So long guys! You'll be missed but not forgotten ...

Mandriva has lost a lot of great people over the years, but this is not the end of Mandriva OR the end of the world. Anybody remember when they dismissed Deno (Denis Havlik)? Lots of us found that pretty painful. And then Adam came on board and picked up where Deno left off, and did a great job as well. One of Mandriva's biggest problems is also one of its biggest success stories. Mandriva has a great ... Great ... REALLY GREAT user community. The way Mandriva interfaces with their users is really unique in the Linux world. And this causes a big problem because it works so well that we users forget that Mandriva is really just another big corporation. We expect that they are a part of the same community we are with the same values and expectations. But on the other side of the curtain hidden from our view lies another world. The corporate world of professional strategists, consultants, and miscellaneous bean counters who are looking at very different factors than we are. And that brings some real disconnects at times and this is one of them. At various points in the past my life has intersected with both Adam and Oden in dealing with various issues Linux. All of those were good and memorable experiences and even though I haven't really been all that active in the Mandriva community for years, I will miss them both. But life changes. There were changes when Mandrake teamed with Connectiva (another great Linux name) and became Mandriva. Now Mandriva has teamed up with Turbo and we now have the birth of Manbo Labs. All of this brings new changes. I have no idea whether or not this is behind the departure of Adam or Oden, but my point is that there is a lot that goes on at the corporate level that we neither see nor comprehend. And although the bigwigs make their share of mistakes, we need to be cautious in judging them, since they are dealing with issues that are really out there. So I wish Adam and Oden the very best, I know they will both not only be successful, but also move up to new heights through this transition. But I also wish Mandriva the best. I hopped on this train with the Linux Mandrake 6.0 Power Pack and it has been a great ride! Sure there have been some bumps in the road, but we've all come a long way and I believe with all my soul that Mandriva's best days are still ahead. So, so long guys and thanks ever so much for all of your hard work on behalf of the amazing Mandriva community! - George Mitchell