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HP Sells Cheap FreeDOS PC in China

Posted by michael on from the nuts-and-bolts dept.

Johan writes "HP has started selling a Yuan 3,999 ($483) PC in China. The cool part is that it runs FreeDOS! Not sure why FreeDOS was chosen, but I suspect they expect it to be replaced with Linux or Windows by the user. By not having to pay for Windows, they are able to include better hardware. They probably didn't want the support burden of bundling the PC with a Linux distribution." And while we're on China, Cringely has some prognostication and speculation about IBM's sale of their PC division to a Chinese company.

31 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. Uh by Neil+Blender · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is $483US really cheap in China?

    1. Re:Uh by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's about 3/4ths of a year's wages at the Ohio Arts Etch-a-Sketch factory....

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    2. Re:Uh by bcrowell · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Sure it's not the best quality, but if you need a computer and are poor, $99 sure beats nearly $500.
      No, it's not the best quality, but it's Great Quality (that's the brand name -- geddit, huh? huh :-)

      But seriously, I've bought three of the $200 Great Quality machines from Fry's, and actually the quality has been quite good. They're made in Taiwan, BTW -- I don't know if that would prevent them from being exported to PRC.

      I'm sorry, but $483 doesn't even sound like a cheap price by my U.S. standards, forget about China! You can make a heck of a good high-end PC yourself for about $600 (high-end meaning a big hard disk and a pretty darn fast CPU, although maybe not the very fastest CPU or fanciest 3-d video card for gaming); producing them in quantity, they should easily be $450 to $500-ish. If anybody is still paying $1000 for a PC in this day and age, I assume it's a pretty serious server box (or maybe a very bleeding-edge gaming machine, where you pay an extra $500 for an extra 10% in performance).

      It's kind of pathetic that the CNN article doesn't give any specs, doesn't provide any links, and doesn't say whether the machine comes with a monitor.

      --
      Find free books.
  2. FreeDOS In chinese by Janitha · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am having a hard time imagining FreeDOS with the chinese character set, if thats what is used.

  3. Free from the MS Tax - Nice by MooseByte · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Anytime a major vendor starts shipping affordable (and hopefully quality) consumer boxes that are free from the Microsoft tax, I get that warm fuzzy feeling.

    Then again I suppose my G4 iBook counts too. ;-)

    1. Re:Free from the MS Tax - Nice by burns210 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      100%? No. The kernel and core utilities are fully open source, which Apple has superb relations with the projects. The browser is based on KHTML, etc.

      The hardware is open standards, which Apple leads the way in (USB, Firewire, bluetooth, rondevous, pci-x) and is first to adopt. PowerPC, ram, video cards, monitors, keyboards, peripherals, drives, disk drives, etc... All open(though not necesarily the most abundant) standards.

      get off your high horse. Apple is consistantly giving back to the open source community, rely on open standards, and join open groups.

      They are a company, they can do what they want. But give them some slack.

    2. Re:Free from the MS Tax - Nice by Neph · · Score: 2, Funny
      ... I get that warm fuzzy feeling. Then again I suppose my G4 iBook counts too. ;-)

      iBook? Warm feeling? That's your scrotum burning!

  4. Is MS-DOS an alternative to Windows? by spiritraveller · · Score: 4, Insightful
    HP's new model, part of its Pavilion series, features a central processing unit (CPU) from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and a FreeDOS operating system, both cheaper alternatives to more popular CPUs from Intel and the Windows operating system from Microsoft.

    I think the reporter has never used FreeDOS, nor knows what it is (surprise surprise).

    FreeDOS is very useful, but for the vast majority of users, it's not an "alternative" to Windows. It's an alternative to MS-DOS!

  5. $483??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Er, it doesn't say if it includes a monitor. If it doesn't then that is a lousy price. Both HP and Dell sell their low end PC's for $350 here in the U.S. Even with a flatscreen the dell cost is $539 with printer and XP Home edition. That for a P4 3.8 ghz with 236megs ram.

