I stopped using windows about two months ago for a variety of reasons. First, I became tired of the constant crashing of Windows 98. Second, as a general rule, I am philosophically apposed to proprietary software. Third, I developed a bad habit of pirating (stealing) proprietary software off the Internet.

In any event, I acquired a free copy of Mandrake 9.0. I love the operating system. I feel that I should give something back to the open source community. In addition, I would like to reward Mandrake for producing such a fine distribution. I came up with a few alternatives to give something back to the Linux community.

1. Purchase a copy of the Mandrake Discovery for $39.99 although I really do not need it. (By the way, I an not interested in Mandrake Club, etc.)
2. Donate $100 to the GNU foundation.
3. Donate $30 to Mandrake. I do not like to donate large amounts of money to a private corporation.

Please share your opinions about what I should do. In addition, please do not hesitate to share unusual or controversial opinions.

I really want to do the right thing.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Any donation you do will be appreciated by whoever receives it, the choice is up to you. You could make a donation to this forum also. The only question I have is why buy a product you don't intend to use. Instead of buying the Discovery pack since you don't seem to really want it, add that amount to the donation your giving to Mandrake. If you would use the discs then that is fine but the way you wrote it to me sounded like you were going to buy Discovery and leave it on a shelf.

If you want to reward Mandrake, reward Mandrake. Money is what keeps them in business and producing their distro.

Just pretend the $30 is a lifetime membership to Mandrake. Or, that it's the price of Mandrake Linux, and you got the extra-special-customer try-for-two-months-before-you-buy deal.

If you join the club, not only do you get to help them out, you also get to suggest what goes in the next release. As well as that, you get to download the next version before anyone else.

Whichever distro you contribute to you will be aiding OSS/Linux. Of course, you could always contribute here - you will get a warm fuzzy feeling every time you see the Contributing Member tag below your name

I have had the same discussion with myself. And I actually ended up bying a boxed set, too - for the same reasons, except one very important one: I wasn't only supporting Mandrake.
I live in Denmark. In this small Scandinavian country there are not a lot of places to buy Linux products. There are, however, a lot of people with ADSL/cable connections. So, even if we have quite a few Linux users, we don't have many Linux buyers! This is why I decided to order an original Mandrake package from linuxpusher.dk. Part goes to Mandrake, part goes to the pusher himself - and he plays an important role in Linux in Denmark, but has had a tight budget sometimes. So, there.
If I was to support Mandrake only, I would definately put the money on the Club. That money goes straight to the company.
Supporting LQ is also a good idea, actually. I suspect the site people get less donations than the Mandrake gang per hour of work...

I'm short of a bob or two, give me the money.
I promise you it will not be wasted, it will ALL be spent on booze and hookers!