Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Fujitsu Bundling SUSE Linux

Posted by Zonk on from the bundle-bundle dept.

WillAffleckUW writes "Fujitsu, which already offers Red Hat Linux on its servers, is announcing plans to offer SUSE Linux as well, according to an Infoworld article. Sadly, it's only for servers and services for Intel, not for AMD. Still, good news, in that you can go Red or Blue and still be Linux true!"

102 comments

  1. Oh and how I hate you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "you can go Red or Blue and still be Linux true!"

    You'd never believe how much I feel like strangling he who wrote that.

    1. Re:Oh and how I hate you by exley · · Score: 1

      I do believe you get your ass kicked for sayin' something like that.

    2. Re:Oh and how I hate you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I do believe you get your ass kicked for sayin' something like that."

      I hope you're kidding. Just look at it:

      "Still, good news, in that you can go Red or Blue and still be Linux true!"

      I believe that single line is one of the worst commentaries I have ever read on Slashdot in a long while. Better yet, what the hell does the sentence even mean? When I hear the word "red" and "blue" in a sentence, I think of The Matrix, not Linux. Who allows these stories with such stupid sayings in them?

    3. Re:Oh and how I hate you by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      "Roses are red,
      Violets are blue,
      I've got some Linux for you"

      Thhbbbtt :)

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
  2. blue? by i_should_be_working · · Score: 2, Funny

    Still, good news, in that you can go Red or Blue and still be Linux true!"

    I thought SUSE was green.

    No, I don't have anything intelligent to add to the discussion.

    1. Re:blue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      "No, I don't have anything intelligent to add to the discussion."
      Welcome to Slashdot, have a good stay.
      (;

    2. Re:blue? by modifried · · Score: 1

      "Still, good news, in that you can go Red or Green and still be in the Linux scene!"

    3. Re:blue? by MrResistor · · Score: 2, Informative

      It is, though I think a few of the Personal releases might have been blue.

      --
      Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
    4. Re:blue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At this point, the only thing about linux I want to know is: is the knoppix 4 dvd out yet? (Think "are we there yet?")

    5. Re:blue? by plaxion · · Score: 3, Funny

      Blue == INTeL
      Red == AMD [when overclocked] ;)

    6. Re:blue? by St.+Arbirix · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Still, good news, in that you can go Red or Blue and still be Linux true!

      Whoever said that should be smacked. That's hardcore cheesy.

      --
      Direct away from face when opening.
    7. Re:blue? by Gobelet · · Score: 1

      Maybe from Matrix? You know, the blue pill, you stay on Windows, the red pill, you choose Linux?

    8. Re:blue? by Asprin · · Score: 1


      Yeah. Blue was always Microsoft. *RED* was Novell, dunno about SUSE -- what do you get when mix green and red? Burnt umber, maybe?

      --
      "Lawyers are for sucks."
      - Doug McKenzie
    9. Re:blue? by sp3tt · · Score: 1

      Yellow. #FFFF00 is yellow. Of course, that's additative colours.

    10. Re:blue? by Chemicalscum · · Score: 2
      what do you get when mix green and red?

      Answer the German Government.

    11. Re:blue? by Asprin · · Score: 1


      Ouch. Nicely played, good sir.

      --
      "Lawyers are for sucks."
      - Doug McKenzie
    12. Re:blue? by Mozk · · Score: 1

      I always thought of Intel as blue and Microsoft as grey. o_0

      --
      No existe.
    13. Re:blue? by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      I thought only Windows screens were blue.

    14. Re:blue? by MrResistor · · Score: 1

      Not the screen; the box.

      Although, SuSE does include the BSOD screensaver...

      --
      Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
    15. Re:blue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe the poster is from Japan, where green is considered to be a shade of blue, AFAIK.

  3. Why not... by rudydog · · Score: 0

    Why not just buy the server with the specs that are best for you and installing Linux your self?

