[Mailman-Users] Will installing Mailman invalidate my RAQ3 warranty?

[Bill Carlson]

On Wed, 11 Oct 2000, Paul Wilkinson wrote:

> Hi Folks:
> 
> I am a newbie .. have just got a  RAQ3 with 256Mb .. like the look of MailMan 
> however I am concerned that if I run it I will invalidate my RAQ3 warranty.
> 
> I ask since I also have a need to run "POP Before SMTP Relay 1.2 for Cobalt 
> Servers Appliances" & I have been informed by my RAQ3 supplier 
> (www.catalog.com) that if I install this "POP before SMTP Relay" patch I will 
> be invalidating my warranty??
> 
> What a ridiculous state of affairs! Having only had the RAQ3 for a week I am 
> now considering cancelling the RAQ3 (and replacing it for a standard Linux 6.2 
> Pro Box with Plesk) as it seems to be a "very incomplete system & outdated". 
> Maybe this is why every man & his dog is advertising RAQ3's at knock down 
> prices??

Cobalt boxes are indeed intended to be Appliances, ie plug it in and it
does the job. Just as your refrigerator warranty doesn't cover replacing
the compressor with a beefier one, so goes the Cobalt and software. That's
the price you pay for someone doing all the work for you.

That is exactly why I stay away from Cobalt machines (I am forced to
support 4 of them), even though the latest models are at least Intel
compatible.

If you have to time to learn, I'd recommend returning the RAQ3 and
building your own box with one of the Linux distros (I won't go into which
one, no need for blood this early in the morning).

If you need to get the box up quickly without spending the time to learn,
you might look at a preconfigured Linux machine, but odds are the warranty
on the software will be the same or worse then Cobalt's. The trade off is
always time vs flexibility.

Good Luck,

Bill Carlson
------------
Systems Programmer    bill-carlson at uiowa.edu	|  Opinions are mine,
Virtual Hospital      http://www.vh.org/        |  not my employer's.
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics	|