Linux and Main: Red Hat to Abandon Retail Channel

“Red Hat, the leading American distributor of Linux, is
abandoning the retail channel, the company is expected to announce
Monday.

“The company’s next major release, codenamed ‘Cambridge,’ will
not be provided in boxed, retail form, according to company
communications with employees and developers, which have been made
available to Linux and Main.

“Additionally, Red Hat plans extensive changes in its
development and distribution model. The changes will begin with
development lists being made public, and will be followed by return
of package maintanence to the developers themselves. Currently,
packages are ‘handed over’ to Red Hat developers, who then tune
them for inclusion in a particular version. Under the new system,
developers will maintain control of the packages…”

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