    1. Re:Why not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      i hear some people like things ready to use.
      getting linux pre-installed for your server could have the bennefit of knowing that it's fully compatible and already (at least to some degree) configured.
      I'm not a super l337 linux master, and i know a lot of us /.ers are, but for those that are not: linux can be a bitch to set-up. (it can also be complete cake YMMV) posted AC because I have already modded in this discussion.

    2. Re:Why not... by Lispy · · Score: 1

      Yup, like Slackware on a Dell POweredge. I was deeply impressed how smooth everything went. It felt like out of the box. :)

    3. Re:Why not... by colinrichardday · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Some people don't want any of their money going to Microsoft for an OS they don't use.

    4. Re:Why not... by Glonoinha · · Score: 1

      Here's the trick - I wouldn't buy one pre-installed because I wanted it pre-installed ... I would buy one pre-installed because it tells me that all the drivers I am going to need are available and some clown in Round Rock (or India) knows how to get them working if I can't.

      I would still reinstall it myself, but at least if / when it gets interesting (your network card is totally unrecognized, click ok or cancel) I know I can call someone / check the OEM web site for drivers and FAQ's.

      --
      Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
  4. Suse's animal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's green!!

  5. Re:Fujitsu by vga_init · · Score: 0, Troll

    I happen to like Fujitsu, you insensitive clod! My lifebook has been running tirelessly for 8 years and no component has failed yet.

  6. RE: Suse Distro by Sabathius · · Score: 2, Interesting


    To be honest, I'm glad Suse is getting more play lately. It's the most refined (read polished) linux offering I've seen yet. Also, the Yast utility is the best tool for configuring this author has had the priviledge to use.

    Sadly, they (Novel) need more multimedia support for various codecs and such. Linux might come around more if people could play movies and music immediately after installation rather than wasting time tracking down all the crap needed to play existing media.

    I hope someone from Novel is reading this post...

  7. Another article, small but fleshes the story out by master_meio · · Score: 1, Informative
    Fujitsu to offer Suse Linux and server support services

    PrimeQuest and Primergy servers gain Suse Linux support

    By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

    July 08, 2005

    Fujitsu (Profile, Products, Articles) will begin offering Novell's (Profile, Products, Articles) Suse Linux Enterprise Server software and support services for Fujitsu PrimeQuest and Primergy servers worldwide later this year, it said Friday. SPONSOR

    White Paper: Simplicity and Enterprise Search

    The company will offer the software with the Intel (Profile, Products, Articles) architecture servers from the end of September this year, said Nancy Ikehara, a spokeswoman for Fujitsu in Tokyo.

    Fujitsu currently offers Windows and Red Hat (Profile, Products, Articles) Linux software development and support services for its PrimeQuest and Primergy servers.

    The new agreement extends a deal that's been in place since 2000, under which Fujitsu supported Suse software on its Primergy servers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

  8. Re:Fujitsu by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually it could mean in Japanese Fu-jitsu, which if you wrote it in a different set of kanji, could mean "No-Skill"

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  9. Interesting blurb.... by agent+dero · · Score: 1

    Sadly, it's only for servers and services for Intel, not for AMD.

    I understanding being a fanboy of a particular brand and all, but this is ridiculous. Intel still makes some good products, and AMD makes some good products. You may not like the company, but leave that sort of nonsense to the ensuing flamefest in the comment threads ;)

    --
    Error 407 - No creative sig found
    1. Re:Interesting blurb.... by jbrader · · Score: 1

      Maybe the comment wasn't supposed to show off their fanboy-nes toward AMD but rather to tell the reader what options are available.

      --
      You are so boring that when I see you my feet go to sleep.
    2. Re:Interesting blurb.... by krayfx · · Score: 1

      yeah, makes sense. at least, let them start selling laptops/desktops with linux. then when demand picks up let amd step in as a natural course. these are the tentative steps, they will slowly come out after testing the waters. besides, AMD is only 20% of the market still - only natural that they cater to the 80% first.

    3. Re:Interesting blurb.... by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      I understanding being a fanboy of a particular brand and all, but this is ridiculous. Intel still makes some good products, and AMD makes some good products.

