And the problem with no retail boxed set is???

And the problem with no retail boxed set is???

What is the problem? While some people like to be able to buy a boxed set at a retail store... that is only a small percentage compared to those who prefer to download the ISO images and burn their own... or get a copy from a friend... or get a copy from a book... etc. They did mention that it is more apt to show up in magazines as a result.

Red Hat is still committed to releasing the ISO images so the availability of the software really isn't changing much. If your local retailers are anything like my local retailers... it always took them a month or so before the latest release hit the shelf... and by that time I had downloaded it myself, distributed it at work and at the LUG meeting. Then when I saw it on the shelf, I picked up a copy just to help support the company... but in a retail environment, there are so many people who get a cut. I'm confident that Red Hat will offer media and printed manuals on a direct sales only basis if a significant number of people want it.

I wonder what the numbers are? How many unofficial copies of Red Hat Linux versus the official copies for the past several releases? I would think that a guess of 1,000 to 1 would be a little on the low end.

I don't blame Red Hat for abandoning a distribution channel that is behind the times. Third parties will certainly continue to sell cheap install media. Red Hat has always offered their manuals freely in a number of formats suitable for printing so documentation isn't really an issue either. I wonder if they would consider a large, single hard-back book containing all of their manuals from the Red Hat Press? In any event, I don't see the lack of a boxed set slowing down their adoption rate one bit.

A bigger factor in businesses switching from the community product to the enterprise product is the support life cycle... that has nothing to do with the boxed set.

I'm amazed that people aren't happily raving that Red Hat has opened up their distro and making it more Debian like. Unless they somehow totally screw it up that means more software, easier access for third party developers... and community based decisions... as long as they remain within the project objectives. It also means faster development (once the community is established) and more rapid deployment.

Did their stock go up? I didn't notice. If it didn't, it should have. :) This isn't only a good move, it's how they should have done it from the beginning.