[CentOS] Dag's comment at linuxtag

[Rob Kampen]

Dag Wieers wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Jul 2009, Bogdan Nicolescu wrote:
>
>> BUT... when someone from the Centos team makes a statement like 
>> "...latest release has many up-to-date desktop packages..."  or any 
>> other statement that might imply, suggest, hint, or even smell of 
>> breaking compatibility with RH, for whatever reason, I think a lot of 
>> users will start looking for alternatives.
>
> First of all, when I said this, I was no longer part of the CentOS team.
>
> Secondly, I didn't say that literally, but I don't object to the 
> wording. For desktop use we do have up-to-date desktop packages. Not 
> firefox 3.5 (wasn't released then) but a recent Network Manager, 
> pidgin, firefox.
>
> So I wasn't lying. If that means that people will look for 
> alternatives, that's fine. I would be lying if I said that we only had 
> old desktop applications, wouldn't I ?
>
> CentOS already covers the server market, it doesn't need a push there. 
> But a lot of people see CentOS as a pure server OS. Which I am trying 
> to change by telling people how CentOS is perfect for the desktop for 
> 99% of the people. I am leaving out the 1% of people that want to have 
> the latest and greatest in everything, that are developers, or have 
> religious technology preference. If Linux would have 100 million users 
> right now, it wouldn't cover the potential 1% of the whole market if 
> you look at a desktop-using population.
>
>
>> Again, if your goal is to be 100% compatible with RH, then RH 
>> dictates the package version.  And just in case some people are not 
>> very clear on RH's goals for the foreseeable future:
>>
>> "It’s worth pointing out what’s missing in the list above: we have no
>> plans to create a traditional desktop product for the consumer market
>> in the foreseeable future."
>>
>> http://press.redhat.com/2008/04/16/whats-going-on-with-red-hat-desktop-systems-an-update/ 
>>
>>
>> This does not mean that other/extra repositories can't and don't 
>> exist, but it should always be made crystal clear (and it has been a 
>> few days ago), that the base is never compromised.
>
> You read of course what you want to read. And Red Hat is right, they 
> do not target the _consumer_ market. Which is fair. There is little 
> money to be made in the consumer market (not if you don't have a lot 
> of money/effort going to support etc...)
>
> But they do target the Enterprise desktop market and therefor they do 
> have a desktop product that works fine for what it is. And most people 
> don't need more than that. (I certainly don't)
>
> So don't make the mistake that so many others have made, which is that 
> Red Hat is not interested in the Desktop. They are very much 
> interested, that is partly why they bought Qumranet, and why they 
> spend so much money on Desktop related development in Fedora.
>
> Red Hat sees the desktop as the next step in revenue, but not in the 
> consumer market. They see it in the enterprise market. That's crystal 
> clear for me.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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Just for the record:
I use CentOS due to the pedigree of the source RPMs, the fact that it 
will be supported for many years with patches AND that it works fine as 
a desktop / work station and even laptop OS. I run five servers, two 
laptops and two workstations all with CentOS (use plus for the non 
servers). I play videos, and music as well as perform all my business 
functions reliably month after month. Keep up the great work.
I use all the CentOS repos, rpmforge and EPEL plus one or two others for 
very specific needs. If the additional repos break CentOS I back out and 
look elsewhere. Sure it takes some time and tender loving care to get it 
all working but the important thing is IT DOES! - RELIABLY month after 
month.

I once upon a time I used others and got so tired of having to do 
rebuilds of my machine every year or so to stay supported. Life is too 
short - I like to use hardware for four+ years and want the OS to match.
Thanks team - this user sure appreciates your efforts and I am trying to 
come up to speed so I can be of more help to the project.
Do not let those that rant and rave and get nasty put you off. We 
recognize the time and effort it takes to make good stuff happen.

Appreciated
- Rob
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