      And Fujitsu might make some good products, but by all accounts they also make some rather bad ones, and they'll screw you over if you're unlucky enough to buy them.

      I don't care if Fujitsu are in the HDD market or not; would *you* buy products from a company with this attitude?

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    4. Re:Interesting blurb.... by Brian+Stretch · · Score: 1

      Intel does its best to make sure you don't get a choice.

      While Intel has the occassional good product, their server chips are completely outclassed by AMD's Opteron, especially in multiprocessor setups. Buying, say, a 4-way Xeon instead of a 4-way dual-core Opteron server these days ought to be a firing offense. If you look at performance-per-watt the difference is even more extreme.

      It sure looks like Intel has been unimpressed by the JFTC case against them.

    5. Re:Interesting blurb.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the sudhian link is amazing! the way intel has been treating AMD. i wonder why AMD has been quiet for such a long time! Intel might even beat Microsoft at being evil!

    6. Re:Interesting blurb.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is nothing wrong with someone stating their opinion. Better still, it is an informative opinion. Why try to put them down for it?

  10. Linux on Fujitsu by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 4, Informative

    My experiences with installing Linux on Fujitsu equipment has been absolute hell recently. The installation instructions for RedHat Linux on a lot of their sevrers force you to use a series of driver disks, then make a bunch of system hacks to get it to install. It takes forever to do, and it's a beeyatch to document it as well, and don't get me started on upgrading the kernel. I can't update it from RHN cause then I'll break all their little modules. So I'm stuck with an old kernel on their hardware. Debian won't go on their BX300 blades... well, it does, but not until you've jigged with the Promise RAID a lot. Also, BSD 5.4 is a PITA to install on a twin CPU RX300. You need to disable one of the CPUs to get it installed, then rebuild the kernel with SMP module.

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
    1. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by nettdata · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I have had the EXACT same experiences... especially installing Suse via their remote management board... what a fscking joke.

      We bought a crap load of their RX200's, RX300's, and RX600's, and they're a PITA.

      That being said, their phone support for Linux was VERY good (at least here in Canada, where you had to call some guy in Toronto). They answered a bunch of questions we had and supplied us with some drivers we needed, but all in all, Linux is a HUGE afterthought for these guys, with Windoze being their main focus.

      For that matter, we had a hellish time installing Windows on the boxes.

      I'll buy/recommend Fujitsu gear again. I'm very happy with a bunch of IBM blades that we just picked up... can't say enough about xCAT, their Linux cluster management software.

      --



      $0.02 (CDN)
    2. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by rklrkl · · Score: 1

      Funny, because we installed RHEL 3 on a bunch of RX600's without much fuss. Never did work out how to program the LCD front panel they've got though (the utilities that were supposed to do it didn't seem to work for me). To be honest, the Fujitsu server hardware isn't that much different from Dell's (often the same RAID controller, network cards etc.) and Linux seems to have no problem with it. BTW, we weren't impressed with the Fujitsu racks though - the Dell ones are much better.

    3. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use Solaris.

    4. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All in all, I've been very happy with the HP BL20p G3 blades. Stock RHEL4 works fine, you don't even have to install their drivers. I do, though, to get the /sbin/hpimlview utility.

    5. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if it's the same disk controller, but with one of the top of the line Fujitsu laptops the driver that recognized the drives was on FC4, but no earlier RedHat variant. I know it was a SATA driver issue, but I don't recall specifics.

      If I find out more, I'll post it on monday.

    6. Re:Linux on Fujitsu by nettdata · · Score: 1

      Wups... somehow that "NEVER" got removed from the post...

      I'd NEVER buy/recommend Fujitsu gear again.

      --



      $0.02 (CDN)
  11. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, making a analogy between Intel/AMD and Microsoft/FOSS is a little far fetched.

