RE: Debian's public image

[Shaleh <shaleh@livenet.net>]

First, thank you for trying to get a Debian port "official".

Now for my opinions (=

Linux is Linux.  I get tired of seeing people say they will support Slackware,
or SuSE or whomever.  Make a decent linux product, give a tar.gz or a static
bin, and move on.  There should be no reason to specifically support any one
vendor.

As to why they think of SuSE or RedHat the answer is simple -- they are
marketed products.  The RH advertising even tries to blur the fact that Red Hat
is a brand of Linux and not Linux itself.  My point is not to bash anyone
company but to explain why.  Name branding and recognition is important for
commercial applications.  Hence "Red Hat == Linux" so I should buy Red Hat and
all will be well.

Debian seems to be a secret among the Linux users.  So many of them get roped
in with Slackware or Red Hat they never attempt to try another distribution. 
The cure is not simple.  Debian is a cooperative effort across the internet. 
For it to be truly recognized by the world at large would require that which
most of us don't want -- a business.

However watch the free software people.  The DFSG is touted as the example of
what free really is.  I see many people refer to this document.  So yes many
people may be missing us, but others are not (Netscape, Corel, Gwydion to name
a few).  Many Debian people are happy to have a superior dist. without dealing
with marketing and bureacracy, I among them.  No other group has the e-mail
support we do.  No other group has the irc assistance we offer.  I had to use a
RH 5.2 system today and it did not even support bzip2 (either the command or the
option to tar).  If your company does release their product, the slackware or
the RH version will probably work just fine on a Debian system.  A static bin
like netscape's is almost guaranteed to work.  Keep that in mind.  Of course,
we all want to see source, but .......