Re: media attention (was: RE: slashdot poll)
"Robert V. MacQuarrie" wrote:
>
> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, ivan wrote:
> >IMHO, the reason RH leads is because they are a fully fledged commercial
> >dist. which attracts media attention and advertising.
>
> This is completely true and unfortune for Debian right now.
<SNIP>
Is it, though? I always thought of Debian as catering to a mostly
different public. Debian is already a quality distribution, seemingly
based on having an awful lot of people who just pitch in and contribute,
very much in the Free Software tradition. I think, on its own terms,
Debian is hitting the nail right between the eyes already.
Once the critical mass of developer/maintainer support is reached,
Debian is as popular as it needs to be. People who want what it offers
*will* be able to find it, even if the majority still choose RedHat et
al. It's not like Debian is obscure or anything.
What does engaging in some market-share competititiveness with other
distributions gain it? IMHO, Debian is already the distribution of
choice for people who either want a more explicit commitment to the FS
ideal, dislike RH and the other commercial approaches (for whatever
reason), or like its reputation for technical solidity.
$0.02, just mine.
--
Joel Gluth <joel-at-n-space-dot-com-dot-au>
Software Engineer, N-Space Adelaide. http://www.n-space.com.au
"I am the future." -- Senator Dan Quayle
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