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HP Thailand Sells $450 Linux Laptop

Posted by michael on from the tco dept.

greyrax writes "The revolution has begun! Seems that the Thailand branch of HP is selling Linux-based laptops for $450. The government of Thailand is now talking to Dell Thailand about a similar arrangement."

26 of 307 comments (clear)

  1. Woah, HP Thailand? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When did HP buy Thailand? What's next? MS Canada?

    1. Re:Woah, HP Thailand? by steve_l · · Score: 4, Insightful

      we already have Shell owning Nigeria, and some Peru/Ecuador war in the sixties or seventies was effectively a proxy war for competing oil companies, each with a different government contract. And of course the US is subject to the current Oil and Gas Administration.

      I dont see the computing industry playing such strategic games, though I think Disney may already own Southern California.

    2. Re:Woah, HP Thailand? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      What's next? MS Canada?

      Nah, you're only allowed to have one country.

  2. Article seems a little short on details. by Chris_Stankowitz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What kind of laptops? How many of these were they selling (as many as people would buy or a fixed number)? Can Anyone buy one? Can I buy one over the internet? Would I want to buy one? The list goes on. Anyone have any links to know the answers to any of these questions?

  3. Hmmmm. by The+Bungi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    $450? I somehow doubt this is a particularly excellent piece of hardware. I mean, even accounting for the "M$ tax" as it were (which is negligible when applied in bulk OEM licenses anyway) and considering that it's difficult to find a decent laptop for under $800... well, I think this is kinda fishy.

    1. Re:Hmmmm. by steve_l · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Big hardware costs in a laptop are display, HDD and CD (say $25) /floppy ($5), plus CPU and memory.

      a pure linux laptop can get away with a lower power CPU, less HDD and by the CNET report, the CD. That leaves display.

      The nice thing is that not only can they get rid of the MS tax, but they can include a full suite of tools: gimp, OpenOffice.org, evolution, and at a price point that you cannot do legally with a windows box (of course, you can get all the windows stuff illegally at discount rates in Asia: Redhat CDs sell for the same as Windows Server CDs, $5 or so).

      The interesting thing is the network effect: if lots of people start to use linux distros, then it makes sense for even people with $$ to use it, offices to use it, etc, as it is what everyone will understand. And if one developing country follows the Open Source path, it can set an example to others.

      Something to watch, perhaps.

  4. Asia is the current battleground by caluml · · Score: 4, Insightful

    All the posturing and buying senators that Microsoft can do in the US, and Europe will have no effect when China, and India come online in a big way. Especially for governments suspicious of Windows, and the possibility of backdoors.

    --
    Get your own free personal location tracker
  5. With support? by cruppel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hmm now that's what caught my eye. I believe they said

    ...the ministry has agreed to take on service and support issues related to the PCs.

    This could get interesting... I know Wal-Mart sells headless Linux boxes for $200 but the only people that buy them are guys who already run Linux. The support could persuade a LOT more people into using Linux.

  6. Hehe by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 5, Funny

    VIVE LA REVOLUTION!

    Ohhh crap, I'm gonna get flamed ... better put freedom in there somewhere to make it okay ...

    VIVE FREEDOM REVOLUTION!

    --
    Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
  7. the revolution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The revolution has begun!

    Shoot. . . I work for the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. . . should I be concerned?

  8. Specifications by Captain+Pooh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cnet.com has the specifications on the laptop.

    800MHz Intel Celeron processor

    128MB of RAM

    20GB hard disk

    1. Re:Specifications by Mr.+Sketch · · Score: 4, Informative

      You forgot one more important spec:

      No CD-ROM or floppy drive.

      However, they will be selling a 'high-end' version with CD-ROM for ~$600.

      --
      Things you think are in the Constitution, but are not.
  9. It's about time. by RedCard · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's about bloody time.

    This is what linux is best for, after all - low cost hardware made to run just as fast as the new stuff via the application of a good, stable, OS. Also the fact that this allows HP to cut M$ out of the picture completely. An OS is really the only computer component that can be had free, and I see no reason why this couldn't be done on this side of the ocean.

