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HP Shipping Turbolinux HP in Asia

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the just-an-ocean-away dept.

An anonymous reader noted that "Turbolinux just announced they will be distributing TurboLinux 10 Desktop with HP's Compaq business Desktop PCs in 12 Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. "

11 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Linux in Thailand by myownkidney · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The uptake of Linux with Thai computer users is truely mindboggling. I think with the advent of LinuxTLE(Thai Language Edition), more and more computer users are moving away from Windows to Open source.

    Quite suprising considering used to be is easy to find illegal software in Thailand.

    I think HP is making the right choice by taking advantage of the situation. And with the CEO-Prime Minister Thaksin tipped to win the next election, things will only get harder for pirate software vendors.

    --
    Indefinitely Detained US Citizen
    1. Re:Linux in Thailand by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Did the stricter policing of pirated copies of Windows enable Linux to gain popularity?

      Or did the vendors realise that more people were buying LinuxTLE, and so the risk involved in pirating Windows outweighed the benefits...?

      Asia is a big market for Microsoft to lose out in, and it'll be interesting to see what happens when they have to compete with others.

    2. Re:Linux in Thailand by CBob · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Granted that XP's alot more stable than the funk nasty that was the prev versions of Windows, I still prefer the un-bloat that *nix/linux tends to bring to the table.

      I'd imagine that's a pretty universal feeling, wanting to save HD space for "important" stuff like games, tunes and the Swedish Volleyball Team.

    3. Re:Linux in Thailand by RoLi · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Asia is a big market for Microsoft to lose out in, and it'll be interesting to see what happens when they have to compete with others.

      As soon as they really have to compete, the have already lost.

      Why?

      Because what does Windows offer? It's being established, it's having great support from 3rd party software makers, it's having great driver support, etc.

      As soon as Linux overcomes the initial barriers and becomes real competition, it's over because Windows has lost all the advantages, but still retains the disadvantages (being expensive, having EULAs that can be changed anytime, being forced to upgrade, etc.).

      And that's exactly the reason why Microsoft desperately tries to stop the beginnings of Linux on the desktop.

    4. Re:Linux in Thailand by Thud457 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      This is the greatest news in the history of the world!!! Ok, so I exaggerated for effect...

      I mean, where is all our computer hardware built these days? Asia. If all the companies switch to Linux for thier home markets, that means they'll be developing drivers for Linux. That's always been one of the stumbling blocks to desktop domination.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    5. Re:Linux in Thailand by lordfoul · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I have been living in Thailand for a couple of years now and with the exception of APEC last October it has been very easy to find illegal software. The game has changed a bit and there are fewer vendors who are as high profile about selling pirated versions of software (easy to tell who has police protection and who doesn't), but it's still there.

  2. To heck with Asia... by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Interesting
    ...when can I see a decent HP (or other big OEM) laptop w/ Linux pre-loaded for sale here in the US!? (yep, I know about the third-party laptop guys, but you just try and buy one Dell, HP, or etc. laptop with Linux, and not XP, pre-loaded on it...)

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  3. Re:Great but... by arivanov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The contribution of Compaq has been always considerable. For example Compaq RAID adapters remain one of the very few to be properly integrated in the Linux block device layer and not go through a lame SCSI emulation. They have also been reasonably consistent in terms of shipping documentation and linux friendly hardware. HP has always been the complete opposite. The fact that HP was one of the last platforms to have a linux port while Alpha was the first after x86 is selfexplanatory. So frankly dunno... Time will tell...

    --
    Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
    http://www.sigsegv.cx/
  4. Agreed on Compaq... by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Interesting
    ...ferinstance, they've always been the most ardent supporters of Linux on the PDA. They were the folks who built the original Linux-based ARM bootloader for their iPAQs, and even guaranteed to repair (for a modest cost) any PDA's that were 'bricked' by a bad bootloader install. They've always been more than friendly towards OSS/FOSS from what I've seen.

    I suspect that it was the major reason Ms Fiorina and her gang (sp?) hasn't stopped flirting with Linux just yet (the other reason is HP realizing that something has just got to replace HP-UX... )

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  5. Non-compliant Singapore Web Sites? by Bander · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My mom lives in Singapore, and complains a lot about Internet Explorer and Windows in general. I've tried to get her to buy a Mac or at the very least, switch to one of the Mozilla browsers.

    She is resistant because she says there are a lot of web sites that are IE-specific, and don't work properly with other browsers. Singapore has moved to some kind of Internet-based tax filing system, and one of her Mac-using friends apparently had quite an exhausting experience trying to file her taxes through the web site. She (my mom's friend) eventually gave up and used one of the Wintel boxes at work to do her taxes.

    Can someone more tech-savvy than my mom report on their experience with IE-specific web sites that Singapore citizens are required to use? I'd love to be able to get my mom using some other browser. There are some pop-ups you just don't want your parents seeing...

    -- Bander

    --
    What we need more of is science!
  6. Re:Interesting development for HP by towatatalko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It that HP goes with the regional strong player for Linux desktop distribution. They're trying to sell their hardware by adapting to the existing situation, not necessarily picking the overall "best" Linux desktop distro. This strategy is probably sound, time will tell, but it is true that by being market player in Asia for a long time Turbolinux had developed Asian language features critical to users there, that alone is a big plus in going with Turbo.

    --

    IP was invented for the sake of lawsuits.