“I wish the user community would flush this software product
mentality out of their system. Software on the shelf “rots” and
loses value with each new device, change in usage patterns and
every security hack. It needs to be maintained and enhanced to have
any value at all. It would be far more honest marketing if the
industry simply called it a subscription fee, not a product price.
(Note: the EULA clearly shows you’re only buying the right to run
it, not the software itself, it is not a “product” like a bar of
soap or a car. It’s a stream of updates you subscribe to — unless
you’re buying it for historical purposes, which I think some users
seem to do! :-)”
“Warning to Linux community: If people keep talking about
these packaged distributions as “Linux”, then the Linux market will
become fragmented like the UNIX market did. We must
distinguish the common Linux platforms from the packaging and
integration making each distro unique.”
“Suggestion: All Linux vendors should get together and package
“pure Linux” as one CD that is included in all of their distros.
The add-ons and customizations making up their proprietary package
should come on a separate CD that augments the first. The name
“Linux” should be reserved for the “common” part shared between all
vendors.”