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LinuxWorld: Where is Red Hat?
Raven Zachary, August 17, 2006 @ 9:38 am ETComputer Reseller News (CRN) Australia has posted an article today by Paula Rooney entitled “Red Hat a no-show at LinuxWorld.” I’m still at LinuxWorld (expect a recap posting tomorrow) and the absence of Red Hat on the expo floor is one of the main topics within the media room amongst journalists and analysts. Who knows what is going on behind the scenes between IDG World Expo, who operates LinuxWorld, and Red Hat. Drama? Arrogance? Fiscal responsibility? A mix of each? Who knows!
The lack of an official presence by Red Hat and their new addition, JBoss, at LinuxWorld, is confusing to attendees and now a story with the media. A $10,000 Red Hat mini-booth or a sponsored developer party at the conference could have avoided this situation. While Red Hat may say that this is the wrong venue to reach out to existing and prospective customers, not showing up is a mistake, in my opinion, and is generating the wrong kind of buzz for a company already under attack by alternative distributions. Red Hat, more than ever, needs an active presence, and needs to keep the positive buzz.
Update 1 (08/17/06): NewsForge, “Day two at LinuxWorld: Red Hat is MIA, but Golden Penguins A-OK”
Comments (1) Categories: Conferences, Linux, Software
[...] One of the main topics discussed in the press room was the absence of Red Hat, at least in an official capacity. I posted a blog entry about this last week, “Where is Red Hat?.” While Linux extends far beyond the historical success of Red Hat, the absence of the most well-known Linux vendor was disappointing to some and confusing to others. [...]