Submitted by “Gael Duval, the founder of the popular MandrivaLinux project, was fired from Mandriva last spring in an effort to cut costs. Almost immediately afterward, Duval began work on a new GNU/Linux distribution, Ulteo. As of this writing, Ulteo has not yet released its first beta edition, but it should be available soon. While we’re all waiting, I figured I’d ask Mr Duval some questions about Ulteo, Mandriva, and starting GNU/Linux projects in general.”
Reading the interview, and how Mandrake’s creator was done away with, is enough reason for me to boycot ever even trying Mandriva again. Boooo for Francois Bancilhon!
That is enough for boycotting Mandriva? Well, I do not like the move they made at Mandriva either, but I do not boycott them because of that. That is imho a bit childish. I rate them more by the product they create (and if it adheres to the principles of the OSS movement) and by their willingness to listen to their user-base. The first part is quite okay. Their products have a high quality and are freely available (okay, the server costs you money, but the rest that is OSS is free for download).
The second part is a bit more tricky. They ignored many users for a long time but I get the impression that this is changing a lot lately. E.g. AdamW is around here, answering questions of the community, then they asked the users for some feedback on how the next release should look like (We shouted for a new metatheme in order to replace Galaxy and we finally got one), they answered directly to all suggestions and criticism I had sent to them and they apparently did care about them. So I guess things are changing here, too.
Now on Gael Duval.
1. Yes, his firing was not the best PR move by F.B. BUT (!) neither me nor many other people know what really happened behind the scenes that led to Duval being fired. No one ever fires someone without a good reason from one day to the next. And let’s face it: Bancilhon has to run a company, not a tea-party where everyone is in happy Teletubby-land. In the business world you get fired at times or you fire people at times, even if you don’t want to. If Bancilhon would have fired someone else from Mandriva, I guess you would not cry that loud “foul”.
2. Duval has talked a lot about Ulteo but I haven’t seen any results yet although I keep an eye on Ulteo from the very first day. Yes, it is hard to create a project, but he postponed the first test-release of Ulteo too often now for my taste and I begin to feel that we won’t see anything sensational – if we will see anything.
Duvals project sounds interesting but also very illusionist imho. I doubt that it will have any impact on humanity, ecology and the computing world. Sorry, but I somehow begin to think that Duval is a bit of a dreamer. A dreamer with terriffic coding skills. But still a dreamer.
You would fit nicely with Mandriva Management , saying that their product are high quality as they are now.
* There not competitive
* They are obsolete
* they are poor even compared to Mandriva own mediocrity in the past.
About Gaël Duval :
He got played and had by people who said they where is friend and who did not do the job they said they would do , Jacques Le Marois the most responsible for Mandriva , bad management and bad posture and Frédéric Bastok , but whats worst is they brough in people who are more incompetent at management then they are : Henry Poole and is click , François Bancilhon , all the global sales team manager .
Now only from a business point of view since François Bancilhon as taken the top management positions he has :
Put the company in cessation des paiement wich is not bankrupty , but was called as a bankrupty and not answered to , wich drove the client away or at arms lenght ( company dont invest in bankrupt company.
He as cut everything but is salary wich should be 1$ , he as acquired action due to special deal he made , when in shoul dbe giving them back for his poor performance.
it was a 30 million company , now due to is action they are a 14 – 16 million one , when it ssuppose to be at minimum a 1 billion company.
The Club is not working at 1% of its potential and is loosing more Members then ganing new one.
The Professional solution are not known or discussed.
The General public solution are expansive and not really targeted and optimized for those users and the budget made from the division and the Mandriva Club division are ported back into the professionnal products at the detriment of the user product and Mandriva Club development.
Marketing at Mandriva is a joke.
The OEM sales are almos enexistant even do the got on Dell France ( Only not global just France ) hardware officially.
They are considered a niche market player when they are more global then all the Debian put togheter.
Mandriva was the leader , it kicked out SUSE to the curve who are now a Novel division , it even beat two years in a row Red hat in the US in recorded sales.
They completely Botched there IPO and are on an unregulated market.
