[Novalug] RedHat Desktop Subscription Model

Stuart D. Gathman stuart@gathman.org
Fri Mar 14 00:48:10 EDT 2008


On Thu, 13 Mar 2008, Ken Kauffman wrote:

> Or -- is the RedHat model only geared for businesses and not personal
> adopters?  Would CentOS be the better option as a result?  And if so, can I
> install packages intended for RedHat the same on CentOS?  (Think Oracle)

Definitely start with CentOS to (unofficially) evaluate RHEL.  For
personal self supported use, stick with CentOS.  The RedHat model
is geared for business.

> The reason I raise this is that I do not want to tangle with the bleeding
> edge of Fedora.  My dilemma with the whole wireless failures of Fedora is
> the reason I'm looking for a pay for support model for personal use.

EL5 has even fewer working wireless interface options than F8.  But if 
your wireless driver works (using ndiswrapper if necessary) on C5/EL5, 
then I recommend using wicd instead of NetworkManager.  NetworkManager is 
much better in F8, but is still in rapid flux.

> I realize there are other solid offerings out there in the "free" space, but
> what is in the paid support space that doesn't take a chunk out of my wallet
> each year?

The only distro with official paid support for personal use that I'm aware of
is SuSe.  I too miss the good old days with $40 RedHat CDs including 
installation support.  But the Fedora IRC chat has lots of very responsive
people, and Fedora bugzilla items get fixed amazingly fast also.  RedHat
doesn't offer direct support for Fedora, but they provide some very effective
infrastructure that is enabling excellent community support.  For instance,
I reported a driver issue with an Epson printer, and not only did someone
ask for additional info within a day or so, but it was fixed with updates
available in a month.

The key to getting good community support is to realize that instead of
paying dollars, you are paying with time.  Don't expect to be treated
like a customer.  Do expect to learn how to report an issue effectively
and professionally, and provide the information needed for other volunteers to
fix it.  Ask questions on IRC to get to that point.  If you do your job
right, the programmer volunteers will appreciate your fine quality assurance
work.

-- 
 	      Stuart D. Gathman <stuart@bmsi.com>
Business Management Systems Inc.  Phone: 703 591-0911 Fax: 703 591-6154
"Confutatis maledictis, flamis acribus addictis" - background song for
a Microsoft sponsored "Where do you want to go from here?" commercial.



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