  12. Red & Blue by Brad1138 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Redhat is red
    Suse is blue
    We all love Linux
    To Microsoft we say, "Fuck You"

    --
    If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
    1. Re:Red & Blue by Dark_Gravity · · Score: 2

      Redhat is red
      SuSE is green
      We all love Linux
      'cos Microsoft is mean.

      Seriously, who thinks SuSE is blue and why?

      --
      Bring back Sirius Punk!
    2. Re:Red & Blue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Approximately 10% percent of males are color blind, and approximately 99% of Slashdotters are male . . . Your answer may lie somewhere in those numbers.

    3. Re:Red & Blue by Brad1138 · · Score: 1

      I have to stop posting when I wake up for a snack at 1:00 AM. Sorry, it seemed much funnier in my barely awake state. I put blue because a the first posts said blue, I didn't know anything about Suse.

      --
      If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
  13. Awesome by Emporerx · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is great to hear. Getting stuck in one distribution is sometimes a bad thing( I know, we all have our favorites).
    I started a year and half ago with linux and it made computing fun for me again which I didn't think was possible. (Not since the Tandy 1000 days?)
    So, to see a company like this offering more than Redhat (which doesn't impress me a whole lot), gives me some hope for the proliferation of linux and open source in a broader market.

  14. Only for servers? by Jeet81 · · Score: 1

    Some major computer manufacture should break all microsoft laws and start providing linux as a desktop OS alternative and should stick to it while it catches on. Dell did that for a while and fell to microsoft's feet later on. If only they had continued ...

    --
    What does your Credit Report look like?
    1. Re:Only for servers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Some major computer manufacture should break all microsoft laws and start providing linux as a desktop OS alternative and should stick to it while it catches on. Dell did that for a while and fell to microsoft's feet later on. If only they had continued ...

      Yup, if only they had continued and thus had their Windows OEM licenses pulled and thus gone out of business. If only!

      Seriously, isn't it about fucking time we placed the blame where it belongs - if it's supposed to be a competitive marketplace and ridiculous, obnoxious abuses that everyone in the business recognizes are allowed to continue for 15 years because any business that speaks up either gets audited by the BSA or gets their OEM license yanked... This is bullshit. We all know it's bullshit, Microsoft fanboys included (they've just decided that getting fucked in the ass is inevitable so, like a prison bitch, why not learn to love it?). Who is responsible for ensuring a level playing field in the marketplace, and why have they failed us so miserably?

      This is government's job. It's government's responsibility. Same as it was with the railroads, same as it was with Standard Oil. Nothing has changed, except that our governments have utterly and completely failed to do their jobs.

      And anyone who thinks Europe is any different from America in this regard should study recent history. The multinational corporations own your asses too, or the EU anti-trust case would've had actual teeth. The patent directive was voted down only because the amendments made the medicine as bad as the cure and the multinationals instructed their reps to vote against it as well. You're every bit as fucked as we are, you just don't know it yet. I'm not sure who has it worse.

    2. Re:Only for servers? by Ian.Waring · · Score: 2, Informative

      HP are to bundle Ubuntu on some of their laptops as a default install, with all the ACPI, Wifi support etc working out of the box.

    3. Re:Only for servers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      HP are to bundle Ubuntu on some of their laptops as a default install, with all the ACPI, Wifi support etc working out of the box.

      It doesn't come pre-installed, they throw a CD in the box (like they used to do with FreeDOS floppies). And they won't sell these units in North America.

      Can you guess the reason for all of this esoteric jumping through hoops?

    4. Re:Only for servers? by drsmithy · · Score: 1
      Dell did that for a while and fell to microsoft's feet later on. If only they had continued ...

      If there was business in it they _would_ have continued.

      Why do so many Linux zealots have such a poor grasp of economics ?

    5. Re:Only for servers? by Aldric · · Score: 1
      No, they wouldn't. Microsoft would have revoked their OEM license for using a competitor's products. That's illegal when you are a monopoly.

      Why do so many Microsoft fanboys have such a poor grasp of the law?

    6. Re:Only for servers? by drsmithy · · Score: 1
      No, they wouldn't. Microsoft would have revoked their OEM license for using a competitor's products.

