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Date:      Tue, 2 Dec 2003 17:46:06 -0800
From:      Sean Chittenden <seanc@FreeBSD.org>
To:        Tom Rhodes <trhodes@FreeBSD.org>
Cc:        FreeBSD-doc@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: Round two of the front page structure changes...
Message-ID:  <20031203014606.GB81503@perrin.nxad.com>
In-Reply-To: <20031202160640.1df85804.trhodes@FreeBSD.org>
References:  <20031202160640.1df85804.trhodes@FreeBSD.org>

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> o Takes a stab at the Vendors area, without any modification.  The
> vendors link(s) should probably go under our Software or 'Getting
> FreeBSD' areas.  But this can be argued.

In my experience, one of the areas that FreeBSD has consistently been
dinged in the "initial impressions by management" department is the
lack of an obvious link to a list of vendors that provide commercial
support.  Why?  Vendors doesn't translate into commercial support with
some folk for some reason.  There's nothing on the main page that
references /commercial/ and I think it'd be helpful to those
evaluating the use of FreeBSD.  It's a trivial change, but I think
helps.  Attached patch reoganizes and makes the /commercial/ page more
concise and alphabetizes the list of vendor categories.

The last thing that I think the commerical section is *desparately* in
need of, is a list of vendors that provide long term, 24/7 support.
It's non-obvious that there is a bunch of companies that provide that
with our current setup and this is consistently one of the most
important aspects of commercial support for people deciding to use
FreeBSD.  I don't have an answer for this at this time, but think that
it needs immediate attention before the 5.3 release (5.2's too close).

Anyway, /commercial/ needs a nice professional touch to it and to move
away from some of the flashy, high-energy verbiage that's in there now
to something more solid and grounded in its tone, but that's for
another day.

PS meta keywords could be brought into the 21st century.  "free unix
   download stable fast performance smp" would be better than some of
   the entries listed.

-sc

-- 
Sean Chittenden

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Index: index.xsl
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/dcvs/www/en/index.xsl,v
retrieving revision 1.84
diff -u -r1.84 index.xsl
--- index.xsl	2 Dec 2003 20:12:28 -0000	1.84
+++ index.xsl	3 Dec 2003 01:46:32 -0000
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@
 			    <a href="support.html">
 			      <font size="+1" color="#990000"><b>Support</b></font>
 			    </a><small><br/>
+			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/commercial/index.html">Commercial</a><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/support.html#mailing-list">Mailing lists</a><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/support.html#newsgroups">Newsgroups</a><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/support.html#user">User Groups</a><br/>
@@ -158,8 +159,10 @@
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/contributing/index.html">Contributing to FreeBSD</a><br/>
 			    </small></p>
 	      
-			  <p><font size="+1" color="#990000"><b>Vendors</b></font>
-			    <small><br/>
+			  <p>
+			    <a href="commercial/index.html">
+			      <font size="+1" color="#990000"><b>Vendors</b></font>
+			    </a><small><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/commercial/software_bycat.html">Software</a><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/commercial/hardware.html">Hardware</a><br/>
 			      &#183; <a href="{$base}/commercial/consulting_bycat.html">Consulting</a><br/>
Index: commercial/commercial.sgml
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/dcvs/www/en/commercial/commercial.sgml,v
retrieving revision 1.34
diff -u -r1.34 commercial.sgml
--- commercial/commercial.sgml	20 Apr 2002 14:41:47 -0000	1.34
+++ commercial/commercial.sgml	3 Dec 2003 01:46:32 -0000
@@ -9,42 +9,54 @@
 <html>
 &header;
 
-&vendorintroduction;
-
 <p>
-   Please note that the inclusion of vendors in our list
-   does not signify our endorsement of their products or services.
+  The power, flexibility, and reliability of FreeBSD
+  attract a wide variety of users and vendors.
+  In addition to our <a href="../gallery/gallery.html">gallery</a> page,
+  showcasing many of our users,
+  below is a list of vendors offering commercial products, services,
+  and/or consulting for FreeBSD.
 </p>
 
 <ul>
 
-<li><a href="software_bycat.html">Software Vendors</a>
-   From audio players and network drivers to commercial databases,
-   you will find a variety of industrial strength software for FreeBSD.
-   You can see the <a href="software.html">alphabetical</a> list,
-   or, if you prefer,
-   view it by <a href="software_bycat.html">categories</a>.
-<p></p></li>
-
-<li><a href="hardware.html">Hardware Vendors</a>
-   Need specialized tools or just browsing for equipment?
-   These companies may have what you need!
-<p></p></li>
-
 <li><a href="consulting_bycat.html">Consulting Services</a>
    Whether you are just starting out with FreeBSD,
    or need to complete a large project,
-   a consultant or two might be your answer.
+   hiring consultants might be your answer.
    You can see the <a href="consulting.html">alphabetical</a> list,
    or, if you prefer,
    view it by <a href="consulting_bycat.html">categories</a>.
 <p></p></li>
 
+<li><a href="hardware.html">Hardware Vendors</a>
+   Need specialized tools, looking to buy a new desktop, or to fill a cage with rack mount servers that come with FreeBSD pre-installed?
+   These companies may have what you need!
+<p></p></li>
+
 <li><a href="misc.html">Miscellaneous Vendors</a>
    Books and accessories you just cannot live without!
 <p></p></li>
 
+<li><a href="software_bycat.html">Software Vendors</a>
+   From audio players, network drivers, to commercial databases,
+   FreeBSD has a wide variety of industrial strength software available.
+   You can see the <a href="software.html">alphabetical</a> list,
+   or, if you prefer,
+   view it by <a href="software_bycat.html">categories</a>.
+<p></p></li>
+
 </ul>
+
+<p>
+  If your company supports a FreeBSD related product, service, consulting, or support
+  that should be added to this page, please send email
+  to <a href="mailto:www@FreeBSD.org">www@FreeBSD.org</a>
+  and let us know!
+  Submissions should be in HTML and a medium-sized paragraph in length.
+  Please note that the inclusion of vendors in our list
+  does not signify our endorsement of their products or services.
+</p>
 
 &footer;
 

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