  6. Re:Maybe they did prefer FreeDOS by Neil+Blender · · Score: 2, Funny

    >> They probably didn't want the support burden of bundling the PC with a Linux distribution.

    > Have you considered they might prefer FreeDOS, and deem it the best solution compared with other alternatives such as Linux,

    Uh, no, you are both wrong. They were just tired of hearing all the rinux jokes.

  7. Let me get it out of the way... by Mr.+Bad+Example · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure, you can install Windows or Linux on these...but an hour later, you'll just have to reinstall.

  8. Why is this news? by poofyhairguy82 · · Score: 4, Informative
    I don't get it. This doesn't sound like big news. right now I can buy an HP for $379. I could probably get a cheap enough monitor to make it under the $483 price. So why is this news? Because its China? Why does that matter?

    --

    Open Source Sushi

  9. Oh, Come on by northcat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I suspect they expect it to be replaced with Linux or Windows by the user....They probably didn't want the support burden of bundling the PC with a Linux distribution.

    Oh, come on. Don't be such a zealot. Lets get real. How hard is it for a vendor to install linux? They are going to replace it with a pirated copy of windows. Yeah, so slashdot is a site for (open source) geeks, but this is just going too far. This is just plain lying. BTW, I live in a developing and there already a LOT of PCs by compaq which have freedos or some other DOS. I KNOW what these PCs are used for. They are just replaced with a pirated copy of Windows. Trust me. I know.

    The next thing you know, slashdot will be reporting in a few days that the Linux desktop share has exceeded that of Windows desktop share.

    1. Re:Oh, Come on by bersl2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I KNOW what these PCs are used for. They are just replaced with a pirated copy of Windows. Trust me. I know.

      This is why a sucessful anti-pirating campaign by Microsoft in Asia would be a great boon for FOSS. When you can't get Windows for very cheap or free anymore, do you think that everyone will still want to pay for XP? No, I don't think so. That is where we can fill in the void.

    2. Re:Oh, Come on by flithm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be fair, he did say... and I quote: "to be replaced with Linux or Windows ".

      It does make sense to put FreeDOS on it, if you what you want is something really really cheap. Even in terms of just setting up the initial disk image for all the machines you intend to produce. Instead of the half an hour it might take to set up GNU/Linux, you can slap FreeDOS on there in like 45 seconds. Who cares. The idea is cheap... so that once again:

      it can be "replaced with Linux or Windows".

      Give the guy a break. You're the one who came off sounding like zealot.

  10. HP assumes PC will get pirated Win-XP? by MonkeyBoyo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    pirating is rampant in China. Is HP thinking the PC will probably get a pirated copy of Win-XP, but it is not their fault if it does?

    1. Re:HP assumes PC will get pirated Win-XP? by maniac_inside · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well I am reminded of a recent surevey by Gartner

      "80% of all PC's shipped with Linux are made to run pirated versions of Windows XP"

      Anyway a recent undisclosed survey has found

      "100% of all PC's shipped with FREEDOS are made to run pirated versions of Windows XP"

  11. Re:Maybe they did prefer FreeDOS by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Oh, c'mon, he has a point. FreeDOS is a nice OS, but for a modern computer sold to "normal" people it's simply unusable. Like i said in an earlier post, IMHO they bundle FreeDOS instead of "HP-Linux" because it spares themselves of offering support.

    Breaking ties with Microsoft and OEM bundled Windows (which, realistically, will end up installed in most of those machines one way or another) might also have something to do with it.

  12. Here by northcat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here, in India, there are already a lot of PCs sold by compaq that have freedos or caldera dos installed.

    1. Re:Here by maniac_inside · · Score: 2, Informative

      Being from India, and subscriber to 3 national newspapers, I can surely disagree with you. It is for me really hard to even find on most occasions anything related to Linux. It is quite possibe that they might be selling it from an underground shop, but I don't think that is how they are going to sell it. The truth is More than 95% of households in India run on (pirated) Windows.

