How Red Hat killed its core product—and became a billion-dollar business (Article Review #2)

Article Title

"How Red Hat killed its core product—and became a billion-dollar business "

Article Author

Jon Brodkin

Article Publication Date

February 28, 2012

URL of Original Article

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/02/how-red-hat-killed-its-core-productand-became-a-billion-dollar-business.ars

Article Summary

Red Hat, a Linux developer used to make free, open source software. Under the direction of a new VP of engineering, the company stopped putting out free products and is now turning over a handsome profit, and staying viable. 

Relevance to the Class

A company that still values its customers while making the decision to begin charging for a previously free product, and has to rebrand their product, handle the customer reaction and manage their expectations

Key Quote

"It should replace Red Hat Linux with a more robust enterprise software package that maintained the principles of free (as in freedom) software without actually being free (as in price) to customers."

COMPARISON: T-Mobile Urges U.S. to Block Verizon’s Spectrum Purchase (Article Comparison #1)

Article 1
"T-Mobile Urges U.S. to Block Verizon’s Spectrum Purchase"
February 22, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/technology/t-mobile-files-request-to-block-verizons-planned-spectrum-deal.html?_r=2

Article 2
"T-Mobile Asks FCC to Block Verizon’s Purchase of Cable Airwaves"
February 22, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-22/t-mobile-asks-fcc-to-block-verizon-s-purchase-of-cable-airwaves.html

Article 3
"Groups ask FCC to block Verizon spectrum deals with cable providers"
February 22, 2012
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224477/Groups_ask_FCC_to_block_Verizon_spectrum_deals_with_cable_providers


Notes

• All articles are about lobbying to stop Verizon from buying more wireless airwave spectrum from the cable company Comcast.
• Articles 1 and 2 specifically state that T-Mobile is spear-heading this petition, while Article 3 does NOT name T-Mobile as part of the petitioning groups.
• At the end of Article 1, it says that Verizon declined to comment, while in Article 2 & 3, it says Verizon thinks that the deal will be in public interest.
• The site that Article 1 is on has two prominent ads for Verizon's services, Article 2's site has two Verizon sponsored links, while the site for Article 3 has no ads visible.

UX Integration (Article Review #1)

Article Review #1

Integrating UX into the Product Backlog

By Jon Innes on February 3rd 2012

I looked at the UX Integration article at http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/integrating-ux-into which talked about different user experience, or lack thereof, design decisions. It started of giving an example of how someone designing a website for an online retailer will prioritize ease of use for visitors who are potential customers, which is at the other end of the spectrum from someone designing for an enterprise where customer service is expected.

The article stressed that too often, UX was an after-thought when it shouldn't be, and that this way of operating is much harder to factor into the site's design. The article goes on to figure how to best determine the optimal way of figuring the design that would best suit the end goal. The many advantages of the integration of UX was also outlined and delved into, all of which expedite the integration process and increase efficiency of the creation process.

"They have to get the UX right, or they go out of business fast."