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Dell & IBM Both Shipping Linux
Several people noted that Red Hat is now partnering with Dell and offering
Red Hat as one of its strategic operating systems, as well as shipping Linux web/proxy boxes to Lexus and Toyota dealerships. But thats not all... Big Blue apparently is now shipping T20 Thinkpads with
Caldera and Star Office preloaded.
BTW, if you really want *BSD, BeOS or Minix (There's gotta be one Minix fan out there) shipping...call your favourite OEM. Dell, Compaq... they don't hire psychics you know. If they perceive sales, they'll ship 'em... eventually.
On a vaguely-related note, my theory as to why OEM's haven't shipped a lot of pre-installed "alternative" OS's is that the Linux/*BSD/Minix crowd has a strong do-it-yerself rep. Why would OEM x ship Red Hat on their box when the customer is:
a) Probably not going to be swayed by the convenience factor, since convenience and ease-of-use ranks 47th or lower on a *nix user's priority list (or so the perception goes)
b) There are so many *nix brands out there that, chances are, they're not going to get a plurality of the users to make it worthwhile. Sure, they could ship RH, but 70% of the *nix users are geeks who would probably just uninstall it anyway so they could load the latest snap of Suse 42b4a2 that they compiled on the Beowulf cluster of palm pilots they've got in their garage. At least that's the perception from the OEM's point of view.
Last point... and really offtopic. I saw an ad last week for Compaq that said "24x7 Nonstop"... are they trying to tell me their computer will only run for one fucking week?? Sheesh!
2 1337 4 u!
The last thing you want as an auto dealer is a 'crash'..
air and light and time and space
Do you think Dell would have had the balls to ship a Linux box if not for the DOJ investigation? OEMs couldn't even preinstall a browser on their Windows boxes without MSFT's say so. Intel quashed a lot of their software plans because of MSFT. Everyone was under their thumb. From the looks of things that were discovered at the trial MSFT basically was dictating what a majority of the computer industry did.
If anyone believes that Dell would risked angering MSFT by selling Linux, a rereading of the Findings of the Fact is in order. MSFT played the OEMs with its Windows pricing scheme and does that played ball (Compaq, Gateway) were charged substantially less than others. IBM on the other hand would have pursued Linux regardless but I'm not so sure about Dell. Here's a Google cache of Bill G commenting on Dell from the MSFT trial days.
PS: I once interviewed with Dell and asked the why they didn't have a comprehensive Linux plan and the response was "We're waiting to see how things go before committing resources. Once someone shows it's a viable plan, we'll jump on it."
Hmm. Do you think this would have happened before Judge Jackson?
Yes, I do. Linux was growing at a phenominal rate before the whole anti-trust thing, and will continue to grow after it. While I don't doubt that M$ getting bitch-slapped (seems to be the work for the day here) has helped Linux win support, I do NOT believe that it is the sole reason. Linux is faster, more stable, and simply better for many jobs than Windows. And while Windows has it beat in some areas, Linux is improving, while Windows seems to be regressing (from the looks of their win2k joke).
I hope history doesn't record the Microsoft case as the reasong some unknown little operating system came into being, since Linux was on the way to overtaking Windows anyway.
Finkployd
- Linux
- Red Hat
- Red Hat
- Red Hat
- Dell
- strategic operating systems
- lexus and Toyota
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- More on Linux
- Also by CmdrTaco
I thought Debian was Rob's distribution of choice? Has he switched? Is Red Hat dumping some extra cash (or cool toys) on the Geek Compound to receive this extra notice on Slashdot? . . . Or are the three repetitions of the Red Hat link just an accident?---
icq:2057699
seumas.com
Laptops!
Laptops!
Laptops!
I want to see laptops with Linux and in the sub $2000 category too, with DVD roms, 100 base T, v.90 modems, just like MS bribes the laptop makers into doing.
My problem with Dell and their pre-loading of Linux is that the selected models they have with it are config locked. You usually can't even add memory to the system. You take it as they spec'd it out or you don't get linux on it. But at least they ship it. We just switched to Gateway at work and I had to order my Athlon with 98 and Office. There was no choice for linux so I had to pay the MS tax.
They might, but it would be an uphill battle. The older companies have name recognition and past contracts which only need to be renewed, which count for a lot.
The main selling point of, say, Penguin is that Penguin presumably has more experience building and configuring Linux systems, and so (hopefully) does a better job at it.
In order to become a major player, a company like Penguin would have to:
This can be done, and has a chance of working, but takes a lot of effort and a very large amount of money. There would also be the risk of failing spectacularly, as there are a glut of suppliers on the market.