Just was thinking, I assume more peole know about RedHat than they do about Fedora, why would RedHat want to give up the RedHat name?

Just wanted to get a feel for who knew about Fedora before they merged with the new Micro$oft of Linux.

Well they not giving up the RH name, but will be using it to associate it with the business section of their company, the Enterprise market.

Fedora will be associated with the consumer market. It is more of a marketing move, I guess.

Fedora has been out since July '03 with the first beta using that name. I assume it would have been RH 10. The next latest release should be coming sometime this month hopefully.

incidentally, a Fedora is a type of hat...when you look at a Red Hat box, the actual "Red Hat" is in the shape of a Fedora.

"Fedora before they merged with the new Micro$oft of Linux."

Oxymoron isn't it?

It would be good to have this statement unpacked a bit; specifically, what you do mean by 'the M$ of Linux'. What makes a company the M$ of Linux or for that matter the M$ of anything?

Could be interesting....

bl

I will get pounced on here, but I'm not so sure that what Red Hat has done is
a bad thing. This is just an indication of where LINUX is going....professional.
Isn't that what we always wanted? But it's also Open Source and FREE for those
who use it at home. It will produce enterprise-class Linux products for professional
use, well tested and extremely stable that will get reviewed, get GOOD reviews, and
give companies that run ENTERPRISE outfits a really strong reason to go to
Linux and chuck Microsoft.

To COMPARE what Red Hat is doing with what Microsoft IS or HAS DONE is not
fare. Do you think that Microsoft would provide a cutting edge, free operating system
for people to use and have fun with? Would Microsoft SPONSER that? Is Fedora
a big risk for US to use? That is yet to be seen, but from what I have seen so far (test
one was a little rough....) by the time test three was out...things are pretty good indeed.

Hey, if updating with the latest "test" stuff once installed is too risky, it can be used as is
out of the "box." If you like to have fun, you can do WHAT YOU WANT with it. And it's
still FREE. ALL of the established ENTERPRISE Linux companies will be doing \
something like this. Novell just aquired SuSE today! Is that bad? NO...it's just showing
the extreme worth and excitement about Linux. Isn't that what we want?

There will ALWAYS be free, fun distro's to play with and even work with for us junkies
to have fun with.

I just see Red Hat as the First to do this and of course, that's logical as they are one
of the oldest.

They are GIVING us Fedora....why the complaints?

OK...now pounce

Very well said Bobmiester. I've had this same conversation a few times in the past few days and I really think that RH is doing a good thing. I think this makes linux look more like a "real OS" too. Who knows maybe all this stuff will give linux it's greatest need for the desktop...more hardware support.

This summerizes it well IMHO...

Red Hat's exit from the desktop is disheartening to some Linux partisans but makes perfect sense for the company. In the end, Red Hat has to put its shareholders' interests above the idealistic dream of displacing Windows on the desktops of non-corporate users. This speaks well of Red Hat's management; it's focusing on the bottom line and allocating scarce resources to areas that will bring the highest possible return for the company.

No doubt the Linux purists will be on the march, decrying Red Hat's decision as either "blasphemy" or a "betrayal" of the open source movement. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Linux world needs a strong Red Hat and should support Red Hat's moves toward increasing profitability and financial strength. There are plenty of other distros that can cover the desktop for home users, there really isn't much of a need for Red Hat to be in that space.

The bottom line here is that we'll all be better off if Red Hat succeeds over the long haul. And it, like any other business, must do whatever it takes to achieve and grow. Hats off to Red Hat's management, they're getting it done.

RH is not exiting the Desktop. If anything one would argue they are exiting the sell-linux-to-home-users market, which honestly doesn't really exist. Even MS isn';t really in that market for Windows. MOST people get their OS with their PC. Off teh shelf sales for operating systems is actually quite small. More so than most realize.

Look at their enterprise line, and you'll see desktop stuff all over it.

Hear, here.

Well said. This will make Linux stronger in many ways. Fedora will rev quickly, leading to faster development. The distribution of effort BACK to the community (i.e. the people writing code) as opposed to RH duplicating everything will free up some of their developers to advance and innovate. And the RHEL line will be more stable resulting from the massive testing and advancing Fedora will produce.

I agree that a strong Red Hat would benefit linux...but I have to wonder about THIS article:

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5101690.html

Especially when deciding to leave the home market....to me, that's a cheap shot and a low-blow to other linux companies who DO have some focus on the desktop market. To me this read as a parting blow of FUD just to muddy the waters because someone's sore THEY didn't make money on the desktop.

I don't want to start a flamewar on whether linux is ready for the desktop..for some, it may not be, for me, I feel that it more than IS....but statements like in the article above, taken in the context of RH's decision really makes me think they bite the big one...know what I mean?

I think that a large majority of people (ie "the desktop user") are not ready for Linux at this point. I use it because I wanted a challenge... "the masses" just want stuff to work out of the box... Linux has never worked out of the box for me on any of my systems thus far... I've had to work at it to get it right... I have no qualms about Red Hat choosing not to sell boxed sets of Red Hat Linux and concentrating on Enterprise... Now to get the Linux formerly known as Red Hat Linux (now known as Fedora) you have to download it like most other distros out there excluding SuSe and Mandrake which sell box sets at major retail chains... Everyone seems to be treating Red Hat's decision as a slap in the face... well, ok... but the truth is is that they just changed the name and quit selling boxed sets at compusa or borders... you can still get it if you want it... my 2 cents

But the more I think about it the more I think it is a good idea. Linux shines on servers. And the current linux desktop will work pretty good for corparate users that don't need all the bells and whistles. Fedora will advance over the next couple of years and red hat will take a bunch of the server market share from microsoft. 3 or 4 years the desktop will advance and red hat may decide to take on microsoft then. When it is more mature.

Just a thought

a fedora IS a hat...redhat's logo has always been a man wearing a red fedora, hence the spinoff name fedora for their GPL version..

fe·do·ra ( P ) Pronunciation Key (f-dôr, -dr)
n.

A soft felt hat with a fairly low crown creased lengthwise and a brim that can be turned up or down.
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