Mandriva

[dedanna1029]

I used to use Nabble as well. Was much better than filling up the inbox.

[viking60]

I don't know where the cooker archives have gone to

I use this:

http://mandriva.598463.n5.nabble.com/Ma ... 34407.html

Jim

Great find Jim thanks

Based on this I think a merge between Mageia Mandriva and Rosa makes sense. On their own they all stand to die.
Together they can make a perfect distro.
In addition the Mandriva trademark must be connected to a company that has as main task to sell Mandriva solutions and bring dineros into the system. Yes being commercial
This requires another set of people, the Mageia people have no clue in this aspect and history has shown that Mandriva SA is pretty much in the same boat.
In the past they had a perfect product they could not sell.
Now they have a less perfect product that is even harder to sell. Since selling support is a confidence thing they need this super merger to regain confidence - and then they need to do a super job...

[dedanna1029]

Based on this I think a merge between Mageia Mandriva and Rosa makes sense. On their own they all stand to die.
Together they can make a perfect distro.

Yes, and what makes no sense to me, is that I thought Mageia was born out of a desire to not do things as Mandriva did, and go down the toilet from lack of public image, and lack of desire to deal with the public. It does not appear so much now. If they got together, and did some hard selling, they could make it. It's all too unfortunate that neither has what it takes in this regard, or maybe the proper wording is more that neither is using what they do have in this regard.

In addition the Mandriva trademark must be connected to a company that has as main task to sell Mandriva solutions and bring dineros into the system. Yes being commercial

What I can see, is Mageia being a sub-company under the Mandriva banner. I forget what that's called, but when a company advertises as "A division of X bigger company", because the bigger company owns them, approves the product, and supports the company in their endeavours, where quality control is very strong.

This requires another set of people, the Mageia people have no clue in this aspect and history has shown that Mandriva SA is pretty much in the same boat.

Aye...

In the past they had a perfect product they could not sell.

And, the support of the public who helped make the distro what it was... the public who was always willing to contribute all they could to make the distro into the perfect distro. Imagine if that public were allowed to contribute to the distro's advertising, too, and I mean directly contribute. Neither Mandriva nor Mageia have given any kind of permission for the one thing they need the most to happen - the public testimonials of the distro itself, and the support in advertising.

Now they have a less perfect product that is even harder to sell. Since selling support is a confidence thing they need this super merger to regain confidence - and then they need to do a super job...

Well, I think the "doing the super job" would come with more stability of the company on the whole. Right now, I can not imagine that the employees (still to this day) are being paid anywhere near what they're worth to create the distro itself.

viking, even when we were still at Mandriva forum, you told me that you thought I had good horse-sense. I also pride myself in having a lot of business sense. It's something I knackered at for the majority of my working life, learning about and going to school for. I think you and I both have thoughts that could make Mandriva and Mageia both what they should be. The problem is in getting them to listen.

[rolf]

Thanks very much, James.

[viking60]

@dedanna I do not think those thoughts are new. At the present I do not think it matters if the Mandriva people are very good. The foundation is not solid enough to make a sustainable business out of it. The real tragedy is that it was not possible to make a profit with all the Mageia people on board either. That would be a new wrapping of the same old sh.... but adding ROSA to the equation could bring some dynamics into the picture.
The community would come back. Maybe an EDU and Server division could present a package that schools and businesses would want. And maybe a shop for unfree software integrated in MCC. I am sure that a group like that could make a good enough product.
Once that has happened it is important to make all kings and gurus in the programming and packaging world shut up (hardly possible but a goal) and let the sales force (that might be trained by the tech gurus in matters of function - not sales.) take over.

I am sure it has all been thought "before" and the human factor made it fail every time. Once a person gets PO they pull the fork card. That is understandable in many cases but not good business.
The French are thickheaded and stubborn on both sides of the fence and the Russians do not bother to even speak to them - in anything but Russian (Why cannot everybody be nice and forthcoming - like me ).
So what it takes is:

1 Russians to become forthcoming and polite
2 For the french to cooperate.
3 A well structured sales force with a business plan
4 And for hell to freeze over

So far it looks like 4 might be the most realistic one here.....But Mandriva is the comeback distro. And that merger would be the only signal of strength the market would believe, unless they find a load of money somewhere.

[dedanna1029]

Yep, oh, I well knew it was nothing new, but felt that these things needed to be reiterated. I know all too well that they listen to no one. None of them does. They think they got the sh!t going on, well, so be it. Let them drown in their own juice then, and off we'll all go. At least then we'll know to go, and not stand around with our thumb up our butts wondering what's going to happen (therefore, what we should do) next.

It is more than high time for them both to sh!t or get off the pot. The way they leave not only themselves, but everyone else, in limbo, is not good. No way to do customer service.

I came to the conclusion second half of '08 that that's how it is with them, and I was well sick and tired of it, so moved on. Glad I did, too. Now I don't ever have to wonder if they'll be there tomorrow, or if their fanbois will be. I know I won't be, and that's what matters to me (yes, if they want to play selfish and inconsiderate to their customers, I can be the same way to them. I'm not their damn yo-yo, waiting for the magical "comeback" that will supposedly make them rich that won't ever happen).

[viking60]

Yes but in the bigger Linux picture, Mandriva is a distro that should survive regardless of if you use it or not.
One of the former big five going down will only make MS say "four to go"....

[dedanna1029]

Yes, I've realized that for a long time. You're preaching to the choir here with that one.

Now tell them that, and make them listen, because until they do, they don't have a prayer in hell.

[viking60]

Hmm maybe we are to hasty; the Russians have come up with a LTS Beta.
http://forum.mandriva.com/en/viewtopic. ... 5&t=137447
http://www.rosalab.com/blogs/beta-relea ... 2012-is-no

[dedanna1029]

Hmm maybe we are to hasty; the Russians have come up with a LTS Beta.
http://forum.mandriva.com/en/viewtopic. ... 5&t=137447

Sorry to say, I think you best read the rest of this one.

1) It is *seeming* for the most part, that it's the Russians exclusively (Rosa), independent of Mandriva who have released it.

2) There are other things going on in that thread which lead one to believe that Mandriva is still losing it. Comments are made in that thread which are for the most part negative, very little that's positive (if anything).

3) If you run a search on this page (your second link, search the page function in your browser), you will find that it will even expand the comments there to search, and out of the whole page, Mandriva is not mentioned even one time. It's not even so much as referred to.

Clearly, *something* is going on, but there's still things that are not sitting right and are confusing. I myself am thinking Rosa fork time.

According me this is end of Mandriva.

and

what really shocked me was the fact that Mandriva does not act at all on his 2012 release, the distro on new directions, etc ...

Nothing, nothing, nothing directed to the user community!

Sorry, one other thing that caught my eye:
recommended for Enterprise, SMB and SOHO
If you will notice as well, it is also highly backed by the MIB community (the Italians), in fact, rugyada of MIB wrote that first post.

Hell, even Germ's left as of yesterday due to not getting paid, and is no longer running Mandriva.

[viking60]

Depends on how you see it. Mandriva is "bought" by Rosa and therefore still exists. So they are in the same boat - not competitors.
There is no rule that sais that you have to be french and incommunicado to run the Mandriva distro.
They just need to cooperate a bit. As it is, the Russians have taken a liking to MiB - again I do belive it is the French "charm" at work in combination with Russian "sophistication" it might have been to much of a cultural shock.

[dedanna1029]

I don't know. There is so much going on and at the same time not going on there, that it's like a soap opera - totally stupid. I see Rosa fork all over in it. There is no Mandriva to it. Their name isn't even mentioned.