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Element Computer: ION Linux on Linux Hardware

Posted by timothy on from the good-idea dept.

JigSaw writes "Well known Lycoris person Jason Spisak left the company to join Element Computer, a new hardware company which now strives to offer the Apple experience on PCs: they sell Linux-certified modern hardware with their own flavor of Debian, ION Linux. ION is a desktop distro and it is developed specifically to work perfectly with the accompanied hardware. Other highlights include usage support (as opposed to installation-only support other distros provide) and system upgrades specific to the exact hardware the user runs. The KDE-based distro will only sell with their hardware as Mike Hjorleifsson says in his interview." (The company was previously mentioned on Slashdot.)

5 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. Secret developers by winkydink · · Score: 5, Funny
    We don't publicly state who and where our developers are for obvious reasons.

    Ummm... you don't have any?

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  2. Linux with usage support? by rdsmith4 · · Score: 5, Funny
    And it ships on hardware?!? A novel concept! This will be THE breakthrough! 2004 is indeed the Year of the Penguin!

    Oh wait, you have to pay for it.

    Damn.

  3. Re:The "Apple experience"? by 00420 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The hardware limitations are part of the reason Apple offers such a solid, well-functioning OS.

    --
    Have you tried Linux yet?
  4. Re:GPL? by El+Cubano · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't like that a company is using Linux in a way that (seemingly) intentionally keeps its software from being of use to anyone who doesn't buy their product. It seems to go around the purpose of GNU and OSS.

    Actually, you have it backwards. This is exactly what the GPL was designed for. This company has snazzy new hardware. Since the company can customize an OS around GNU/Linux, they are saved the millions of dollars requisite to develop a proprietary OS. Now you can buy the base model for $799, instead of $2799. Nevermind that then vendors and OSS projects would have to work on porting their products to the new OS (not likely in many cases) in the case of a new proprietary OS.

    It's better for them as a company because they are quicker to market and can make their products more economical. It's better for the users because thay can use a well established, rock solid stable OS with thousands of already available applications.

    So what if you can only get the hardware from them? As long as they comply with the GPL (or the licesnse for any app they modify), it's all good.

  5. Un-fricken-believable by MicroBerto · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Wow. I was just thinking to myself, "You know what, Mike? We need MORE LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS!"

    Not only that, but we need distributions that only work_on/come_with certain hardware. So now I go from 2% market share to 0.0002% marketshare!

    Have these guys ever taken Marketing 101, or ANY type of business course? What kind of business plan is this, and who honestly expects it to sell?

    Let me give you one obvious hint - steal business ideas that are GOOD, not those that have been holding Apple back for the past 15+ years.

    --
    Berto