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Finally A Major-Brand Desktop With Linux, Not Windows
Fugwidzard writes "Sounds like an okay box from HP at an okay price, the NewsForge review says, but no modem, and even optional modems are Winmodems although they say they have Linux drivers for them. Plus it's not a true Linux preload - they give you a couple of Mandrake CDs and you're on your own, no support. Better than paying Microsoft tax, anyway, and a step in the right direction for HP. Supposedly they're going to have all their PCs 'Linux certified' in the near future. I hope other big PC mills do the same."
"Windows version of the d220 does include a modem option, but it is a Winmodem. HP tells me there is a Linux driver available for it on the Internet."
So if I read this right, you have to go on the Internet and download a driver for the modem in your new PC. Um, unless I have broadband, how am I supposed to get on the Internet to download this driver?
Seems about as smart as putting the installation instructions for your CD-ROM drive on a CD...
My guess is this is a testing-of-the-water here, see how things go over, probably mixed with wanting to take the easiest route. So, they toss out a machine, note they'll have everything certified, and see how it goes in the commercial market.
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On a related note, how long is it going to be until SCO is mentioned in these comments . .
"The Sage treasures Unity and measures all things by it" - Lao Tzu
There has been a major brand desktop computer without Windows, since 1984 even. There's lots of good reasons for Linux vs owning a Macintosh, but you've had choices before this.
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$tar -xvf
Yes, a step in the right direction but... Why couldn't they do it right? It wouldn't take much for a company like HP to do a decent preload. (Even Lindows has accomplished this!) I'm sure that HP has the right infrastructure and skills to do this job right. Just good enough should not be good enough!
www.mikesmind.com - www.daddyworkathome.com - www.freetofarm.org - www.tenfoottable.com
It is indeed good news that one of the bigger vendors is putting a Linux box in their catalog... However, just giving a blank box and a CD set is not the way it should be done.
Quite a lot of software should be preloaded, all nicely set-up to enable the buyer to start using it right away. When, in a later stage, someone asked him if his PC worked well with this all new, thing-of-the-underworld, very-neet-and-1337, futuristic OS on it. Only if the person can say then "yeah, sure, it had everything on it, I plugged it in and it started in 60 seconds, it came with an office suite preloaded and i browsed the internet and read e-mails in no-time...".
Only then Linux will Linux hit the home-market.
"Plus it's not a true Linux preload - they give you a couple of Mandrake CDs and you're on your own, no support."
That's the way I prefer it, actually. Whenever I buy a manufactured PC, no matter who it's from, the first thing I do is format and reinstall, even if I stick to the OS provided. Who knows what was installed from the factory? (Probably nothing bad but all it takes is one bad employee.)
That's the disappointing aspect of this - it seems like a rather half-hearted attempt rather than a strongly committed push. What is truly needed is a Tier One supplier to produce a preloaded Linux desktop with basic productivity apps like OpenOffice already installed - the sales pitch needs to stress ease of management, affordability, and security. I don't see how this rollout really hits those points...
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To play DVDs
Many people today are using broadband
Don't count on it. Linux is used a lot in poor countries where broadband is not an option.
Not that this matters though, since this product is aimed at the US market.
> Anyone who would be using Linux, at least in the USA, would just build thier own system
First of all, the d220 is aimed at business users, who want a warranty and generally don't build their own (as far as I've seen). I could also see clueless home users buying these at the advice of their pirate friend who would be happy to load Windows on it for free.
I prefer to buy an external for a number of reasons and a few extra when dealing with Linux.
I like being able to turn the modem off when I'm not using it. Some modems are preconfigured to answer the phone some aren't. It's just easier to turn it off when it's not being used.
More portable. Being that modems won't be upgrading any time soon the option of installing my modem on future PCs is very appealing.
But more than that a good RS232 port modem is pritty much universal.
Everything from the old Commodore 64 (with RS232 cable) to an iMac (with USB to sereal addapter) and everything in between.
I have a dial up modem had one for years and I don't even use it.
The modems offered by OEMs are always Win modems not worth it.
I did once consider buying a modem card but that was becouse the sereal card wasn't much cheaper. But I stayed my course.
Anyway for $20 a month I get cable internet a 64k baud. Not quite broudband of course but it's cheap and effective. No screwed up phone lines to deal with.
I don't actually exist.
You and I can put together a top end machine, the sort that HP and Dell only hawk to the business market, for a fraction of what they charge. We support ourselves and thus don't have to pay for it, while at the same time OEM discounts on componants aren't as deep at the high end.
But don't fool yourself. The mass builders can put together bargain basement junk at a tiny fraction of the price you and I can do it, and still turn some sort of profit margin. They buy low end video cards and motherboards by the millions and do a lot better on the per unit price than you can find. They throw in power supplies that would make you shudder and they don't exactly get their cases from Addtronics.
These are throw away machines. The customers for them know they are throw away machines. They are price sensitive to the penny.
You can't match them to the dollar.
KFG
Given the pricing of this box, you can:
spend $467 and throw the Linux CDs away
spend $519 and throw the Windows XP Home CDs away
spend $589 and throw the Windows XP Pro CDs away
Which do you do?
(Those of you out there really in IT support can now tell me what's wrong with the above. My last sysadmin work was around 1996...)
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
Somehow I doubt getting source code from Mandrake is going to be hard to do. Oh..I don't know... Their FTP site maybe?
The source has to be available to you, not included in the box.
from the numbers published over the last few quarters, it really looks like HP is losing the PC war with Dell (well, basically everybody is losing). Is HP pushing this because they're desperate enough to try anything (including risk a MS reprisal)?
I mean, nobody's under any illusions when it comes to whether or not MS plays hardball, right? You get the feeling this is one of those ventures where they hope to sell "many, but not so many as to trigger MS unhappiness"... between a rock and a hard place indeed.
I usually roll my own but for my last upgrade, I looked at pre-built systems to save time and aggravation. Since Linux would be going on anyway, Not paying the M$ tax would be a bonus. Not having to dick around with setting up sound, video etc etc etc. would be more of a bonus.
It may only be $52, but it's $52 that Bill's not getting.