Linux Today: Editor’s Note From the Road:

Another very interesting product was rPath’s rBuilder. This is a software build tool that can be used by independent software vendors to custom build their application on a custom Linux distro and distribute it. So SugarCRM or Alfresco will use this to roll a perfectly configured version of their product and the operating system underneath it—all on one CD.

Yeah, yeah, this is just a fancy form of certification, right? No, it actually inverts the application certification model. Red Hat certifies for apps by trying to get them to build to the lowest common denominator of Linux. If an app needs a component that Red Hat doesn’t want to offically support, then the app is out of luck.

With rBuilder, the ISV can make a Linux distro that perfectly fits their needs. On their terms, not the distro company’s. In their words, they are helping to create software appliances for ISV customers.

I think Mark just unwittingly wrote rPath’s elevator pitch.