Trends - how to save Fedora ?

[JB]

Thomas Cameron <thomas.cameron <at> camerontech.com> writes:

> 
> 
> On 11/13/2011 11:16 AM, JB wrote:
> > ????? <supergiantpotato <at> yahoo.co.jp> writes:
> > 
> >> ... 
> >> The IT market is massively overweight, 
> >> overvalued and engages in enormously wasteful development practices 
> >> right now. Open source development for the most common of software 
> >> system elements + a revenue stream based on hardware sales and computing 
> >> services provision (a very broad category worth huge money on its own) = 
> >> a better model for the customer. IBM knows this. Intel isn't too happy 
> >> about this. RedHat has placed itself at the most critical part of the 
> >> process as the servicer. Microsoft is done creating success and is 
> >> scrambling to now not create failure -- which is a really bad operating 
> >> mode for a business (IBM was there once itself). That's just good 
> >> business on RedHat's part and indicates a mature market understanding on 
> >> the part of IBM.
> > 
> > IBM created RH 
> 
> .....and, with that, you get dropped into the tinfoil-hat wearing
> filter. <plonk>
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hat#History
> 

That's not what I meant:
...
"In 1993 Bob Young incorporated the ACC Corporation, a catalog business that
sold Linux and UNIX software accessories. In 1994 Marc Ewing created his own
Linux distribution, which he named Red Hat Linux[7]"
...

This *is* what I meant:
...
"On December 14, 1998, Red Hat made its first divestment, in which parts of the
company are sold to another company, when Intel and Netscape acquired an
undisclosed minority stake. The next year, on March 9, 1999, Compaq, IBM, Dell
and Novell each acquired undisclosed minority stakes in Red Hat."
...
"Red Hat went public on August 11, 1999, achieving the eighth-biggest
 first-day gain in the history of Wall Street."
...

Can you see IBM in there ?
Who was the first major company who recognized Linux potential as understood 
by it and put its weight behind it ? And why ? Out of love ?
Who became (after its reorganization) the major player in computer services ?

<plonk>

Did you really say that ?

> ...

Thomas, get your act together :-)

JB