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Dell Releases First Consumer Product with Mandriva
WindozeSux writes "Dell Laptops(Latitude 110L) are now shipping with Mandriva Linux pre-installed. Mandriva says this represents a milestone to make Linux more available to consumers. From the article:"This product shows the world that Mandriva is today ready for the consumer market. We've been developing products for the corporate and enthusiast markets for years. Addressing the needs of the consumer market is a different challenge, because it is all the more difficult, as you don't have a system admin or professional technician at home", said François Bancilhon, Mandriva CEO"
Can the machines be purchased in the USA?
then the average consumer... of course "line-ux?"
Slash-for-Thought
Whatever you think of Dell, this is good for Linux.
and did some nice AMD stuff with Linux preloaded on the server line I would be a happy bunny
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
Actually, no, there is no goal in Linux that says that all providers have to provide their products for free. Perhaps you should retake GPL 101. Actually, since you are cheap, just skip the course (doesn't really exist btw) and read the GPL.
If this really was the goal of Linux, perhaps releasing it under a license that specifically allows you to charge money for the software wasn't such a good idea, no?
Oh, and just to let you know, Red Hat and Mandriva do in-fact provide full source code for every open source component in their products, as they are required to by copyright law (they cannot distribute others code unless adhering to the attached license).
It really disgusts me some people around here. Half of you that bitch about Red Hat are sitting there running kernels and other Open Source packages that contain code that Red Hat paid to have contributed to these projects so you could use them FOR FREE, yet you get in a huff when these companies try to make some money. Quit being so fucking selfish I say. Don't want to pay for something...great I say...Red Hat could care less. Let all of the companies and enterprises that do value Red Hat's value-add pay for their services. If I were you, I'd be happy Red Hat is doing this. It lets them continue to pay people to improve code you are using.
Oh, and one last thing. You can download Mandriva x86_64 edition for free.
PS I'm not saying you HAVE to pay for Linux....I am running a free distro myself, one that is based extremely heavily on Red Hat's products (CentOS). But to use their code and complain when they try to make money is really low.
Fallacious logic. If new people are never allowed to use things which they are new to, then no one is ever allowed to use anything that they're not currently using. You could never have a new Linux user, which means Linux could do nothing but die out as the population of Linux users eventually succumbs to mortality.
By your own logic, you should never go anywhere you don't currently go. Don't switch grocery stores, don't switch clubs... don't even switch TV channels because you'll just be a newbie to it, a realm in which you don't belong.
Maybe you should start your own business, and from the day you open hang a sign on the door that reads: "If you're not an existing customer, go away."
Normal people are always asking their geek friends and relatives which computer to buy. Geeks never want to tell them to get Linux, even if it will be better and easier, because even that lower "Total Cost of Ownership" will then partly be paid by the geek who recommended it. Unless they recommend Dell, HP or some other vendor with a helpline, which will field (at least much first-level) support requests. Of course, the normals will buy a Dell or HP anyway, with Windows, no matter what the geek recommends, and then ask the geek for Windows support. Which the geek will be even less interested in giving.
Now that we can recommend Dell or HP with Linux, we'll do it much more often. When they get the Windows machine and ask us for support, we'll be able to say "send it back and get the right one this time". That kind of "word of mouth" is the best advertising Dell and HP could ask for. Way more valuable than a primetime season of "Dudes".
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make install -not war
What is this obsession of the Slashdot community towards calling everything a degrading name. Examples: Deadhat Winblows M$ LinSux etc. Can't you people get out of your mom's basement and grow up? Try getting a job in IT and then explaining to your CIO why you shouldn't use deadhat or winblows and see how long it takes for them to laugh in your face. Sorry, just a small gripe of mine.
Because if you don't pay them..they don't have to give it to you. Nothing in any open source license _requires_ that anyone give you their work product for ZERO dollars. Do some do so for all or a subset of their products..yep. Are they required to do so? No.
I don't mean this to troll, but why does Linux have to dethrone desktop Windows to be considered successful as an operating system? Why can't it just live happily as a rock-solid server OS with a desktop component that some advanced users use?
The ______ Agenda
Yep. Students (thats who this is aimed at) share their printer everyday, so all the people in the dorm can use up all their ink and paper.
This is not aimed at a market for those that want advanced networking. This is aimed at those that want to pirate music off the internet without being infected by the spyware of the P2P program.
Open Source Sushi
I've said it before, It doesn't really matter if Dell is doing this to get a discount from Microsoft.
If this is really the reason they are doing this, it is because it is an effective strategy to get those discounts. The fact that it is an effective strategy is reason enough to celebrate.
Expert Java EE Consulting
Does anyone have a link to a page that actually displays this product. I don't know but ususally they announce things like this then hide them like its a treasure hunt. It took me a while to find the servers with linux pre-installed.
This article reports on a godsend to the Slashd^H^H^H^H^H^HLinux community and only ~230 comments? Even the static-man article that had more holes than swiss cheese got more than that.
Are all of the Linux fanatics off buying these laptops, or what?
Yes, but the problem with Office, is that it doesn't even open it's own files correctly. If you have Office 2000, you can't open Office XP files. With OpenOffice, I have filters to open up most office formats, and it works as well as opening between different versions of Office. When office 12 comes out, OpenOffice will not be able to read the new format, but neither will Office 2000. Which of those do you expect to have an update available to read office 12 files.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.