Lindows Media Computer: Power to Strike Microsoft?

Augustus writes "LinuxHardware.org has just published the first review of the Lindows Media Computer from iDOTpc.com. The review covers the hardware behind the machine but also goes through all of the machine's claimed functionality: "After looking over all the media hype, I went searching for one of these little machines. Could the Lindows Media Computer really pull off meeting the new Windows machine in a pitched battle? It did boast "Instant on" DVD, CD, MP3, and VCD playback as one of the prime features. And, it was only a fraction of the price for a Windows Media Center system. At the time, only one vendor had them available, iDOTpc.com. After some communication, the folks at iDOTpc.com were kind enough to loan me one of the units to take for a spin." You can find the full review over at LinuxHardware.org."

Comments

I'm seeing a theme here...

[Lendrick]

Bored with my musical endeavors, I thought it was time to watch some movies. I put in an older DVD movie, Spaceballs. It was all down hill from there. Anyone familiar with the movie will remember the opening sequence where the large spacecraft moves across the screen. The video playback was quite stuttered, though the audio did not seem to suffer. As the movie went on, the stutter wasn't as obvious but was still there. ...

First they release an AOL Computer that can't access AOL, and now they're making a Media Computer that can't play media.

Just because they're pissing off Microsoft doesn't make them a good company.

I don't trust Lindows

[DeadSea]

They picked a name that is obviously supposed to resemble Windows. While they may legally be able to do this, it seems pretty slimeball to me. Especially since announcements like this make it clear that they are trying to compete head to head with Windows.

When I was working for a .com that was trying to choose a name, the marketing folks made some very strong points for why you don't have to choose something that people are familiar with. Given that we were promoting widgets, they recommended we not name ourselves widgets.com, ourwidgets.com, or ewidgets.com. Their argument was that if you have a good product you can create your own name. Does Yahoo! need the word "directory" in their name? Does Ebay need the word "Auctions" in its name? Using something wacky wasn't going to hurt you, and it would allow you to later branch out into other markets.

Software developers really need to look at this lesson. Repeat after me, "The name of your program doesn't have to start with 'Win', 'g', 'k', 'Java', or 'X'".

Somebody replied to a similar rant of mine here on slashdot. They said that if you wrote a program that browsed Ebay auctions, you should be allowed to put ebay in the name. Maybe you should be allowed to, but that might prevent you from also supporting Yahoo or some other auction site in the future. Its not a good idea.

In the case of Lindows, the fact that they are using the name of their competitor cheapens them. I have to wonder why they don't think they can't create their own hype. Is their product not good enough?

Re:Quite possible

[geomon]

With all-in-a-box system like a media computer that wouldnt require specific applications to perform tasks there is a good chance that windows will lose out.

True, but it has to work first.

The article was quite clear on the inability of this particular product to perform as advertised. The author was also more than a little disappointed at the customer service from Lindow's.

Flawed approach

[The Bungi]

Lindows seems to think that somehow the fact that the OS that they use is free automatically gives them the higher ground when going head to head with Microsoft on any given field. Saving yourself $40 (or whatever the bulk OEM cost for an XP license is) is hardly the proverbial silver bullet.

And who buys these "media PCs" anyway? Does anyone have any info on the size of this market?

Re:Flawed approach

[Pharmboy]

Lindows seems to think that somehow the fact that the OS that they use is free automatically gives them the higher ground when going head to head with Microsoft on any given field. Saving yourself $40 (or whatever the bulk OEM cost for an XP license is) is hardly the proverbial silver bullet.

MS Media Center OS is not the same as XP. Similar base, but not the same. I couldn't even find prices for the OS, since you have to buy a box with it preinstalled. Bestbuy.com isnt taking orders anymore, gateway starts at $1700, compusa at 1400, bestbuy was 1700.....these are medium priced, not cheap.

As to the size of the market: I am betting it IS the next market. The current versions are just glorified computers, but the general idea of the product is what will replace your home stereo,dvd player, etc. A single box. Even my mom would like this, to surf on the tv (once tvs are all high definition) instead of the Dell I bought her.

Its still a young market, but it is the direction it is going. One box to act as internet router, surfer, music getter and player, dvd player, porno downloader, etc.....

All you need is a wireless keyboard and mouse, (and maybe wireless video for a seperate monitor to use in other rooms), and yea, I could see every home needing one of these instead of the current methods of a buttload of seperate parts. that may or maynot work well together. Then we could have it all in one convenient box that doesn't work very well :)

Re:DVD Playback ... ?

[molarmass192]

They use a DVD decoder embedded into the BIOS, the MPAA gets their cut for the decoder. It's not watching DVDs on Linux that's illegal, it's using an unlicensed DVD *decoder* that's illegal.

As for Lindows, I fully agree. I like what Lindows is trying to do for Linux but I wouldn't pay $99 a year to be able to download otherwise free software. There may be a few exceptions (StarOffice) that are non-free and available with their service but in general you're right. I think a "pay-as-you-go to download certified software" option might have wider acceptance than a subscription but if MS moves towards a subscription model for the home (and based on what they're doing for businesses this is a possibility) then it's no longer such a bad idea. Personally, I buy a distro DVD twice a year for $50, stage it on my webserver, and use it to update a dozen boxes I watch over. So my way runs $8/year/PC which is right where I want it.

As for the "average Joe", I like to use my dad as a point of reference. He is from the "pen and paper" crowd. I installed Linux on his PC and he doesn't even know that the OS has been replaced. What he DOES know is he wants a word processor, a spreadsheet program, email, and a browser. Well, he has those and he's perfectly happy. Would he have switched on his own? I can safely say never, because he just wants to get work done ... period. If what is already on the PC is sufficient to accomplish what he wants to do, then that's what he'll use.

Lindows is smart in this respect because they understand this "joe user" inertia. If somebody walks into BestBuy and walks out with a Lindows PC, in 99% of the cases it will be left with exactly what came preinstalled pretty much until the PC needs to be replaced. I don't think they seriously expect "savvy" Linux users to start switching to Lindows in droves. Personally, I think they're helping bring additional OEM support for Linux and that's a good thing. However, I doubt they'll sell many boxed copies of their distro because savvy folks would rather use RedHat/Mandrake/SuSE/etc and "joe users" wouldn't know how to begin comtemplating an OS switch.

Re:Text

[ilctoh]

Sounds like they're trading necessary power for low cost. For example, does 128MB of SDRAM sound like enough for a multi-media computer? A 20GB 5400 RPM hard drive won't win any awards, especially if folks are seriously into MP3 storage. A CD Burner wouldn't hurt. At least a motherboard with a 4x AGP slot and USB2 support. IMHO, this computer would better be suited for a web browsing/email/word processing computer, not a "Media Computer".

Nice idea, but not there yet

[L0J46K]

I think we all want someone to beat Microsoft at their own game. My only hope is that more companies start porting their apps towards UNIX based environments. Linux is great at work, but at home I am locked into a microsoft PC because of gaming / multimedia. At least Lindows is making progress on bridgeing the gap. 2 thumbs up for effort to those guys.