      If there was business in it, this wouldn't matter.

      Why do so many Microsoft fanboys have such a poor grasp of the law?

      I have quite a good grasp of the law. What I lack is a belief it is infallible.

  15. BLUE ??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could somone pls. enlighten me by telling why SuSE is blue ??
    Novell's logo is red and so is RedHat's, SuSE logo is green...

    1. Re:BLUE ??? by CapnGrunge · · Score: 1

      It happened around version 7.1. The distro was split into professional (blue box) and enterprise (green box).

      --
      I see 57005 people
    2. Re:BLUE ??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you got that backwards- My SuSE 9.2 Professional box sitting here in front of me is green, not blue.

    3. Re:BLUE ??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just realized - my SLES9 server defaults to a blue wallpaper, maybe that's where it came from.

  16. Re:Fujitsu by KenFury · · Score: 1

    When Fujitsu make those crappy drives about we calle d them Fu-shit-u. If you say it fast enough no one even notices.

  17. Re: Suse Distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Nobody from "Novel", but plenty of NOVELL employees read /.

    Codecs are unnecessary on a server platform - you're not supposed to be watching movies on the system you run your business on.

    There are plenty of IP issues with things like libdvdcss and including stuff like Microsoft copyrighted codecs that Novell/SuSE seem to be steering clear of - and with good reason; they've been the target of Microsoft marketing campaigns for longer than Linux has been around. The last thing they need is to do something that gets Microsoft or the MPAA suing them for copyright infringement.

    What they're doing seems to be playing it safe in order to ensure they're still around in 5 years. Very smart move, that.

  18. Fujitsu, the new IBM? by dj245 · · Score: 1

    Fujitsu also did decently well in the Notebook tech support review, although the methodology of the review process could have been a lot better and more comprehensive. I know I'll put my confidence in a company that knows I don't like being routed to India.

    --
    Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
    1. Re:Fujitsu, the new IBM? by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      I'd never get another fujitsu laptop.

      The one I have (A1630) is now about 6 months old. I bought it because I though fujitsu had a good reputation.. at the time it was the most expensive 64bit laptop going (paid £1200.. ~$2000) but I wanted something that would last. How wrong I was.

      When I bought it the keyboard was loose. Tech support recommended wedging a bit of paper under it (!!)
      After 2 months I had to replace the DVD/RW as it was utterly useless at burning CDs with a 90%+ failure rate.
      After 3 months most of the paint had come off the base and the feet had fallen off.
      After 5 months I had to replace the keyboard completely, and the PSU failed. The PSU for this thing is killer expensive as it's 160W.
      Now the trackpad has started failing, and I'm not at all sure I can get another one of those.
      It's also developed a crack in the case - it has never been flat (the A1630 is raised in the middle, which makes it look really strange when you close the lid.. according to fujitsu this is normal) - and the stress of that has eventually cracked the case.

      It's not like I've mistreated it... it spends maybe 90% of its time indoors and is very rarely needed onsite.

      Tech support's answer is to send it away to them and a repair might be 'about 6 weeks' which is just not acceptable... I use it every day for business. That's when you can get through to someone who understands your accent (FYI the fujitsu call centres *are* all in India).

      Meanwhile my old Toshiba has none of these problems and is around 5 years old now.

    2. Re:Fujitsu, the new IBM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You certainly are a whiny one aren't you?

    3. Re:Fujitsu, the new IBM? by richlv · · Score: 1

      i've had similar, though maybe not so bad experience.

      i also am using fujitsu-siemens laptop (lifebook c series). been using for about 2 years.

      during this time it also has a crack in upper panel (not that it makes it unusable, but unpleasant anyway).

      first problem was keyboard working bad (some keys started to work only on hard pressing). this was a fast replace.

      two times it had problems with display (probably backlight died) - last time repairs were 5 weeks.

      biggest problem was something wis a motherboard.