They missed the PHP server era completely even do they almost helped create it entirely.
etc … etc … etc …
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=mandriva
The above still quote
Jacques Le Marois >Chairman of the Board
He was replaced by Francois Bancilhon
David Barth, Chief Technical Officer not Frederic Lepied.
Gael Duval > Communication
Why is it so important , its based on the reuters feed , anyone with half a second of research can see that they dont even care about the basic of there financials and image , I would not dare imagine how the rest is ruined.
Yes , you would fit nicely with this bunch of incompetent …
Now, please don’t get personal, there is no reason for “insulting” me.
Many of your points are valid and true. Some are not. You say that their prodcts are not high quality. If this were so, they would have lost all their business customers already to Novell or RedHat, which they haven’t, which is a fact. The opposite is true, they gained new customers (dunno why, but it is apparently true if I can trust the e-magazines on the net).
Obsolete is a very vague term. Obsolete… 12 months old software is obsolete? You must be kidding. Windows XP is way older and NOT considered obsolete by 90% of its users. Debian stable is not considered obsolete by sys-admins, same for RHEL3. Mdv 2007 is only a few days away and it is definitely not obsolete what they packed into it. If you claim that, then you surely didn’t do your homework. I run Mandriva cooker (and other distros) on my boxes, I know what I am talking about. And stability-wise, I had less problems with Mandriva than with distros like e.g. Fedora or Arch or even Nexenta/OpenSolaris.
I am not a fan of F.B. Not at all. But… why did he get the job? Because Gael had ruined Mandriva after a hot start pretty fast. You cannot deny that Duvals business skills are as bad as those of F.B.. That is why I don’t expect anything great coming from Ulteo.
Mandriva marketing is a joke. Sure. But others sadly don’t learn from Mandrivas mistakes and do the same crap and ignore marketing. Ever seen some Slackware marketing? I haven’t. *sigh* When will distro-creators finally wake up?
I will not comment on the F.B. vs Duval battle, because, as I said before, I don’t know what really happened behind the scenes. It seems as if you know way more about it than 99% of us mere mortals know. So: reveal some details or let’s not discuss this at all.
I agree, F.B. earns way too much for what he did (like almost every manager I know). My dream would be having both, Duval AND Bancilhon removed at Mandriva and some more competent guys working there. But at least, there is some change. Duval is gone. Next is F.B.
PS: Yes, I run Mandriva. I like the distro, but not the company. I also run e.g. Debian. There I only love the distro, as there is no company.
“Now, please don’t get personal,”
Why ? GNU/Linux and Mandriva is personnal for me. Why should I not get personnal with someone who slander it , its people behind it and its past accomplishment for is own personnal fun.
“there is no reason for “insulting” me.”
No , there actually is , plenty of them too.
“Some are not.”
No , but thats your problem right there.
“You say that their prodcts are not high quality.”
No , you say , your into talks , me I am into comparative of the past work vs the current one.
“If this were so”
There is no IF on my parts , here. You are the one who is into speculations and talks.
“they would have lost all their business customers already to Novell or RedHat”
Really ? Why ? Because you say so … and that because you only know of only those two name in the GNU/Linux commercial space ?
http://www.bull.com/partners/index.html
Look one BIG example … Should I get the entire list ? No , because you dont even know what your talking about at all.
“which they haven’t”
Your wrong , not that they havent lost to them some of there partners , but because there not the only players at the commercial level wich compete with Mandriva directly. Beside how would you know ?
“which is a fact.”
No , its pure illogical nonsense and speculation on your part.
“The opposite is true, they gained new customers”
New customers and old customers are independant from one another , its a case by case situation , getting new customers dont mean that they are doing a good job or making a profit or that they are sustainable or keeping there old ones.
“dunno why”
Thats my entire point , you dont know what your talking about at all.
“Obsolete is a very vague term”
No , in my writing its a very precise term , probably for you its vague term when you use it , it means that its comepetitors ( wich clearly you dont know the full list of ) already offer newer version of what they are about to introduce to the market.
“12 months old software is obsolete?”
In GNU/Linux , yes … Everyone ( You dont , wich clearly show you as out of touch with reality and fully incompetent ) knows that by now , its 2 version beind the slow poke , and it 6 version behind bleeding edge.