    How long before Walmart (a company that I usually loathe) starts selling a super-low-cost lindows laptop? I'd sure buy it! (Or have they released one already?)

    1. Re:It's about time. by TKinias · · Score: 4, Funny

      scripsit MsGeek:

      First thing I'd do in a case like that is wipe Lindows and put a real Linux distro in...maybe Knoppix, maybe Mandrake 9.1.

      You misspelled Debian...

      *duck*

      --
      In principio creauit Linus Linucem.
    2. Re:It's about time. by loucura! · · Score: 4, Funny

      Heretic! It's spelled s-l-a-c-k-w... oh, bugger it, I can't be bothered with spelling it for you.

      --
      Black and grey are both shades of white.
    3. Re:It's about time. by Fizzlewhiff · · Score: 5, Funny

      You misspelled Debian...

      Relax, it was just a Thaipo.

      --

      'Same speed C but faster'
  10. I love this... by Stephonovich · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I love this comment:
    Additionally, with the rampant amount of piracy in Thailand, users could easily purchase the low-cost PCs and install pirated Windows software on them.
    It just isn't something one usually sees on a news site... Almost as though it's advocating piracy. (ALMOST, Future Flamers...)

    (-:Stephonovich:-)

    --
    "Who needs reincarnation when we've got parallel universes?" -Me
  11. Obligatory *really* bad pun by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 5, Funny
    I heard that Mr. Gates was fit to be Thai'd when he heard about this...

    Yeah, my work day is done.

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
  12. Re:IBM should jump on this... by OECD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, they could call it the Thaibook!

    Sorry...

    --
    One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
  13. The Thai keyboard isn't a problem... by MerryGoByeBye · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...as long as you're a good Thaipist. ducks

  14. Seems right to me by frovingslosh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just bought an HP notebook a few months ago (here in the U.S., where I couldn't avoid the M$ tax). Since then I've seen another HP notebook with a faster Athlon and bigger hard disk (40 gig vs. 30 gig) for the same $850 I paid. Considering that HP will build the systems with 20, 30 or 40 gig drives, will put a 14.5 inch rather than a 15 inch screen, give a choice of CPU, and will sell it with a DVD drive rather than the DVD/CDRW drive I got, it certainly makes sense that you can get a decent Linux notebook for this price, although I would expect a 40 gig version with a DVD/CDRW drive and a hot processor to certainly be more. But HP could well sell decent notebooks here at that price too if they dropped the M$ tax.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  15. Right you are by OECD · · Score: 4, Informative

    Right you are, according to this CNet article:

    The government is subsidizing the cost of the hardware...

    Sorry folks, I don't think the Thai government is going to pony up for the rest of us.

    --
    One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
  16. Pirated Windows??? by psxndc · · Score: 4, Interesting
    When was the last time you tried running a version of Windows on an 800MHz Celeron with only 128MB RAM? I wouldn't worry about pirates using these for XP. :-)

    psxndc

    --

    The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.

  17. Darn.. by eniu!uine · · Score: 4, Funny

    and I was thinking of visiting Thailand too. They'd better not stamp a EULA on my passport.

    --
    My Blog
  18. Re:But they might be sued... by MikeFM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's fine. The PHB's companies can keep spending an extra few million a year on software. That makes life easier for all their competition that is smart enough to accept the savings. :)

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  19. I really like the IDC quote... by pjrc · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ...where Byran Ma is quoted saying:

    What you've got is a blank canvas in which the user can paint any color he wishes whether that's officially licensed Microsoft software or pirated software.

    Why is it so hard to imagine that users will simply just use whatever comes with the machine? As long as it works, and even if it occasionally crashes or doesn't work in some way (eg, the long sordid history of a certain monopoly vendor)., they'll probably never bother to go to the considerable trouble to reformat and install 'doze.

    Especially since the machine doesn't include a cdrom or floppy drive.

    --
    PJRC: Electronic Projects, 8051 Microcontroller Tools