On Mon, 2002-01-14 at 18:06, David Bakody wrote:
> Is there a roadmap anywhere on Gentoo and it's future plans?
>
> I don't really know how to say this any other way, so I guess I'll be
> blunt: Gentoo strikes me as being a distribution that is on its way to
> becoming one of the best out there. This also means it's probably
> going to be going places on all kinds of different levels beyond just
> purely technical ones. It seems to resolve LOTS of the issues that
> plague other distros, yet is powerful to satisfy slacker and debian
> types, but is easy enough for Red Hat / Mandrake folks. It's hard to
> believe that such a distribution would not, at some point, take off
> like wildfire (assuming it hasn't already).
>
> Does anyone know if Mr. Robbins and/or any of the other contributors
> have financial ambitions with this distribution ala Red Hat? I have
> zero problems with that, but I am kind of wondering just how far
> *love* can propel a distribution before someone, somewhere, starts
> puting together a business model, a plan, a stock offering, and begins
> throwing around terms like "paradigm shift"...
Our primary goal is to develop a great distribution and create a fun and
innovative development community. We may start selling CDRs soon as a
convenience, but I don't really see a need to sell a boxed product until
we get to or near the FreeBSD level of popularity. At that point,
pushing to get Gentoo Linux at CompUSA stores, etc. could be helpful to
a lot of people.
I don't want to follow in Redhat/Mandrake's footsteps. I *do* want to
establish Gentoo Linux as the premiere Linux distribution for
developers, professionals, ISPs, datacenters, etc. But I'd rather use
grassroots marketing and volunteer development rather than trying to get
VC and doing an IPO. We all saw what happened at the end of the .com
boom. Whent the bubble bursts, it isn't pretty. I don't need that kind
of stress.
I take great reassurance in the fact that Gentoo Linux needs no external
financing. We're not dependent on any kind of funding at all, and I
like it that way. No economic downturn, terrorist attacks or lack of
venture capital can stop us from creating a great distribution. And no
quarterly reports to waste time on.
Speaking of terrorists, I've been thinking that in a way, we are a kind
of "anti-terrorist" organization -- a decentralized, international group
of people who are working very hard to bring about change by *creating*
rather than blowing things up. This may sound a bit sappy, but I think
that this collaborative creation is really the heart of what Gentoo
Linux is about and what makes it enjoyable for so many of us. We're all
trying to create something excellent, not just something profitable.
The idealism of our goal is what makes Gentoo Linux development so
enjoyable for so many. I want Gentoo Linux development to remain a
hobby and never become just a job because hobbies are where our passions
lie and jobs are just obligations. Much passion produces a great
distro, and many jobs produce, well, Redhat.
I'm not against making money from Gentoo Linux-*related* businesses.
But I don't want to set up a traditional "distro" company like Redhat,
Mandrake or SuSE have done.
So, to answer your question:
> but I am kind of wondering just how far
> *love* can propel a distribution before someone, somewhere, starts
> puting together a business model, a plan, a stock offering, and begins
> throwing around terms like "paradigm shift"...
For 2 years, Gentoo Linux has been an obscure distro. It has survived
those times. Now that we're becoming more popular, more developers are
starting to contribute. So, the hard times are really behind us and I
see no reason why all of the sudden we'd *need* to do an IPO. Certainly
not if developing a great distro is our only goal.
Disclaimer: I am not a communist, I just don't like traditional
businesses
Best Regards,
--
Daniel Robbins <drobbins@gentoo.org>
Chief Architect/President
http://www.gentoo.org
Gentoo Technologies, Inc.