[NTLUG:Discuss] Would you pay $3,000.00 for Linux (HP thinks so)

[cbbrowne@hex.net]

Steve Baker wrote...
> cbbrowne at hex.net wrote:
>  
> > > Hard to believe but I guess its true.....
> > >
> > > http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/08/23/new.linux.os.idg/
> > 
> > Ah, well if you've bought an HP IA-64 box, you've already spent $80K, so
> > that spending $3K for a "qualified" operating system install is hardly
> > anything at all.
> > 
> > Remember, this isn't reflecting a situation where they're selling a $600 PC,
> > but rather a case where they're selling $100K worth of hardware that likely
> > goes into a project with overall costing of $1M.  $3K for licensing of some
> > security tools isn't something people will freak out
> > over...
> 
> Aren't they releasing their modifications as source code though?  If so,
> then you can get this good stuff for $0.00.  If not, shouldn't someone
> point RMS at them and watch the fur fly?
> 
> It certainly *sounds* like they are selling modifications to the kernel,
> and a bunch of the networking tools - which are presumably GPL/LGPL.

It sounds like they are selling a combination of:

a) Kernel mods, to which the GPL would apply, and
b) Security tools, to which GPL would _not_ apply.

Note that they don't have to give the source code out to anyone that doesn't 
buy the $3K CD; RMS won't make "fur fly" over them only giving sources to the 
people that they give the binaries to...

> But you are right - for an expensive box like theirs, $3k isn't a lot of
> money for peace of mind...although if it is all closed source, it's a bit
> of a lottery and you may well find that they opened up as many loopholes
> as they closed.  If anyone *does* find a hole and starts infecting these
> systems then you'll have to wait for HP's corporate machine to notice
> the problem, admit to it, find it, fix it and distribute the patch.
> 
> Instead, I'd like to download the fix from the web the very next day as
> is generally the case with Linux security problems.

Changes involving kernel patches mandate taking the system down to install the 
change; this is something that _definitely_ doesn't happen every day for 
everyone, even if the patch is so immediately available.