[TriLUG] Re: gentle reminder

Roberto J Dohnert webwarrior at mac.com
Wed Aug 28 15:27:38 EDT 2002


Sorry about the language Chris.  Just it is enough to upset anybody,
especially when you get so many conflicts from one company.  At one point
and I think you guys will remember this they told me that it was fine for me
to do that because they couldnt offer support on the complimentary CDs that
they offer,  Which is fine I can understand that.  But when you tell me that
if I spend 59.00 on a standard edition of RH 7.3 just so I can get that
support, then refuse my customers service it makes me look like a scumbag
especially when I worked so hard to push the product.  I had several would
be customers turn me away because I dont preload MS Windows which means I
have to prove the viability of Linux on the desktop.  Unlike Compaq and Dell
which offer a Windows alternative,  But Im just starting out, I cant afford
748.00 for support options and I sure cant afford the licensing fees for MS
Windows.  The threat was worded like this " If you continue to preload Red
Hat Linux without being a registered OEM we will sue you and it doesnt
matter if you buy a retail version or not we will not offer any support for
anybody who buys a computer preloaded with Red Hat Linux from any reseller
who is not an OEM. wether it is a supported Retail version or not." But my
concern is that these people put the faith in me and my systems on my word
alone.  If they need support and Im not available who do they turn to ? The
company that produces that distro of Linux, but when you call that company
and they imply I did something wrong then they lose faith in me hence they
go someplace else to buy the computer and it makes them even less interested
in Linux.  So it goes against Red Hat because they are supposed to be
promoting linux as a alternative when you do disregard the customer they
lose interest.  Im not necessarily upset because of their OEM policy but
they could have handled it differently.  Give my customer the support they
needed, then contact me personally and let me know of your policy.  I would
have gladly paid for the service call and took other measures for service.
But to refuse service and imply to my customer that I broke the law... to me
that was the straw that broke the camels back, its embarrassing.  But Suse
is a very good company to work with.   I had used one of the disks that they
sent me to install on my Compaq and I had problems with my FW drive.  I
called them gave them the serial number on the OEM case they helped me fix
it and it worked. no muss no fuss everything was friendly and the time I did
spend on hold I was jamming to the tunes they put on :) to me Red Hat is
starting to show the same disregard that Microsoft shows its customers.    I
do plan to open a retail store in the future, by the way if you know of a
place I can rent on a shoestring budget dont hesitate to let me know,  and I
wont have Red Hat products at all they lost more than a customer during this
little fiasco they also lost a potential partner and I will do even more, If
someone buys my system and decides to put Red Hat on it and if they have
problems I will help em fix it.  Red Hat needs to relearn its role because
they say " We are the best " but they havent showed me anything to suggest
they are the best.  The only thing I have gotten from them is insults,
misinformation, threats and contempt.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thunder Bear" <thunderbear at yonderway.com>
To: <webwarrior at mac.com>
Cc: <steering at trilug.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 11:58 AM
Subject: gentle reminder


> <vice chair hat on>
> Roberto,
>
> While I can sympathize with a lot of what you must be feeling, and I
> would never ask you to hold back on a critique like this, I would like
> to ask (not demand) that you watch your language on the mailing list.
> We do invite young students to participate in our mailing lists and
> need to make sure we watch our language so their access to our group
> doesn't get pulled.  Bleeping vowels out of a cuss word is less than
> what I am asking.
>
> Thanks, and please keep us apprised of the situation.
>
> BTW - I'd like to hear more about the legal threat Red Hat gave you WRT
> preloading their distro on machines.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but
> doesn't the GPL prevent them from doing any such thing?
>
> Your post illustrates the beauty of the Linux community in that if one
> distro is screwing you, there are many other fine distros to turn to.
>
> Good luck,
> Chris
>
>




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