difference between retail and downloaded linux dis


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ok, this is the deal, i see that there is mandrake security distribution for sale, it cost $1990, and also they have it on public ftp servers for you to download, what's the deal here. what's the difference between the two. is it the documentation and support or is there something additional to the software?

:huh:

:rolleyes:

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I am not exactly sure with the "security distribution", but there the ftp downloads, which are often free (as in free beer) versions, paid boxed sets which include manuals and non-free software (such as MP3 players, which must legally pay a licensing royalty to the patent owner, and nVidia drivers which are given in binary-only under a different non-GPL license by the software owner), there are enterprise-certified versions that the distro company has paid money to get tested and to re-tweak to certify the software works without flaw with applications such as Oracle.

The "security" edition may be security certified to a high set of standards.

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Exactly. But, it is perfectly fine to distribute (or re-distribute) the Mandrake version you can download for free. (applies to other distros, as well)

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i now i am thinking of doing that on ebay buy it off someone else the copy and resell because i am on dail up if i wasnt i?l be download every distro untill my 160GB hhd run out of space

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i now i am thinking of doing that on ebay buy it off someone else the copy and resell because i am on dail up if i wasnt i?l be download every distro untill my 160GB hhd run out of space

If you are asking if it is legal to sell Linux on eBay, the answer is yes. Unless, you are trying to sell a version with non-GPL (propriatary) code in it. Examples of stuff you cannot copy and re-sell would be the nVidia video driver, the SuSE boxed set, or the RedHat Enterprise versions.

But there are people who make a (small) bit of money selling pre-burned Linux CDs to those on dial-up or whatever, and can't (or don't want to) burn their own.

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hey right now dvd verson are selling at $5/dvd i can buy 100 Grade A 4x dvd for $AU45 now that a profet of 500%+ and for a 13 year old thats alot umm for ebays records i am 22 years old

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hey right now dvd verson are selling at $5/dvd i can buy 100 Grade A 4x dvd for $AU45 now that a profet of 500%+ and for a 13 year old thats alot umm for ebays records i am 22 years old

most people are just selling the actual CD thats why the software goes for 5-10 bucks they aren't selling the distrobution itself.

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And sometimes free support becomes availible with purchased verisons I think.

The 5$ verisions are probably burned downloaded programs not retail verions

A good place to get distros are somtimes on PC magerizines cover discs (normally DVD)

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