay" model from a date certain forward. In other words, no more free update registrations. If you're a new customer and need the update service, you must pay a fee. In the meantime, those who have used the free service in the past may continue to do so. In effect, you're paying for the service from the ends - enterprise at one and new customers at the other. The existing user base gets some perceived reward for continued loyalty to Red Hat - loyalty that will pay off in word of mouth to new Linux users. The current strategy leaves longtime Red Hat users like myself (since 5.x) a bit unnerved. As you'll see, I'm not alone. In the end, the recent moves begin to feel entirely green-currency oriented. They completely disregard the value of goodwill currency.

What's really important in this discussion is what you, as current Red Hat users have to say. I'll be the first to admit that I'm blessed to be the guardian of this forum. But it's really yours. Here's what you've told me over the past few days.

From Lanny Trager:

I have no quarrel with Red Hat making money, they've developed a rock solid dsitro and deserve to reap some rewards for that. However, charging everyone for updates is a mistake IMHO. Why? It's a security issue. Many students have migrated to Red Hat and many of them cannot afford the sixty dollars a year. When it becomes more difficult to upgrade or apply security patches many of those non business users will become more lax in applying them. This will affect all of us, as those machines become compromised and are used for launching pads to attack others.

From Matthias Schoener

I have signed up for the paid RHN basic service. For people who run (and intend to continue running) RedHat on their machines, it seems to me like a good deal for some great peace of mind. I use my workstation for 99% of my day-to-day work, and don't want it down. So, timely, well-tested patches are important to me.

As for the pay-or-participate-or-get-out part: RedHat is a corporation, and corporations need revenue to exist. T-shirts, baseball caps and the occasional CD set alone don't cut it. So they want you to pay. Providing the alternative to fill out the surveys is in my mind more than one can ask for. A less sensitive provider might just cut people off who don't pay, no questions asked.

A little while ago, I severely messed up my RedHat installation, and took it as an excuse to give Mandrake (9.1 rc1) a try. They have something similar to RHN, but in the weeks since I installed it, not once has there been an available update. Either the release candidate is not supported by MandrakeOnline, or there is a lot less attention paid to errata/security updates than at RedHat. Without debating the pros and cons of Mandrake 9.1rc vs. RH 8.0.94, I'll probably go back to RH, and RHN has a lot to do with that. To me this kind of service has become *the* critical differentiator between Linux distros; the same way that graphical installers were viewed maybe two years ago.

From Kevin Epstein

On the topic of now having to "buy" an RHN account, or keep on fillin out surveys, I'm pretty sure the latter option won't always be there. It would completely defeat their strategy to generate more revenue. To be completely honest, I don't think anyone should really be surprised at the move, bearing in mind that redHat has never *really* lent it's self to being an end users desktop distribution of choice. It's (in my opinion) more of an enterprise distro (supproted by the fact that some really big HW vendors are giving RH a lot of attention now. eg HP and their new netserver come pre-installed with RH. Just look at IBM, DELL as well)

I personally think the move is a bad one and will leave a bad taste in many customers mounths. Personally I generally update my machine without the up2date package. I just think that they should be able to send out update notices to *everyone*, even if it means that you can't use the up2date software to make the upgrades. I don't beleive it should be the sole right of paying RHN customers to find out (for example) about the latest sendmail bug. Everyone should get notice, and paying customers can have their automated software update while, I'll manually make the upgrade, a process with which I've very rarely had problems with.

From Rob Station

But... Redhat is a company that works very hard. They deserve to be paid for this work. Your stance on the matter, in my opinion, is immature. Redhat employs many of the leading open source developers so that they may work on open source projects full time instead of in thier spare time. Redhat employs standards for linux, advertises for linux, and does countless things for the 'movement'.

Redhat needs a revenue stream to continue doing this. Charging users for a premium service they create is a perfect way. You are not forced to use it, and even if you don't want to pay for it you are able to use it by filling out a monthly survey. More than fair in a tech economy that has seen many mighty, high profile, cash-infused commercial distros fall flat on thier faces.

