I've bought a couple redhat CDs, and a couple dupes of redhat CDs. Usually, if the price is under $50, it's a question of convenience. I make enough of a living off RedHat that I'll just pick up an upgrade if I come across it.
I like RedHat because all the files are in .rpm format, which is fairly easy to install. The installer scripts for RedHat packages will automatically modify the correct configuration files to get the software running. Their modularity makes is terribly simple to configure specialized systems in ways that are simply impossible with NT. (I can set up a web server in 30 minutes, which is a couple hours less than NT.)
The clincher is that I know RedHat well enough that it's now my default OS. It works for me, and I am familiar with it. At this time, there's no reason to switch. In fact, as they start creating more targeted RedHat distributions, it behooves me to keep up to date on how these different offerings work.
All this RedHat activity simply feeds upon itself, and generates sales. This, I believe, is how RedHat intends to make money - simply become so diverse and large that you'll give them money because they ask, and you think the other options will cost too much time.
It's creepy, but totally realistic. I think it's what they mean by "branding". If a brand is powerful enough, people stop thinking and automatically buy the brand.
I'm intending to install FreeBSD on my next box, just for fun. Maybe that'll become my next OS. Maybe not. Maybe the brand allure of RedHat will be too strong.
John Kawakami johnk at cyberjava.com