“Windows XP”
Its not GNU/Linux … If Mandriva only had 1% of what Windows XP as they ( Mandriva ) currently would be a 2 billion company.
Sorry to burst your Bubble but Debian and RHEL 3 are considered old and obsolete by the PAYING majority.
“Mdv 2007 is only a few days away and it is definitely not obsolete ”
MDV 2007 , since you clearly dont know , is not the only product that they have. Yes in the market it is , they are obsolete. But then you dont know the market they are in and who the current leader are. You dont compare to the worst product ( like you do in order to make your invalid point ) , your trying to be as good and in Mandriva case superior and better to the current leader.
“then you surely didn’t do your homework.”
Unlike you , I aint taking a class on the subject or learning on the job.
” I run Mandriva cooker ”
Yes … So ? Even that is obsolete by Mandriva own standard.
“And stability-wise”
No , you mean clown-wise. You cant speak of stability of a product until that product as been released and tested on far more hardware then your own or what Mandriva as tested it on.
“I had less problems ”
Stop the box printing !!! arctic as said its better it should be written on the box ** I had less problem **
You see people dont want to hear that , they want to hear : turnkey , 10 year fully supported , perfectly working everytime and is a charm to work with all the time.
“I am not a fan of F.B. Not at all.”
Thats why you defend him and his actions , wich you clearly dont know what they are.
“why did he get the job?”
Jacques Le Marois is an incompetent …
“Because Gael had ruined Mandriva after a hot start pretty fast. ”
No , Gael as always been in PR , and development and community devlopment and Communication.
He was not in sales , He was never CEO he was never Chairman and he got had by Bastok and Lemarois when HE created a company to support is distribution called Linux-Mandrake , MandrakeSoft.
http://www.indidea.org/gael/mandrake5.1-original-announce.txt
http://slashdot.org/articles/980725/117228.shtml
He lost almost everything at the time of the IPO , they did not gave him is fair share wich should have been 90% of the company.
“You cannot deny that Duvals business skills are as bad as those of F.B.. ”
He created MandrakeSoft and a distribution who under his own guidance reached the top 3 status , it was also profitable as a community project , it even was profitable at the start of MandrakeSoft … When they started to put him in the corner and make excuse for THEIR failure did the company start to crumble.
“That is why I don’t expect anything great coming from Ulteo.”
No , that is why your a clown.
“Mandriva marketing is a joke.”
No , but you dont know what marketing is or what Mandriva Marketing capabilities are.
“But others sadly don’t learn from Mandrivas mistakes and do the same crap and ignore marketing.”
Mandriva mistake was/is its management …
“Ever seen some Slackware marketing? ”
You mean Slackware publicity , you dont know what marketing is. For me its a yes on both.
” I haven’t. ”
Why am I NOT AT ALL surprised …
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:eK-apGEnRooJ:www.slackware-advo…
“When will distro-creators finally wake up? ”
You dont know what your talking about. I could give name like stormix , corel , lindows , but you never heard of them. Or know why I mention them.
“I will not comment on the F.B. vs Duval battle”
You already did.
“I don’t know what really happened behind the scenes.”
Thats is 100% fact and true … you dont even know the GNU/Linux scene.
“It seems as if you know way more about it than 99% of us mere mortals know.”
Their are very good reasons for that.
“So: reveal some details or let’s not discuss this at all. ”
You discarded them as not accurate , do your research on your own or pay me for my knowledge. You also think you have earned the right to discuss any of it.
“F.B. earns way too much for what he did”
I never said that ( is salary is not really the problem ) , in short and clear for you to understand clearly he managed ( as its CEO first and then its chairman and CEO ) Mandriva into the ground its currently in , but he keep blaiming others for is really bad management. Instead of cutting is salary to keep good developper onboard , he axe them and give himself a raise.
“like almost every manager I know”
Thats why your a clown , top manager are worth every penny invested in them.
“But at least, there is some change.”
No , there is clearly some problem ahead. You just dont know what your talking about.
“Duval is gone.”
No he was fired … He still own share in the company he created ( not 100% sure on that. ) , He ( Duval ) was out in March , why is the company ( Mandriva ) not in better shape but actually worst ?