I'm all for Redhat making money in these innvoative ways, I think it's something to be applauded, not scorned. They aren't violating the GPL and they're definately not wasting the money they get. It's a BUSINESS. They are interested in making a PROFIT, and they deserve a profit for all the hard work they do.

Perhaps you should try running Penguin Shell without the high amounts of cross-sells and ads it comes with... or is that a whole different ballpark?

Tony's Comment: In fact, Rob, it is. Lockergnome continues to provide its staple content free - advertisers foot the bill, not the readers. We do offer other items (GnomeTomes, merchandise, etc.) at a cost that's not hidden. I believe your thoughts might be different if, in tomorrow's email, you received a notice from Lockergnome that Penguin Shell was now going to cost $60 a year - having been free for sixteen months. I'm certain we'd lose at least one reader.</rant>

From Eduardo Mueses

I wanted to express my opinion about Red Hat's move to full comercialism.

Too bad I didn't see it coming before... Right now I'm so in-tune with Red Hat's Bluecurve, up2date, RPMS, etc. that a change to a different distro means a learning curve I wasn't prepare to take.

In the past, I have downloaded Mandrake, Peanut, Slack, College Linux, Suse and Debian. None of them have been as easy as Red Hat has been... I tried Debian about 7 times. Only one of them worked (following your instructions). Still Red Hat, looked better, and was easier to install.

I keep looking. Perhaps a more detailed set of Installation instruction for Debian will help (The ones before were kind of general for a Newbie).

Red hat has indeed disapointed me... but until I found that elusive all around installation to replace it, the anoyance of the every-60-day survey will have to do for me.

From John Saunders

I don't think you should come down too hard on RedHat. It costs them money to provide this service. Possibly they are being a little to "proactive" in trying to move people to paid subscriptions, but that is what pays the good people to work on great new features which go back into the OpenSource community.

I do think they have mis-read the market a little on this one, because on-line surveys and unsolicited email generally strikes a very negative impression with exactly the type of people who are using Linux.

So in summary, I support a company wanting to get a little capital flowing when they are doing the good work for OpenSource. However I think RedHat should do a little more brain storming before committing to this path.

From Mark Belfanti

I am sorry to say tha I am with you. I since the last round you did of the distro reviews I have rediscoverd the joys of Debian and have just rebuilt my main workhorse (DELL Latitude C800) with Gentoo.

I am also planning to move my Servers to Debian and the same for my clients. But apart from the Redhat bribery, it is also due to bloat of the Redhat distro. Debian and Gentoo just have what you decide you need and nothing else. I like that. Choice!

From Mark Simko

While I understand Red Hat's need to maintain a revenue stream, I am dissappointed in Red Hat for not providing this service to people that have ordered and registered their product for at least 6 months, and for at least 3 pcs. I was also dissappointed in the price of the service. I think that $10 to $15 per pc annually would be sufficient.

I don't know if I will stay with Red Hat at this point of move off to one of the other distros. Maybe next time I'll just buy Suse instead.

From Marc Matloff

I have been reading your newsletter for sometime and have noticed that you become upset about any Linux distribution that charges for any service beyond sending you their product on CDs (actually, I am not completely sure about this either). Is this an accurate perception? Are you saying Red Hat should develop a distribution, provide a network infrastructure to maintain it and give it all away free? Do you believe that any use of open source software should have no costs whatever associated with its' use? How are companies like Mandrake (in bankruptcy), Red Hat, Lindows and others supposed to bring in revenue to pay their employees and investors? I am truly interested in your thoughts on this topic.

From Steve Walker

It is OK if that is how they see their future. They have rent to pay and probably eat occasionally:) By going for a full business model they must know that they will lose a lot of users and goodwill. On the other hand will they lose any revenue?

Most businesses are prepared to pay for the vital services they receive. It is not the free distributions that they need but a guaranteed supply of security updates. Is it reasonable to expect to log on daily and have a full update service for a whole network of servers for nothing? And if it is and Debian can supply this: RH will have made a bad call.

