New Vendor Interview: MadTux

The MadTux is a new Linux vendor with a mad idea for pushing Linux out to the wild. At present with wide pipes on their end, download speeds are limited on the client side only by the potential capacity of the users' ISP. The fees are modest, but you no longer have to wait at the mailbox looking for the latest distribution if it matches one on the MadTux list. In the interview we try to understand what attracted them to Linux and why they see this business as providing an important service to the Linux community.

To LXer Readers:

The MadTux is a new (to us) vendor of Linux services that we wish to introduce you to, hence, we compiled a list of questions that the principles graciously answered. Our questions and their answers to those questions are compiled below in the exact form in which they were sent and responded. Read on.

Introduction:

The creation of a dedicated sight [site] with high band width to allow rapid downloads of several free, Linux distributions at a modest fee brings a myriad of questions to the fore that are attempting to be asked simultaneously. For the preservation of everyones sanity, however, I think it best to start slowly with just a few initial questions followed by several more as our first interview.

Initial Questions

[LXer]: In some respects, I think MadTux is an apt name in a business sense.

[LXer]: When and how did you first begin working with Linux?

[MadTux]; Scientify was established in 2000. We started out as Linux developers, creating enterprise software for the semiconductor industry on high-end Linux systems. While Linux is becoming easier to use, installing, using and maintaining it still require expertise that mainstream users do not have time to acquire. In 2004 we realized that Linux had started to penetrate the desktop market and use our Linux expertise to provide extremely low-cost support to users. We created http://www.elucis.com to offer Linux CDs bundled with low-cost email support.

[LXer]: What attracted you to Linux so strongly then and now?

[MadTux]; The enterprise applications we were developing had to process huge quantities of data (on the order of terabytes). The stability, performance and SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) capabilities of Linux initially attracted us. Today we believe that the stability and security of Linux, as well as the evolution of very usable desktops such as KDE and Gnome will make Linux an ideal platform for the next 20 years.

[LXer]: How did this association grow to the point where you thought it worthy of the financial risk you are taking to offer this service?

[MadTux]; We believe that the proliferation of broadband connectivity will make online distribution the primary vehicle for delivering Linux and Linux updates to the desktop. We observed that free download sites were constantly overloaded to the point where it often took days to download a distribution even with a broadband connection. In 2005 we were introduced to WCIX (www.wcix.net) a leading provider of high-bandwidth business connectivity with headquarters in Silicon Valley and Ethernet broadband access across the U.S. We partnered with them to create MadTux. We fund both MadTux and eLucis personally with no outside investment.

[LXer]: What would you like to see in the short term?

[MadTux]; We would like MadTux to become one of the premier sites for downloading and receiving Linux security updates. Any Linux distribution developer is welcome to host their ISO images on our website and we offer attractive revenue-sharing arrangements that benefit the Linux development community.

[LXer]: What about the longer term? Are you dependent upon the rapid growth of broadband user connections to approach a self supporting site?

[MadTux]; Broadband user connections will soon be ubiquitous, and online delivery of Linux and applications on Linux will become commonplace. In the longer term, we plan to offer services related to online delivery of Linux updates and services.

Summary

Well I am not going to say much more myself, I rather their words introduce themselves to our readers. But, just maybe you will be hearing more later.