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Just for a laugh:

http://www.dse.co.nz/dse.shop/4d53355d03cbe13e2740c0a87f3b068f/Product/View/YG7188

$129 for black ops Xbox 360.

Methinks you should get your Blu-Ray discs somewhere else. The most expensive Blu-Ray film available from DSE is the third Pirates of the Caribbean film at $58.87.

What we do see, however, is that devices like EEE PC are making people aware that there is a choice and that Linux is real. Here in New Zealand we can buy laptops preinstalled with Ubuntu in regular retail shops http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/48067b6603694d34273fc0a87f3b067e/Product/View/XC5822. These have been quite popular. They are still quirky: for example setting up wireless is a bit messy (not as slick as windows) and the power management sucks a bit.

I run HH on one of these laptop that came installed with GG. For the most part, I don't think that HH vs GG is much of an issue for adoption. What is important is that distros like Ubuntu are very easy to use/update and that devices like Eee PC are exposing more people to the option. Soon people will be asking for Linux preinstalled on higher spec laptops and we'll see more choice.

Principle 2: "The products they want are high-priced, so there's a fair amount of money to be saved by stealing them"

I can attest to this 100% - in a different, but similar area many are familiar with. My example is my experience with WindowsXP. When I lived in New Zealand, I could not afford the NZD$536 (USD$377) for XP home to keep my CS:S habit alive, so I used a 'less than legitimate' copy of XP. Anyway, when I moved to the US I thought I'd go legit only because after a visit to Frys i saw i could pick up XP off the shelf at (USD$199) - almost half the price. Even better I managed to get an OEM XP home for just over a hundred bucks.

Now there's no way I'm paying NZ$536 (USD$377) for an OS. No way. No way in hell. However, I was happy enough to part with a hundy for the OEM version. I didnt know of Linux at the time (now have 3 PC's on Ubuntu), but wanted XP to play CS:S and various other Windows games I'd paid for over the years (because they were well priced!!!)

So yeah, hopefully big business will wake up and smell the coffee one of these days.

I've built a few 802.11 networks in rural areas (some solar powered!) using really low end hardware.

Frequently devices get smoked by high (lightning) or low (flat batteries) volts and stop operating completely. Sometimes they just start acting strange. I am going to start using ethereal (now wireshark) with the appropriate card to hopefully find out a bit more about what is going on when there is funny behaviour.

I've built a few 802.11 networks in rural areas (some solar powered!) using really low end hardware.

Frequently devices get smoked by high (lightning) or low (flat batteries) volts and stop operating completely. Sometimes they just start acting strange. I am going to start using ethereal (now wireshark) with the appropriate card to hopefully find out a bit more about what is going on when there is funny behaviour.

I live in NZ, ergo am a potential customer. However I'm obviously a bit ignorant. Could you possibly explain what the difference/benefit is of your product over something like the NZD$700 HDD recorder sold by DSE? Is it that it's built on FOSS, or that the DSE hardware is DRMed somehow, that your product has a better or more intuitive GUI, or what? From looking at the specs of the two products, I get the impression that the main advantages of your one seem to be (1) bigger HDD (2) dual layer DVD writer (3) more customisation (4) option for dual tuners. Am I missing something? FWIW, I think just the customisation by itself is a big draw.

I hope this is not a sign of things to come.

In New Zealand is a chain of stores called Dick Smith Electronics who are selling OpenOffice, Fedora, Knoppix and Mepis CDs on their shelves. Some of the product managers are either active posters or lurkers on the NZ LUG mailing lists.

Here's one

I read /. daily and every few weeks theres something about a Linux PVR or someone whos build an entertainment center inside an old VHS case. My local electronics store is even selling Linux boxes equiped with TV tuner cards. Windows media PC or whatever it is wont catch on, to many restrictions on what you can do with digital content, and anyone who has read the media player eula would probably much rather use Linux

In New Zealand the first semi-major national chain company has come out with a Linux box. Go to dse.co.nz and search for Mandrake. Until now it was only "mom and pop" (as American's would say) stores, and then you go an empty machine.

Dick Smith in NZ and Dick Smith in Oz sell "Funway" kits and manuals. From what I've seen, they're fairly lame, but might be OK for a beginner. You can make doorbells, audio amplifiers, electronic dice etc.