You are wearing the same shoes. Lockergnome is a business but run as a free to user service. There have clearly been tough times and moves to be slightly more commercial have been criticised by some. There have also been hints that readers should give more support.

It is a tough business and bad calls can be very costly. The proprietors must make the calls and stand or fall by them. Personally I think I would have take then same decision at RH and the same decision as you to move to Debian. If I had a business with 40 servers I think I would pay up and leave things as they are.

Will Mandrake be next? Will they survive at all?

From Ethan Connor

I too received a "Demo" RHN account message yesterday. One of the things that has always made Linux so alluring is the fact that we geeks can use it to learn, at home, with out restrictions such as cost, hardware requirements, etc... And then (more times than not), apply what we've learned to our corporate life. I'm very very disappointed in their shift from a "Basic" RHN account with complementary access to individuals wanting to learn about Red Hat, to this nag-ware "Demo" RHN model. Companies relying on Red Hat have already paid for the RHN service and will continue to do so, I don't know why they feel the need to cut their legs off by alienating the individuals responsible for bringing Red Hat into many of those companies.

Also, besides my own annoyances about the move, you also have to look at security. Because security is such a critical aspect of the computer industry these days, and having a rapid response mechanism is, in my mind, a critical requirement of a modern "internet ready" operating system. Red Hat has lured in many not as technical folks in the past year or two, with improvements to the graphical interface, and install routine. There are many people who don't fit the "geek" model running Red Hat now, and I doubt that they will take the time to keep up on security patches on their own. It's going to be much worse when thousands of people decide not to keep up their RHN access because of these new changes, and let thousands of Red Hat boxes sit, un-patched on broadband connections, waiting for someone to root them. Can you see the potential for a new distributed attack just smoldering waiting for a flash point?

From Jim Hubbard

I agree with your thoughts about Redhat, and like you, I am transitioning servers over to Debian. I've even posted a couple of articles about it on our site at www.rock.lug.net. If all Redhat was doing is making it a pain to get updates for free, then that would be bad. However, both Redhat and Mandrake have issued similar "end of life" policies too, which effectively renders every downloadable version and most retail versions unfit for server duty. I can't imagine any admin worth a damn installing an OS he knows will be unsupported in a year (or less, depending on how soon after a release you install) on a server.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not such a purist that I think companies shouldn't charge money for premium versions of Linux and tech support. I do, and they should. But I think that these recent moves are going to alienate a lot of users - the very same users who have made Linux companies popular in the first place, and who have put their reputation on the line because they believed in them. Imagine this: you're a small time admin with 10 or 20 servers running Microsoft. A couple of years ago, you managed to sneak Redhat in the back door and install it on a server or two. The system works, you tell the boss it's free, and that we should start moving other servers over to Redhat. You're a hero. Now here you are today with maybe 8 or 10 servers running Redhat and you've gotta tell the boss that he either must purchase support plans for each box (assuming you're running a version that is still supported) and upgrade to the latest version when it comes out, OR he's gotta purchase the Advanced Server product and support for it. What a slap in the face! I can almost hear the words now - "But you said it was free, as in beer! Tell me again why we're using Linux instead of Microsoft?".

I knew the first time I signed up for the Redhat Network that this day would eventually come. Why else would the "up2date" tool only work with Redhat's own server? I had hoped though, that the change would happen gradually. Instead, Redhat seems to think they have somehow achieved "critical mass" or something and with one swift push they can instantly trasition to Microsoft levels of profitability. It just ain't so. What I think we'll see in the future is basically 2 classes of Redhat users: desktop users who always want to install the latest and greatest on their system anyway and don't care much about support, and corporate users who are willing to pay a premium for software and support. The little guys - the heart and soul of the Linux user base, will run something else. Something free - as in speech AND beer.