      it started as mysterious problems when using it for longer periods with memory-intensive software. tested it with memtest - yep, some problems at mb 512 (has 1024mb of ram). gave in for repairs. got back very fast (additionally cd-rw drive was replaced, as it damaged all media). seemed nice, until i found out that the problem still was there.

      first hand support was by some local company that i asked what was done with it. turned out, they had put in some hdd with windows on it (i have linux installed), run it for some time, found no problems -> did nothing. damn. told them how to find the problem with memtest - they told me that they have no software to test for memory errors (!) and they tested it by running windows. local company was more responsive and replaced one memory stick (turned out it was bad). problem still remained.
      in the end they changed mainboard and the problem is gone now, though that took me almost half a year to get them change it and a lot of testing with memtest (and before that - a lot of strange crashing etc).

      except these problems it has been running ok, though there is no official support from fuj-siem (for example, more information to kernel developers or some devs of their own that would contribute to projects).

      so - i would not recommend getting a laptop from them unless they seriously improve support for linux (i still haven't got suspend working...)

      --
      Rich
  19. Red == Fujitsu; Blue == IBM ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    And please, quit it with those damned poems :P

  20. AMD? Intel? How about SPARC? by Shag · · Score: 1

    I wonder if Fujitsu might consider offering Linux as an alternative to Solaris on some of their 64-way SPARC-based beasts, as well. I believe those are the PrimePower family.

    --
    Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
  21. Re:AMD? Intel? How about SPARC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sun is dropping their feeble Linux support (which was for x86 only, and pre-Novell SuSe based), not expanding it. Fujitsu's SPARC business is dependent on Sun. Two words: good fucking luck.

    Okay, that was three. And profane. But same difference. If you care about Linux you're using the wrong architecture.

  22. Re:Fujitsu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you mean this?

    Results 1 - 10 of about 601 for . (0.21 seconds)

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%E5%AF%8C%E5% A3%AB%E9%80%9A%E3%80%80%E4%B8%8D%E5%AE%9F&btnG=Goo gle+%E6%A4%9C%E7%B4%A2&lr=

  23. blue? by ErichTheWebGuy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am a SuSE user, have been for about 3 years now. I used Mandrake before, and Mandrake has a gang of blue. Lemme tell ya, I *hate* green. It has taken me this long to get all the green out of my default settings in SuSE... And I am pretty sure there is some more in there somewhere!

    Where the hell did the poster get blue from???

    --
    bash: rtfm: command not found
  24. Re: Suse Distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if people could play movies and music immediately after installation rather than wasting time tracking down all the crap needed to play existing media.

    Dude, this sounds almost like SuSE is the only distribution you ever tried.

    Net every distribution, but Gentoo for an example include MPlayer.

    End of story.

  25. Re: Suse Distro by Shigernafy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I will say that real men do not use: Redhat, Fedora, Suse, Mandrake, Gentoo or Debian.
    Now go find yourself a real Linux distro using that criteria, and you'll probably stumble on the correct one

    Testing this clever hinting, I decided to utilize every slashdot reader's favorite internet hegemon: Google!

    Doing a search on "linux distro -Redhat -Fedora -Suse -Mandrake -Gentoo -Debian" yields an interesting result..
    Check out this link if you're feeling lucky..
    or try this one if you want to see the search results. The results may surprise you!

  26. Confidence too... by John+Seminal · · Score: 2, Interesting
    If a computer manufacturor sells desktops with various flavors of linux, you know the hardware will have drivers and work with those different distros. It won't be like the old days when you wanted to instal debian but your sound card was not supported. Everything should work, no matter which distro you toss on the machine. And the more open it is, the more people can enhance it. ;)

    The other part is, no matter how much you will disagree, I just won't use anything redhat, I had a horrible experiance with it years ago and that sticks. I loved SuSE and Debian, and would use those even if it required extra work (they don't). Having a choice is great for those who have a prefference (or hate) of a specific distro. There will be more websites with distro specific faq's to your hardware, because you know you're not the only one buying that machine with Distro X.

