“Unfortunately, with various mix-ups involving Red Hat and the
online share dealer E*Trade, many of the developers who wanted to
buy shares never got them. Now there seems to be another chance. VA
Linux systems is going to market, and is making another effort to
reward the developers. The Linux market is still considered very
hot, so prospects are good.”
“This time round, considerable efforts are being made to ensure
the shares are allocated as intended. The list of qualified
developers is being carefully checked. The selected people are
being sent kits that explain exactly what steps have to be followed
to be sure of getting to own shares….”
“The trouble is that Linux has become so popular that huge
valuations are being attached to companies that offer any kind of
service connected with the system. While the developers
created Linux for love, it would be churlish to deny them benefit
from the commercial bonanza that now seems inevitable. But where
that leaves the values of the open source movement is hard to
say.”