HP Selling Systems With Linux

jeffy124 writes: "We were all very upset last August when Dell discontinued selling Linux on their machines. Good news - HP's picking up the slack. They're shipping machines pre-installed with Red Hat 7.1. Unfortunately, checking their website shows that only business machines will have a Linux option; home machines are still WinXP only."

Comments

As it should be for now

[Solokron]

For servers nix is amazing. For desktops, X still lacks too much to offer it as an alternative to Win.

Good thing they don't have a home linux option

[SlideGuitar]

"Unfortunately, checking their website shows that only business machines will have a Linux option; home machines are still WinXP only."

The last thing "linux needs" right now is a bunch of unhappy home users with an OS that isn't quite ready for a casual user.... And it just isn't.

No OS option

[Drachemorder]

You know, while the Linux option is a very good thing, I'd be just as happy buying a box with a blank hard drive. What makes the Linux option good is simply that it doesn't come with a Microsoft OS that I don't intend to use in the first place. I really don't want to pay for something I have no plans to use, and I'm quite capable of installing Linux on my own from CDs I downloaded and burned.

So what I'd really like to see is the ability to buy an absolutely clean system from a major vendor at a significant discount (i.e. no MS tax).

No big deal

[Ed Avis]

Who would want an HP 'home machine' anyway? Esp. after the previous Slashdot story with lots of comments about how badly made they are and how clueless / obstructionist the tech support is...

The uptake of Linux is stunning

[pubjames]

We keep seein these articles with titles like is linux ready for the desktop?, is linux good enough for business, etc. I think these tend to blind us to the fact that the update of Linux has been nothing short of stunning.

Remember, just four years ago sys admins had to hide their Linux systems so the boss wouldn't find out about them. And now, IBM, HP, Compaq, Sun and other heavy hitters of the IT industry are increasingly basing their strategies around it. And we all know that Sun didn't even really want to, they were forced to by changes in the market. That demonstrates the power of the change that is taking place.

I had a go at using Linux in 1998. From many perspectives, it was, frankly, crap. Look where we are today, less than four years later.

People always assume that everything happens really quickly in the IT industry, but it isn't so. Things take time. Decades sometimes. The amount of mindshare that Linux has got in the last four years is just fantastic. The revolution is happening, and it's happening quickly.

People say that Linux can never compete on the desktop. I'm not so sure. At the moment it's grabbing bites out of virtually every other niche market in a way that Bill Gates must have dreamt about doing in the past. Now it must be giving him nightmares.

I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next four years.

Yes

[4of12]

Our organization is looking at these closely as an possible replacement for Sun machines on the desktop. Running Linux on Intel hardware is very compelling from a price/performance perspective.

The Good Thing® about HP supporting these is the assurance of the big name. Linux may be ready for the enterprise, but no one wants to be the pioneer, anymore than anyone wants to be the pioneer for WinXP in the corporate environement. Conservatism rules.

In corporate IT support, you'd get real nervous rolling out brand X hardware and a Linux distribution whose track record of worthiness is only proven on the desktops of individual expert hackers. When hundreds of newbies pound the keyboards, you want to be reassured and know what to expect to face in terms of support issues.

Enterprise-wide experience coming from a large company like HP (it could just as well have been IBM or Sun) is precisely helpful in this regard. The slightly outdated distribution is actually an encouraging sign that a lengthy test period has gone into the whole setup.

You Worry Too Much.

[professorpoole]

I'm a life-long MS prisoner who recently made the transition to Linux. I had tried it a couple of years ago; when it started asking all sorts of geek questions about refresh rates and things like that, I figured, "not worth the bother."

(Not that I couldn't have found the info -- I'm a tech-type/engineering dood, after all -- but I just didn't have the time. If it's not in the user manual for the hardware, I'm not going to search for it.)

In December, I purchased Mandrake 8.1 and was blown away. It's actually *easier* to install than Windows was. Yes, the desktop has its irritations -- for example, because of my eyes, I can't go higher than 800x600, and some of the windows in KDE are "fixed" at higher resolution, so part of the window runs off the screen -- but I am having a blast.

My point, of course, is that zillions of people like me are discovering Linux for the first time. We are enjoying it very much. Like one poster says here, rather than being upset that Linux is taking two steps f'wards and one step b'wards, be glad of the fact that it's making inroads. Plus, you DON'T want it to be released to the unwashed masses until it's completely ready.

(My own experience a couple of years ago almost soured me to Linux, but a fellow engineer encouraged me to try the latest distros. I'm glad I did.)

The only reason I keep Windows in a dual boot was so that I could run Turbo Tax and a few games. But everything else is done in Linux now. I also expect this problem to go away in the future. I'm committed.

Patience, folks. Linux is getting there. Rather than worrying about a minor setback today, be confident of where Linux will be in a year or two.

Even YOU might be surprised. :)

Re:I'm a home user...

[Otter]

I very much doubt that there'd be too many people accidentally choosing the Linux option.

IMHO, what Linux really doesn't need is to be a $30 cheaper option in build-to-order lists.

There's always complaining that Linux costs more, at least not less, than the same box with Windows. Leaving aside why that is (mostly far higher support costs, I'd guess), can you imagine what would happen if Linux boxes started winding up in the hands of users who knew nothing about it other than that they could save a few dollars by getting it?

Re:That's good news, actually

[Tenebrious1]

Yeah, ditto here. I run a pretty large HP shop, and well that 24x7x4 support has been lacking of late. When I lose a server, I don't need a clueless engineer in 4 hours just to fulfill the service contract. I need someone with a bag full of parts and a brain full of solutions. HP has NOT been providing that lately. I've talked to a few other large HP customers at recent HP roundtables who have said the same thing. We've all been complaining to HP and considering switching to IBM corporate services.

Remember, people buy linux from HP, IBM, and other RedHat because they want the support that comes with the product. Otherwise they'd install linux themselves. With the way HP Corporate Support has been declining, I certainly wouldn't suggest an HP product to the CEO at this time. In fact, he'd laugh if I did.