François Bancilhon as been in charge since Monday November 25 2002
http://www.mandriva.com/en/company/press/pr/corporate_2401
Ever heard of Canonical , Progeny . etc … Never mind …
—–
François Bancilhon was not hired to fight with Gael Duval or let him loose to do something that will compete with Mandriva directly in the futur.
He was hired to Increase product sale , wich he as not done.
He was hired to really increase membership ( quadrupling its membership ) in the club , wich he as not done.
He was hired to make the Mandriva store really profitable ( double and quadruple its profits by introducing new products ) wich he as not done.
He was Hired to quadruple the Suport service income wich he as not done.
He was hired to increase Mandriva visibility , and image in a positive way , wich he as done the opposite.
—–
Mr Duval as done more then its job at Mandriva he got blamed for
– Management , when he never whas the CEO or Chairman.
– Sales , when he never was in charge of sales or a salesman.
– Marketing , when he was not in charge of marketing or a marketer.
– Communication , when he hade zero budget to do the job and really no formation.
– PR , because all the others do not identify with Mandriva as he does.
– Damage Control , because all the others did not take front stage or responsability for there mistakes.
When Mr Duval is a programmer by trade and THE Pionneer fo easy GNU/Linux for the general user population worldwide by the creation of is distribution in 1998 wich opened GNU/Linux and gave an easy entry for everyone , he is also an European Pionneer on the new GNU/Linux Market he created and helped foster into a billion dollar industry.
He created Linux-Mandrake , he founded MandrakeSoft with incompetents , He did everything in is power for the company to survive and do well , None of you coward and thief have done as much and sacrified as much and worked there hardest with nothing to build something and keep it alive.
Duval only failure was to believe others where working at the same goal as him , building the best GNU/Linux distribution for everyone.
Live and learn , its still nice to have MandrakeSoft Founder and Linux-Mandrake creator on ones resume.
The future need not be as bleak as it was in the past , past experience does not predict future results.
Apparently one cannot discuss things with you without getting flamed and insulted by you (didn’t you have enough coffee today?). Do you behave that way at your job as well? Do you show these manners towards your family (if you have one)? If yes, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Funnily you know more about me and my knowledge about PR, Linux and the world than I know myself. You are a apparently a God with a bad temper and I don’t like neither self-proclaimed Gods nor bad tempers. That is why I won’t add anything here. It won’t lead us anywhere.
To be perfectly frank, Moulineuf is a complete nutcase, so don’t worry about it. He has fantasy delusions that he’s somehow involved in Mandrake and you should read his other comments regarding the GPL.
He’s just another dork that thinks he’s part of some movement, but in reality just sits in his little room and has nothing to do with Linux.
Ah… thank you for clarifying this.
Moulinneuf take two n , unlike you I use my real name for my posting.
I wish I had fantasy delusions , this way all those who had to suffer bad dealings in my mind with Mandriva management and the world epidemy could be all solved by taking a pill …
No , I dont work at Mandriva. But then I never said I did work for them.
You have a very strange way of discussing things , sorry its in my nature to not be nice to people who make bulshit up and slander my hero.
No , I dont feel ashame about what I did to you , sorry , your not someone special who I wish to read more of or learn to know is opinion about Ulteo , MR Duval , Mandriva. Too much lies in your content to just be an innocent bystander.
Now if you have trouble with tampers , coffee and religion , I aint the one to seek for help or discuss them with.
No , you whont lead me and pull me to your camp. I appreciate that your honest enough to say your going nowhere and that your leaving this thread to another one where you will be more constructive.
Have a nice day.
I’ve already moved to Ubuntu as I aguess a lot of old Mandrake users have. If Ulteo seems promising I’ll give it a try when it comes out
wow some issues in this thread….
All I can say is that Mandrake has never OVERLY impressed me. I was probably most impressed with 8.2 since it seemed a lot got fixed and improved. After that it always seemed like for every fix there was more breakage somewhere else. Or things that really nagged never got worked on. They instead fixed what wasn’t broken or something similar. I bought the 9.1 power pack and was disappointted enough to go back to 8.2 then I tried 10 and that was the last I ever bothered with mandrake. Just stating my experience…