I understand that Redhat and Mandrake cannot support products forever. However, I think that the absolute minimum support term for ANY product a software company releases should be 3 years, no if's, and's or but's about it. These recent policies, if they stand, will backfire - mark my words. Once I and many others move our servers to Debian (or Slackware!) and get used to it, what possible reason would I have to move them back to Redhat again? Another thing to consider is how many unpatched Redhat servers are gonna be exposed soon. Even with free, easy to apply updates available, some admins aren't quite as vigilent as they should be. Just think how many Redhat servers are gonna languish, unpatched, under lazy admins or those just plain ignorant of the importance of applying updates. This could be bad PR for Linux as a whole, not just Redhat. Imagine the field day Microsoft could have, gleefully reporting compromised Linux servers by the hundreds.

Many Redhat users out there are still in denial about the significance of all this, and continue to plod along hoping the problem will just go away. To them I say, "WAKE UP and choose another distro now!". Even if Redhat were to reverse their policy today, I personally don't think that I could trust them again. It's crystal clear to me now that maximizing profits is much more important to Redhat than any sense of allegience to the Open Source movement. As for Mandrake, I kinda get the impression they didn't want to do the "end of life" policy thing, but had to in order to stop hemorraging money. Any Linux company that's in bankruptcy but still proudly offering free downloads _must_ be dedicated. Actually, Mandrake has a golden opportunity here - they already distribute updates freely to ftp mirrors and they were based on Redhat to begin with, just extend their support term to 3 years and they'd have a huge advantage.

From John Brownstone

Isn't it great that a company like Red Hat, that gives the open source community so much for free, can also make a living selling service and support for its fee free products! It is a picture of proof that open source does not belong only to the hobbyist, but also to those of us who are motivated by things that money can buy, like food and girls clothes and zoom-zoom cars. I am astounded by the open source community's continuing gift to computer users world wide, and delighted when they can make a profit too!

From Rocket Robin Hood

I think you're getting overexcited. Red Hat's a business, and they want to make money same as the next guy. Personally, I think they could go about it differently - Mandrake offers packages where you get the premium package discs+3 years worth of updates mailed to you or something like that - I would do something like that before "cherished" ftp access.

All this being said, spam - even quarterly - sucks, and they'll probably lose a few users with that approach, no doubt. And I'm wondering why they want a survey completed? That sounds like, uhm, getting marketing information, which strikes me as suspicious.

In principle - I see nothing wrong with commercial distros getting "commercialized" - that's what they're there for, to provide a nice, easy service that costs money for people like myself (I use Mandrake) who don't want to go through the even STEEPER learner curve of the "hacker-friendly" distros. Money for services, that's what it's all about. But Red Hat specifically seem to be going about it the wrong way.

That's just a slice of the many, many emails I received around this issue. Thanks to everyone for taking the time and exerting the effort to make strong arguments on both sides. We'll watch together as this all plays out.

See you Tuesday.

Happy just sittin' here in my tux,              
Tony Steidler-Dennison       

GnomeTWEAK

Quick Pine

There are a lot of graphical email users out there, I know. We're going to cover Evolution in some detail in future issues. But, by the looks of the mail I receive, there are quite a lot of text email users, as well. It seems that if you're going to choose a basic system, text email is the only way to go. Personally, I'll take on anyone in a speed email reading contest using Pine. No mouse, no muss, no fuss. Today, we're going to honor those Pine/KDE users with a quick little tip for opening and reading your email even more quickly.

First, let's create a shortcut to the mail program. You can do this on the desktop, or you can add it to your panel. First, right click on the desktop and select Create New -> Link To Application. Select an appropriate icon by clicking on the icon button, and enter Mail in the text box.

Next, select the Execute tab. Paste the following command into the text box:

konsole -e pine &

Then click OK. Leave the icon on your desktop or move it to your panel - your choice.

