[ Thanks to Anthony
Awtrey for this link. ]
“Debian may have started out as a typical Linux distribution,
but it is more than that now. Other distributions, especially
commercial distributions like Red Hat and SUSE, still tend to treat
their Linux distribution like more traditional software products.
Raw materials, in the form of software from Free / Open Source
projects, goes into a black box where it is packaged and prepared
by the vendor and comes out as if under cellophane. The companies
may provide the source code to their packages, but they lock up
their build and distribution processes tight. They trade the
complexity of the build, quality assurance and distribution
processes in exchange for money. The upside for their customers;
simpler access to Linux. The downside for their customers;
dependency on the distribution provider for new technology, quality
control and ongoing support…”