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More Cheap Linux PCs
prostoalex writes "The low-cost Linux PC market so far dominated by Lindows got a new entrant. According to News.com, Linare plans to sell a $199 no-monitor model with 1GHz VIA CPU, 128MB RAM, 20GB HDD, KDE, OpenOffice. An extra $50 would get the user upgraded to a 2GHz Athlon. Company is located in beautiful Bellevue, WA, which, as News.com noted, is quite close to another Seattle suburb - Redmond, WA."
It's only right that if they make money off linux, they should donate to those who work on it. If they would advertise it, I'd be more likely to buy from them.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
It's a PC that's got Linux on it.
Clear enough?
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
Work with my mozilla. I'm using 1.4b from ubl.
Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
I would be concerned about the quality of a $200 PC.
I'm currently looking for a cheap computer to use as a router/firewall/internet gateway for my home network. This looks like a good solution; just bang in the spare wireless & ethernet cards sitting in my bits box, bridge them together, and then hook in my USB ADSL modem. Stuff on some iptables rules and some intrusion detection, and I've got just the setup I need. Best bit is, I won't be paying for the two expensive things I don't need: MS Windows and a monitor.
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
Linare provides home users a more user friendly and a reliable operating system
I love statements like that, More friendly and reliable than what?? A TRS-80?? Mac?? Silly marketing
A 2Ghz Athlon computer for the price of the processor?
Nice. I'm in.
Is anyone else tired of low end machines that have an excessively fast processor with way too little RAM? Sure, you can always upgrade, but since this machine is destined for non-techies, it should work well out of the box.
I'd rather have a 600 Mhz machine with twice as much RAM so that KDE doesn't run like a slug.
Maybe 128 MB would be excusable if they turn the anti-aliasing and other shiny eye-candy off by default.
pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7
The more of these dime companies release crap boxes, the more Linux will be thought of as a crap OS, the kind of thing your redneck friends buy at Wal-Mart because they can't afford a real PC from Dell or Gateway with the "good" OS.
Sounds crappy, but that's where I see this going. Keep it up.
Hell, the OS alone will cost more than the hardware required to run it soon, at this rate. That's certainly the case with the Windows Server versions (although frankly if you spend more on licensing than hardware, you're going to be unhappy...).
Do I buy a $3000 G5, or a dozen 2Ghz Athlons loaded with ClusterKnoppix?
These types of systems will be great for many people who are trying to get invlolved in the Linux community who are either a) afraid of attempting an install (afraid of losing any other OS's on the system) or b) just want a second system to play around with Linux on Also, even if you ARE going to use M$ why not just spend the $250 and install a pirated copy of win2k?! The same system with winXP installed would probably cost you a few hundred dollars more!!!
The sort of people who are going to be attracted to a low spec, cheap PC with an easy to use OS will want a monitor.
Why is no one doing a complete PC, with decent RAM, video and so forth for, say $400-$500 range?
Dont these cheapo Linux PC just cheapen the image of Linux?
I'm in the UK. Computer components cost more here, yet I could build a perfectly fine PC for under $200. I actually keep tabs on how much it'd cost me to get a basic rig up and running for, incase my machine explodes, whatever, and I need something to tide me over.
You can build a regular Duron 1.3Ghz box including case, keyboard, mouse, 30GB HD, 128MB RAM, and using onboard video, sound and LAN for about £140 including the 17.5% sales tax.
Generally US retailers bizarrely don't include the tax (even though you're gunna pay it anyway), so deduct 17.5% from my figure, that's £119.15.. which is just over $190.
These guys are in the US, and they're trade.. so they're getting their parts at well below $200, and probably have a margin of 50%, excluding labor, which, admittedly, could be the deal breaker in the bloated US salary market.
I agree that computer expertise segmented along economic boundaries is a bad thing; the following thought came to mind while I thought about it:
If the working poor are using the cheap PCs and Linux as opposed to the Wintel machines out there, all that practical experience could conceivably serve a grander purpose: "street smart" computer users who with a little more formal training could be sysadmins and jump into the IT sector with the corresponding higher wages.
Being "less educated" with the greater set of "practical skills" is not necessarily a bad thing. When Microsoft advertises its MCSE program, encouraging people with (and I nearly quote) "no computer experience needed!" to apply, I put people with practical skills above those with a zero pervious experience and a nicely framed certification certificate.
It's a simple case of "book smarts" versus "street smarts." "Book smarts" can get you the honors at graduation; "street smarts" get the job done.
My $b10 for the day.
Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
This sounds a lot like where the article in HBR was heading and the counterpoint in Forbes discussed. This concept, though, is a lot more novel than the approach that HBR took in that the functions of IT are not marginalized but, rather, those working in that field are. As IT systems, computers, the Internet, etc. are looked at more as the tools they are and not the end itself, those working on them will be seperated from those working with them. Just like your mechanic example. Very interesting.
This is the box to be bought on newspaper route delivery money. Back in the day I was able to buy and solder together a 'computer' and then add the options like address display LEDs. I cannot even remember the name of the company that pushed these out via small adds in the back of magazines but I learned the basics and it was the total package available from one company. This is a great idea and with just a few kids getting this machine for and on their own we will get the next generation off to a good solid start in the basics. Two 1802's up.
Most people I know got a computer sometime within the past 5 or 6 years, and they still have it. It costed them plenty 0 bux, it still does what they want it to do. I know quite a few people still running win95, let alone 98, it's patched, updated whatever, they live with any other inefficiencies, because it still surfs, does email, plays audio whatever and that's it. Most folks don't build their own or run out every 6 months to a year and buy a new computer, not when the old one is working and they got tons of other bills. Lot of folks are feeling that pinch now, a new computer falls into the unnecessary toy category whern they already have one they paid 1500$ for or something and it ain't broke. That's one of the reasons for flat sales. I'd like a new one,but not even gonna pay 200$ for one though, What I have works just fine and it's 6 years old now. If I had a need, for a tool, of course, but I don't do photoshop editing or anything like that, this old box still does what it needs to do, and with modern OS like linux on it, it will probably keep doing what it needs to do for awhile. I ain't askeered of it or being "left behind", and I still only got half the ram loaded that it will take, so if I *need* an upgrade, I'm one stick away-cheap in other words.. I figure I can hold out with this one for another one to two years, by then, 100$ will get ya something spiffy(er). I've had computers since the late 80s, not like I haven't spent some cash on them, just a plateau of sorts was reached a few years ago with computers in general terms, the *need* is falling now for the latest and greatest or even the cheapest. It's like some other toys, I've been through a few cell phones, I still don't know, care or use 3/4ths of the stuff the phone is capable of, and don't seem to miss it. I don't own a PDA yet, don't seem to miss it. When they get to under 100$, or even down to 50$, I might buy one, but not today and not for 500$. I like gadgets and tools, just have a different set of priorities, like right now I need a new chainsaw more than a new computer, I'd rather drop 2 to 500 clams on one of them-if I had the "spare" cash, heh. I'd rather get a new bumper winch for the jeep rather than the newest PDA. I'd rather get a half dozen more solar panels than a new "game" machine. Shoot, I'd rather pop for a couple of gold eagles before I popped for a 6-700$ new pretty specced decent whitebox. Different strokes. A lot of people are that way, I don't think it's all that unusual either. I guess people with really a lot of cash like to always upgrade every year or every other year, but nowadays there isn't that much more oomph - need to justiofy it unless it's top to your main hobby or it's required for your business, then it's swell, seems like some good deals out there. Like the new G5, heck ya I'd like to order one, ain't happening though. When you do physical labor for a living, you think of what stuff costs in terms of pain and sweat and bill paying priorities, 3 grand is a chunk o change, and a lot of sweat. 200$ for a very basic semi new machine is more like it though, I'm glad to see more reasonableness and wider choices in the market. Now if it gets to laptops that cheap....THEN you're talking, you'll get my attention then. I'll find the scratch qucikly.
I guess it's funny, there's such a widely diverse market, and it's happened so quickly. Nearest I can recall is how fast portable "transistor" radios caught on, one year, nada, next year a few, at 50 to 100$, which was serious money then, within a few more years, everyone had one, cheap as all get out. What are they now, a dollar a piece in small quantity wholesale lots? computers now are the same deal, so many out there that work well and only run 50$ used, I think that's where a lot of the sales are going. Or people get them given to them. I have a stack of older pentiums I fool with, I bought a whole pallet of them for really cheap, with a ton of other doo dads thrown in, like another stack of ibm clickers, heh. PCs are cheap now, that's why the flat new sales, there's no absolute "need" for millions of people anymore.
Hmm, I have YET to make a "cluster" hmmmm.....
>>They may not be nerds, and may not have college degrees, but I'd argue that they're extremely technical. Those same skills - especially troubleshooting and understanding how little details make a bigger thing work - are the exact skills that everyone needs, from programmers to network administrators.
Most car mechanics I know are nerds in some way. It just is not generally with computers, but they know all kinds of factoids about their love--cars.