Now, open your Pine program and select Setup -> Configure. If you haven't been in this screen, it's exhaustive in the options afforded a Pine user. Look through the options, but scroll to the bottom to find the line initial-keystroke-list. When it's highlighted, enter the letter I. Exit the configuration, saving the changes. When you click your new icon, Pine will open in a console window directily into you inbox. With just a few short keystrokes, you can read and sort your mail. When you're ready to quit, press the q key. With the & sign in the konsole command, quitting Pine will also kill the terminal window.

Even though the email load has dropped off with the new Penguin Shell publication schedule (and improved spam filtering), I still need to get through my email quickly. Today's Tweak lets me pop a window, keystroke through the mail and exit in no time flat.

Use it wisely and don't break the email reading speed limits.

Recommend It!
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GnomeCORE

Get your favorite Linux flavor on CD: Pick your favorite Linux flavor and get it on CD for as low as $1.95. Find Linux gear, books, and software for Linux at Linux Central . Check out the selection today!

A few weeks ago, I answered a question about finding the version of the kernel currently loaded on a machine. I suggested using cat to read the /proc/version:

cat /proc/version

This does answer the question, but it brought several emails reminding me of another Linux tool designed specifically for this purpose: uname. Today, we'll talk a bit more in detail about this core Penguin program.

uname uses a very simple syntax:

uname [options]

It's designed specifically to print information about both the machine and the operating system. As you saw by the example, that can be useful information to have.

The options to uname are:

• -a: print all the available information
• -m: print only information related to the machine itself
• -n: print only the machine nodename or hostname
• -r: print the release number of the current kernel
• -s: print the operating system name
• -p: print the processor type [this may not be available in all versions of uname]
• -v: print build information about the kernel

I love efficiency. Unlike my earlier cat command, the uname tool is very efficient at providing machine and kernel details.

If you ever have the need, you now know how.

Recommend It!
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GnomeFILE

PHPWeather

http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpweather/

"PHP Weather makes it easy to show the current weather on your Web page. PHP Weather retrieves the latest METAR (weather) report and converts this format into both imperial and metric units, caches the data in a MySQL, PostgreSQL, or DBA database for fast retrieval, and makes it easily available in PHP scripts. You can display the data in several languages by using the included translations. You can also access the information with a WAP-enabled mobile phone."

Recommend It!
Send us a GnomeFILE suggestion

GnomeVOICE

Small Routers
Scribbled by Tim Hedges

"You have been running small features on Linux router distros and the available routers that vpn or have a specific feature.

"A product that has been missing from these discussions, however, is snapgear. These routers are fully fledged routers that run Linux as an os. Linux is not run from a hdd though as these little baby's are solid state. They have a lovely web based front end and are comparable to routers many times the price in their available features.

"Without sounding like a salesman these devices can talk ipsec for vpn and indeed use a version of freeswan for this task. Any Linux user who wishes to adjust the configuration via a console rather than the web interface are able to. Snapgear.com sell 3 major different types a cheaper home version a soho for more demanding tasks and a pro for corporate use.

"Hope this is of interest but we have found the devices and the support second to none thus far and would highly recommend this Linux based product."

Recommend It!
Speak your GnomeVOICE

GnomeCLICK

Linux in the Workplace - Online Book

http://linuxpip.org/

"You may be coming to Linux and KDE from another operat- ing system, and you are probably familiar with browsing the Web, sending email, preparing documents, and doing other job- related tasks with your computer. Whether you're somewhat experi- enced or completely new to computers, this book was written for you. In general, this book does not assume any computer experience on your part. We explain what Linux and KDE are (Chapter 1, "Learning about the Pieces"), and we even tell you how to use your mouse (with Linux there are three buttons). Of course the more experience you have, the more quickly you'll learn, because working with the KDE interface is very much like using other popular, windows- based interfaces--but with many important differences. Although there are many commercial programs available for Linux, they are not the focus of this book. Instead, we focus on programs that are available for free and commonly included in most Linux distributions. We don't cover every application that comes with KDE, focusing instead on those you are most likely to need in a typical office, or even home, environment. Once you become comfortable with the material, it should be easy for you to learn about any specific commercial or free programs you may wish to use."

Recommend It!
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