On 6/2/11 7:03 PM, Rob Kampen wrote: > Ian Murray wrote: >> >>> This week's FLOSS Weekly interview is about ClearOS (audio/video at >>> http://twit.tv/floss168). Apparently they have taken the CentOS developer's >>> frequently given advice to go away and do it yourself and will have a >>> 'ClearOS core' release that is their own rebuild from Red Hat sources that >>> will be the base for the ClearOS enterprise distribution instead of relying >>> on CentOS as they have before. >> >> Thanks for the link. It makes interesting listening because there are claims >> that they tried to engage with the CentOS devs to offer support and >> resourcing, but that relationship was not forthcoming... so they intend to >> build (as I see it) a direct competitor distribution (i.e. "binary >> compatible"). Also interestingly, apparently they have recruited help from the >> SME/Contribs people, so I don't know if that means SME will die because it had >> precious little resources to start with (and now those resources work for the >> competition) or SME will still carry on and be rebased on Clear Core. Also >> stated in the audio is that this was all a direct response to the >> uncertainties around CentOS. >> >> So, it is interesting to see how this is all going to pan out. > My look at the website shows only i386 versions - this is a long way away from a > replacement or alternative to CentOS. None of the 6.x based stuff is visible yet. ClearOS was more of a "modern" SME server replacement (where the services a home/small business needs come up working and are managed with a simple web interface), but all their planned updates were on hold waiting for a 6.x base distro. They will call this part ClearOS core, but I guess we'll have to wait to see how well they do at strict upstream compatibility on that part. > Worth watching as they do have some very positive indications of supporting and > assisting the little guys (small business and home users) - they also have their > foundation registered in New Zealand rather than the USA as the Kiwis have a > more enlightened view on software patents and protections - particularly in > regards to FOSS. (My totally unbiased view of course as a Kiwi ;-) ). It will be at least interesting to see how it works out having something resembling a commercially-oriented company behind it. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com