A Linux kerfuffle Down Under

Boy, those Australians sure take their operating systems seriously.

Melbourne-based Opes Prime Stockbroking announced in October that it was switching from Red Hat to Oracle for Linux support. The company was one of the first Australian customers to switch after Oracle said it would support Red Hat Linux.

But while Oracle executives were certainly pleased with the change, the news didn't sit so well with some Linux fans. According to ZDNet Australia, upset Linux enthusiasts phoned, e-mailed and wrote about the company online to complain about the change.

"People called us out of the blue to tell us we were idiots," said Opes executive director Anthony Blumberg."

Blog community response:

"Remember Linux is all about choice and freedom, so everyone has right to select any distro!"
--NixCraft

"If this story is true, and isn't the result of some misguided astroturfing, I hope it doesn't end up reflecting poorly on the greater ecosystem. The level of professionalism I have seen recently in the Open Source realm is second to none. It's a shame when a disingenuous few tarnish the hard earned reputation of most."
--Jeremy's blog

"Apparently, Opes had no problems with its Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation throughout the life of its support contract--it never had to call Red Hat once. In gratitude, Opes moved to Oracle. Seems a little silly to me, but idiotic? Even I wouldn't go that far. :-)"
--Open Sources