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Wal-Mart to Offer Wal-Mart Notebooks
ducomputergeek writes "Cnet News.com is running an article that Wal-Mart plans to launch its own line of notebook computers. I wonder if these will run Lindows or XP. We've purchased a couple low cost boxes with no OS's for cheap file servers and they've worked pretty well."
There's a neat link at the bottom of the article to another article about $200 being the magic number for PCs.
I've always thought this would be a neat idea for corporations: Several fairly powerful servers, running everything from file sharing to groupware (on BSD or Linux, SMP, etc.). A bunch of cheap PCs with no hard drives and Knoppix-type CDs configured for the company's network. All files accessed via NFS, etc.
Talk about a) inexpensive solution and b) easy support. The computers are throwaways, and you don't have to move data from a broken one to a new one. It's all on the servers. But the computers are still powerful enough to do plenty of processing on their own.
Upgrades are a cinch - distribute new CDs to everyone.
With $200 computers (how much cheaper would they be without hard drives?) it's more than possible.
Hrm.
I claim first use of "Error No. 0B" - or "No. 0B error." It'll be the new ID 10T!
Arima, as pointed out in this article. It says here that Walmart has already placed an order for 100,000 notebooks for their test-run.
Gotta get me one of these!
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/968577/posts2 d3b7fbf49b6df44390aa6459ab46c88&showtopic=3074 o main.htm
2 91.htm
e =UTF-8&q=walmart+alabama+eminent+domain&btnG=Googl e+Search
http://www.americasdebate.com/forums/index.php?s=
http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/qod/030929.shtml
http://freedom.orlingrabbe.com/lfetimes/eminent_d
http://www.badbusinessbureau.com/reports/ripoff67
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&o
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I'm one of those people who hate wal-mart (and I don't shop there as a result), so I'll comment. I'll grant that wal-mart has demonstrated a lot of innovation when it comes to supply lines and inventory management, but I despise their low price mantra.
As if it wasn't bad enough that the wal-mart chain has destroyed downtown industry all over America in favor of big box stores, if a stateside business can't meet their price point they go with an import. So much for the effort to buy american that Sam Walton pushed when he was alive.
It is estimated that 7.5 cents of every consumer dollar (excepting auto purchases) go through the wal-mart's registers. They have such a dominant position that businesses can't afford not to do business with wal-mart. For many it is a lose-lose proposition.
I think there are many wasteful and incompetent american businesses that need to be put out of their misery, but wal-mart is decimating many a good business. Their impact on the US economy is such that we should question seriously the low price mantra.
-- Solaris Central - http://w
Economies progress by making jobs more efficient so resources are freed for new jobs. You can't make new products unless some old product goes away or becomes more efficiently made.
It's hard to figure out who gets retrained in what way and how much. No system could be perfect. That Wal-Mart makes companies more efficient is not to be denied. That some companies don't adapt and go out of business, well, their workers and capital go into other businesses eventually, and the economy gradually becomes more efficient. If there were no unemployment benefits, the economy would become more efficient faster, but more people would suffer. If unemployment benefits were too easy to get and keep, the economy would progress more slowly. The trick is figuring out the best compromise. No one can ever know where that line is, and it keeps moving.
</LongWindedRamble>
Infuriate left and right
What happens if, God forbid, you get hit by a bus, or a drunk driver, or if you were kidnapped by a marauding band of scantily clad amazons? How will your parents manage their new computer? Do they know how to do any administration tasks like installing software, or installing a new printer?
I don't wish this on anybody, but in a previous job, I had to create a "hit by a bus" book, so that other people could do any of the frequent admin tasks that they might need, in case I was ever incapacitated. Now granted, most of these things (new users and backup-recovery) are not needed on a home machine, but if you have to ssh into your parent's box for any reason, then it isn't parent-safe enough.
That being said, I've set my parents up with the most parent-safe setup I can imagine. Yes it cost a bit more than $500, but I know that they won't have to find someone who knows KDE or Gnome, or how to re-compile a kernel when they want to plug in a new digital camera. I got them an iMac, and I never have to deal with administration of their machine. It cost a bit more, but I don't loose sleep over worrying if it is working or not.
-- Len