Have you ever watched Monster Garage? I think Jesse James is pretty much a nerd, but because he builds custom choppers and uses a welding torch instead of a keyboard, he is not placed in that category. He exhibits similar personality characteristics to the the uber-geeks I know.
It just struck watching the show one weekend. If I had gone to VoTech instead of a high school that was focused on College Prep, I would have become somewhat like him. Working on cars, using my creative abilities to build custom cars or custom fabricate solutions to my customer's problems.
As it is, I build custom software and fabricate software solutions for client's problems.
I forget...are we at war with Eurasia or East Asia?
You're fine with the high-school dropout who taught himself how to fix cars working on your car. However, you don't hire him to run your high-end plan machinery.
The same is the case here. You might hire some of these people to maintain the desktops in your enterprise but you sure as hell won't have one of them being sysadmin on your mission-critical mainframe servers.
Mmmm.. Donuts
But what if, for $200, you get a computer that you can take out of the box, plug in and start surfing the Web within a couple of minutes? In short, what if the computer works as advertised and gets you doing what you want without any fuss?
I'd imagine that if Joe Public wanted a machine that could send email, and if that's what he got for his $200, he'd be happy enough. By and large, the operating system would be transparent and irrelevant to what he was doing.
Attack its weak point for massive damage!
http://www.linare.com/alliance.htm
is a word-for-word ripoff of:
http://www.suse.de/en/partner/become_partner/
However, don't count out the value of getting more "desktops" out there in the hands of ordinary users! Every system sold (assuning these boxes are reasonably well built, and configured with software that works well together so the whole thing doesn't just backfire) is another new Linux user. Every new Linux user is another step towards the kind of market share that will get the attention of real, honest, money making businesses. And, if you get their attention, they are going to start looking for Linux developers to build things for these boxes.
It might not be money in my pocket now, but it's more likely I'll have a fun job developing real stuff for Linux and OSS in the future...
Your Servant, B. Baggins
http://www.linare.com/consulting.htm
.
Excerpt:
"Linare is the worldâ(TM)s premier technology system integrator for Linux solutions in the enterprise."
I wish them all the luck in the world though
Peace,
Ex-MislTech
google "32 trillion offshore needs IRS attention"
The thing that irks me the most about discussing such technical topics around the technically literate is that they don't see the one factor that makes the product. Usability.
;)), but because of their ingenious in integrating it into their business model. They want to give you a computer that gets things done for less than $300. If that's not a truly samaritan business model, I don't know what is. All I know is that business models like this succeed when there's actually a message behind it.
;)
;)
I personally could give a shit less about 128 megs of ram here, 500 Mhz here, 5 FPS there. The one thing I care about is getting things done. If a computer is capable of doing such, then it is good. Anything actually capable of getting things done is worth the price in my mind. If that price is $200, then hell yeah!.
Notice that this is coming from a teenager who counts fps and mhz, relevates it to the available RAM, etc. I still could give a shit less, as long as it gets it done in a timely (meaning not taking half your day, not compiling a kernel in 1.4 seconds) manner.
I'm willing to bet an extreme amount of money that these things get the job done, and get it done in a timely fashion. For the average Joe-Sixpack, what more do you need? In all honesty, nothing much.
We finally (yes, at 17 I said finally) live in an age where function is over fashion. This age is maturing into something a little bit more than that, where efficiency is actually a variable in the thinking of the average customer. Computers like this (which I'm willing to bet get things done timely) are actually a wanted commodity now.
I expect this company to flourish, not only because of their mission statement (you get the jist of it after awhile
Think HP, when they were desperately looking for investors. Think IBM, before they got their IPO. Think Sid Meier before CivII; think even of BMW and VW before WWII. These people have the right idea in mind. Make a usable computer available to the public for the same cost as a (gasp!) video game system.
I don't know about most business analysts out there, but this company hit the market where most of the future market comes from, the teens. They relevated the cost of a good working (and unique! Teens love unique) computer for the same cost of a Playstation 2 or an X-Box.
With all do honesty, probabbly around %80 (from personal experience anyway, don't take this data to heart) of all teens recognize the importance of Internet access and a working computer. I'm willing to bet that almost all of these teens would rather take the computer
Meaning what? That this company has finally done something that only Microsoft (with it's multi-billion marketing dept.) has managed to do once in their almost 30 year history of existance. It hit on a rather large demographic, the American teen.
Expect this company to be around for awhile, people, I do
Of all the Universal Constants, here's one I know: Nice guys finish last