  13. FreeDOS by Eberlin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Any site linked from Slashdot is bound to get a free DOS.

    Now to be more on-topic: Does it have FreeDOS installed or does it just come with a FreeDOS disc? I remember a while back that someone used that as a loophole against an MS contract that mandated the company not to sell machines without an OS. They responded by shipping the machine with a copy of FreeDOS. (was it dell?)

    As I'm sure it'll be tough to get online, download Linux iso's, and burn them to cd-r using FreeDOS, are there any provisions made by the Linux community to make sure folks who need distros there can get them? I'm thinking Ubuntu-esque.

    Then there's the pessimist in me that's thinking the machines will have a pirated version of windows instead of a perfectly legal Linux distro. Oh well.

  14. The s**t will hit by ehack · · Score: 2, Interesting

    when the chinese move to their own processor design - which they can do anytime if they decide to run Linux .

    --
    This is not a signature.
    1. Re:The s**t will hit by Amiga+Trombone · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Under one of the stipulations for many industries (automotive was the focus for this article), the Western corp must:

      * Partner with a Chinese company
      * Share design and technical info
      * License design and IP in such a way that the partner company can create new designs from the original and derivative works are owned by the Chinese company

      Well, tying the two stories together, it doesn't look like IBM is going to have any problem with that

  15. the only news in this article... by Fortun+L'Escrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    is what cringley had to say. the whole cheap PC china thing should have been the side note.

  16. They must be required to include an OS by Vince · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As mentioned in other posts, this sounds exactly like what Dell did. In order to satisfy a contract with Microsoft that requires every PC to be sold with an OS, if you bought an "OS-less" PC, it included FreeDOS on a CD. Of course, nobody is going to actually use FreeDOS, but it satisfies the contract.

  17. Sorry to bust Your dream, buddy, by Britz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    but FreeDOS won't be replaced by Linux. 99.99 % will install Windows on them. I have been there. You can go into any shop (almost all carry them) and get a CD for about a buck containing Windows XP, Office, Photoshop and Dreamweaver in a printed cardboard cover.

    Nobody, not even the largest businesses will get bothered if they only install pirated versions. Considering the fact that all large Software makers dont't do discounts in countries with a lower average income I have a hard time imagening anyone paying for Windows in China.

    So Windows is basically free (as in beer) for everyone in China. So Linux and Windows are on par considering price. On how many desktops do You see FreeDOS getting replaced by Linux again?

  18. Re:FreeDOS In chinese - Not going to be used by attemptedgoalie · · Score: 4, Informative

    The only reason it has FreeDOS is to keep it cheap.

    China is one of the countries with rampant software piracy. If you bundle an OS, you're not competitive.

    They are well aware that pirated Windows will be installed. They just can't put that in the press release.

    --
    My mom says I'm cool.
  19. Re:I'm not sure, but here... by evilviper · · Score: 2, Funny
    HP is probably targeting the city folks who are making a bit more.

    You should really try reading the articles... I promise your eyes *won't* start bleeding, or fall out of your skull.
    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  20. List of FreeDOS.org mirrors by Jim+Hall · · Score: 3, Informative

    Hi, I'm the coordinator for the FreeDOS Project, and webmaster for FreeDOS.org. Looks like we're getting a minor slashdotting. Thanks, guys! :-) In case the main page becomes unavailable, you can use this list of mirrors instead:

    slashdot.php or slashdot.html

    The primary mirror site is at sourceforge:

    http://freedos.sourceforge.net/

  21. This is ridiculous by bayerwerke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So HP has only to ship the computer from the manufacturing facility in Taiwan to China instead of to the U.S. or other market and probably saves on Windows tax and the computer sells for more than a low end machine where costs are higher?

    What would be the opposite of 'dumping'? Is there no end to HP's efforts to destroy their entire business?

  22. It's called shared VRAM by tepples · · Score: 2, Informative

    Many integrated graphics chipsets, such as NVIDIA's Xbox chipset and Intel Extreme Graphics chipset, steal a few MB of main RAM to use as video RAM.