    BTW, when they talk about Blue, don't they mean IBM? That is the original Big Blue. :)

    I started a year and half ago with linux and it made computing fun for me again which I didn't think was possible. (Not since the Tandy 1000 days?)

    I remember the good old days too. My first IBM clone was a 386sx. But that was when Apple ruled, and all IBM had was dos, which made the Apple IIgs look like it was 100 times better. Ahhh... the memories...

    386sx.... $2700
    cga monitor.... $400
    playing strip poker in cga... priceless (for a 14 year old boy).

    --

    Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

    1. Re:Confidence too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a computer manufacturor sells desktops with various flavors of linux, you know the hardware will have drivers and work with those different distros.

      The driver problem won't be solved until either:

      a) Everybody opens up their driver code.

      or

      b) Linux adopts a stable driver interface.

      Neither of these things are ever going to happen, so the current hit-or-miss driver situation will continue indefinitely. What a fabulous gift to Microsoft. As always, and as zealots of all stripes always refuse to recognize, the perfect is the enemy of the good.

      I remember the good old days too. My first IBM clone was a 386sx. But that was when Apple ruled, and all IBM had was dos, which made the Apple IIgs look like it was 100 times better. Ahhh... the memories...

      Maybe "Apple ruled" in your mind, but these were actually among the company's darkest days. Their marketshare had already dropped by a third over a couple of years in the late 80's. Then Windows 3.0 came out and almost finished the job. The 386SX - which was really the first Celeron - was a big factor because it enabled the first wave of cheap, mass-market Windows boxes. The ones Dad bought at Wal-Mart and wound up in everybody's den instead of a Mac.

      The PC/Mac price differential was still huge in those days - a similarly equipped Mac could cost 2 to 3 times more than your 386SX. And while System 5 or whatever was far more polished than Windows 3.0, they both mostly sucked - crashing a lot - and worked just about equally well for typing a letter, all Dad wanted to do anyway. Dark, dark days indeed for the Macintosh.

  27. Re: Suse Distro by datadriven · · Score: 1

    Slackware will be just fine without your "promotion", thanks for playing.

    --
    GETPKG - Package Management for Slackware
  28. Re:AMD? Intel? How about SPARC? by rm69990 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sun is NOT dropping their Linux support. They are dropping support for their Java Desktop System. When Linux accounts for a large number of their server shipments, I doubt the shareholders would like them dropping support for it. I read somewhere that they ship more Linux servers than they do Solaris servers.

    Note : Desktop != Server

  29. Look at Fujitsu's misdeeds by eepity · · Score: 0
    https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/fujitsu _cirrus_settlement

    https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/fujitsu 1

    Other companies at: http://malfeasance.50megs.com/

  30. Well they have been making Linux solutions by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 2, Informative

    For example:
    "New heights achieved with SAP R/3 high-end computing:
    23,000 SD benchmark users; LINUX entering business critical computer environments    "
    An old press release. Fujitsu Siemens have been offering large SAP installation running on Linux, lately SuSE I bellive.

  31. Was I the only one that went... by DebianDog · · Score: 1

    Fujitsu makes servers???

    1. Re:Was I the only one that went... by hullabalucination · · Score: 1

      Yep. They also manufacture mainframes jointly with Siemens: http://www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/bs2000/

  32. MONO by adolfojp · · Score: 1

    Bundling SUSE as an alternative is a good strategy. SUSE bundles MONO which is a good .NET Linux alternative. Perhaps Fujitsu wants to be able to cover all bases and include a .NET option for migrating enterprises.

    Cheers,
    Adolfo

  33. Possibly.. by Azureflare · · Score: 1
    He was probably referencing the fact that IBM (Big Blue) offers linux solutions. I think he was saying "red" not about redhat, but the fact that Fujitsu is in China (i.e., Red China)

    It's amazing that many people automatically assumed the poster was talking about linux distros, as opposed to the companies offering linux solutions.

