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How Do Small GNU/Linux PC Vendors Survive?

Posted by Cliff on from the increasing-their-darwin-factor...or-not dept.

garananda asks: "In spite of being one of the very few sources for customized PC laptops pre-installed with various flavors of GNU/Linux, Qli Linux Computers is closed as of March 15th 2004 after serving the community for six years (thanks for all of your hard work). It is becoming easier to get Linux computers from some of the big vendors, but usually this means no hardware choices and no choice of preferred GNU/Linux distribution. Is any small company providing this service and succeeding (lots of hardware options for desktops, custom laptop options, multiple GNU/Linux distributions, and no mandatory 'Microsoft tax')? How do they do it? Given the low margins in the PC market and given the variance of component quality and component vendor reliability/prices, how would _you_ do it?" When one asks "How does one sell Linux", it's only fair to point out what you don't do. Beyond that, what are other recommendations do you have for putting Linux out there for consumers, in the hopes it will sell your hardware?

5 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. Seems like you should be asking the vendors... by Siniset · · Score: 5, Informative
    I for one would love to hear from some linux vendors on how they sell their products, and some of the problems they've faced. Perhaps slashdot could do an interview with one, or more of them. Here's some links to some linux vendors, so you can contact them directly (and maybe even buy something from them, since that's how they stay in business). :) note: i don't work for any of these companies

    Los Alamos Computers These guys seem pretty good, and offer a lot of choice, and have some clearance systems.
    penguin computing
    Linux Certified
    Linux.org's listing of linux hardware vendors. Doesn't seem to be that up to date(last I looked) but a good starting point for finding computers running linux.

    1. Re:Seems like you should be asking the vendors... by saberworks · · Score: 2, Informative

      I have purchased two computers from LACLinux.com. The first was an athlon 2000+ laptop and the second (just a couple of weeks ago) was a p4 3.2ghz desktop machine.

      They are priced higher than places like dell for comparable hardware, but they custom load each machine and even compile custom kernels for each machine. Here is my recent web log post regarding my desktop purchase:

      http://www.evilmagic.net/archives/000012.html

      Overall, I am -very- happy with them. I have never heard of the one in this topic though. Sad to see that they closed down. :(

  2. Speaking of what not to do.... by lichen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Personally, I think one of the worst ideas is to tie your software and hardware directly together, as Sun has. Their hardware is way behind the times (too slow, and too expensive). It's better to use Linux as a way to lower overall system cost and say, "hey, now you can get a computer for $199!"

    Some people think that Sun does have a future as a hardware manufacturer, but I think I will have to agree with the article, they can't win the fight against being squeezed out of the market by cheap Intel/AMD servers running Linux (or Windows..).

    They really have to decide where they are going, and find a new way to earn money. I think Java is their best bet. I HOPE they will do something like IBM, and jump on the Linux bandwagon as the main platform for Java. Still, finding a steady and large revenue stream from that could be difficult. I suspect they get some from Websphere and the other one (forget what its called), and maybe some from selling courses in Java, but that can't be enough. If they started charging money for using Java I think they would discover that their customer loyalty would evaporate pretty quickly.

    I suspect some people here on Slashdot will crow about the problems Sun is going through, but consider that Sun has actually been good for the Open Source world. If it wasn't for the fact that it is a cheap Java platform, Linux would not be as widespread as it is in the business world. Also, they gave us Open Office, and participates and even sponsors a number of Open Source projects. Ant, GNOME, Tomcat, GNUlpr, Open Office... Sure, most projects are Java related, but that is understandable and it is still more than most of the big companies have given us.

    Well, if they die, it will be interesting to see what happens with Java. Perhaps they will Open Source it completely, if not out of the goodness of their hearts, then at least as a poison pill against Microsoft...

  3. Linux Laptop Vendors by mcelrath · · Score: 2, Informative
    I maintain a list of vendors that sell linux-preinstalled laptops. There are many still alive, and I encourage everyone who is going to use linux on their laptop to buy one from one of these vendors, rather than sending money to Microsoft just so you can remove their crap.

    -- Bob

    --
    1^2=1; (-1)^2=1; 1^2=(-1)^2; 1=-1; 1=0.
  4. Doesn't the same thing apply to Windows as well? by darnok · · Score: 2, Informative

    Most corporates I know buy their PCs from someone like IBM, Dell, etc., then simply overwrite whatever's on there with either a SOE desktop or a standard server build. Unless the corporate is big enough to have the vendor install their SOE build for them, it doesn't matter at all what the vendor ships them with; it'll get blown away and replaced before a user sees it. These customers have MS Select agreements so Windows installed on the box is just a nuisance.

    I'm pretty sure that's the reason why at least one vendor (Dell?) sells a typical corporate desktop PC with FreeDOS on it - it just gets blown away, so why bother with a Windows licence?

    Aside from the issues of competing with Dell etc. in terms of buying and marketing clout, I don't see that a small PC vendor would care if they were selling PCs with Windows or PCs with Linux as far as business sales are concerned.

    OTOH, if they're selling to home users, most Windows users will want Windows installed for them and most Linux users will just reinstall their own favorite distribution in their favorite configuration - the vendor may as well not bother actually installing Linux at all, but just ensure hardware drivers for all the bits in the box are readily available.