Saying that they are responding to consumer demand, Red Hat Software Inc and Ingram Micro have joined to bring Red Hat’s Linux 2.5 Operating System to major retailers. Their intended victims include Best Buy and Electronic Boutique. Retail customers will be able to buy Red Hat Linux through these outlets with 90 days of installation support from Red Hat. Other retailers sell unofficial versions of Red Hat Linux, but the version sold through Ingram will be the only retail edition with official support. The deal with Ingram Micro kicks off with Red Hat Linux 5.2 but both companies hope it will continue with subsequent releases – especially the one Red Hat plans to ship with the GNOME desktop environment (see separate story).