  34. Funnily enough... by Azureflare · · Score: 1
    Fujitsu is actually based in Japan. Probably the poster of the original story didn't think through what he wrote. Gosh, how many times has that happened on slashdot ;)

    I'm even an example of that. I should have added this to my previous post before submitting. *sigh*

    I've become so sloppy.

  35. Re: Suse Distro by iamdrscience · · Score: 1

    Exactly, Linux from scratch is on there. Real men make their own distros... and they compile their programs by hand! Only wimps can't optimize for their architechture in their heads!

  36. Fujitsu - never again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About 10 years ago I bought a 1 Gb Fujitsu hard drive and after a year it developed an annoying whine which got worse and worse. I needed more space so I soon bought a new drive and retired the Fujitsu drive to my spare parts cabinet. About a month ago I was putting together a machine from spare parts to act as a BSD firewall and router and I hooked up that old Fujitsu drive, but the metallic whine was so horrible I couldn't bare the noise for more than a few seconds! I will never buy another Fujitsu product again. Hell, I wouldn't even take one for free!

  37. Re: Suse Distro by frodo+from+middle+ea · · Score: 1
    I just spent last 2 weeks trying to get Autoyast to work. The tool is so broken,

    First off, some rpms such as autoyast-tools etc, are not in the main FTP tree, but in some guys personal Ftp foler. ftp://ftp.suse.com/people/XYZ/RPMs/9.3/...

    Next the tool fails to validate the control file , it generates on its own. i.e if you use autoyast to generate a control file, it will generate an invalid file.

    Oh what I would give to have a good Autodeployment tool for all RPM based distros, RHEL, Fedora , Suse, Mandriva etc.

    And if you think Autoyast is a good configuration tool, you haven't looked at webmin. When you have to manage different kinds of linux distros (don't ask me why ), nothing comes close to webmin.

    --
    for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
  38. Well played Well played indeed. by infonography · · Score: 1

    from his target;

    http://www.mslinux.org/ Microsoft Linux dot org

    Microsoft Invades Cuba
    Microsoft's plan to invade cuba and overthrow the government has succeeded. One Microsoft official said "It's a win-win situation. The US Government is happy and shuts up the DOJ while Microsoft institutes a monopoly within Cuba for everything from computer software to toilet paper. One more step closer to world domination. Heck, we could feed a whole development department for the cost of one developer's salary in the US. They may not know how to create an Operating System very well, but neither do our US developers."

    --
    Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
  39. Suse is getting support by LittleLebowskiUrbanA · · Score: 1

    Finally an end to this Redhat ES/AS only crap! I just install the ORacle 10 Beta and it clearly stated Suse/Redhat :)

    --
    This guy is way out there
  40. Re:HOLY SHIT! EXPLOSION IN BOSTON! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i modded it down troll, and them somehow it returned to 0, it's like my moderation was un-done. when i tried to mod it again it said that i had already modded it.

  41. Re: Suse Distro by josh82 · · Score: 1

    From the http://www.mslinux.org/ result:

    "We are now offering the MS Linux Introductory CD at a special introductory price of only $249.99 (plus shipping and handling), if you order before it ships."

    Am I to assume that the word "introductory" now means "unduly expensive"?

    I thought one of the major benefits of running linux is that it isn't introductory.

    Or, maybe it's part of their plan to fool technology-ignorant CEOs into running Windows in their companies with: "As you can see, this so-called "linux" will cost you $249.99 per workstation for a primitive, "introductory" product, while our oh-so-advanced (and far prettier) Windows Longhorn can be had for only three easy payments of $49.95!"

  42. Of course ... by Vanieter · · Score: 1

    the submitter forgot to note that Fujitsu only offers Intel and SPARC servers ...

    And they also support SCO Unix. Har har har.

  43. Re: Suse Distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    are you trolling or just mildly retarded?

  44. Re: Suse Distro by hoham · · Score: 1

    hmmm... & i suppose you write your own libraries, compilers, and devices, app's, games, etc..etc.. etc.. and code it all in "0" and "1"..?