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Dell Sells Open Source Computers
Lo5 writes with the excellent news that Dell is selling desktop computers without Windows preinstalled. They are called "n Series"; you can choose from Dimension E520, E521, or C521 desktops. The hard drive comes unformatted.
Dell has been doing this for a long time.
Apparently, the submitter and editor don't truly realize what "open source" is. Selling a PC without anything on it isn't open source; it's selling a computer with nothing on it. This isn't a move to support open source, it's a move to save money by not having to pay the MS tax.
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
"Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
Has anyone figured out how much cheaper these computers come than those with OEM Windows? Dell's pricing/models are so scattered I don't even know where to begin.
Shows how much Microsoft's monopoly is silently accepted when it's news that someone sells computers without Windows.
... and then they built the supercollider.
This is at least 1.5 years old, probably more.
I've been buying n-series in 2005.
Well, if your computer has no compiled code on it, then it's vacuously true to say that you have all the source code too.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
You have the source code for your BIOS?
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
You have the source code for your BIOS?
When I used a genuine IBM PC back in the day, yes, IBM published the complete source code to BIOS. The listing was *the* API reference.
Anyone notice that, during the configuration, all the banner ads, logos and "recommendations" all mention Vista? High-larious.
They've been doing this for years. News would be if "No OS" and "Linux" options were available for every system, and even more so for notebooks and the "Home" section. As it currently seems, however, this is not news.
--
Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
Note: Dell does not support non-Dell installed operating systems. In short: "We won't even give you tech support for the FreeDOS that comes in the package. All we'll do is replace your hardware if it breaks."
That sounds like support to me. They support what they assembled/installed. Dell support is not a uniform thing, it varies quite a bit from product to product and segment to segment. Give them more money, they will give you more support. Give them even more and they'll send someone to your home/office. Give them alot of money and they'll help you setup your enterprise with custom software and help you keep it running.
Dell's new open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers with a DimensionTM E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or included Microsoft® operating system. With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux® ), and help reduce the price of this system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted hard drive ready for your custom installation. Dell's n Series desktop ships with a copy of FreeDosTM , an open-source operating system that is ready to install. http://www.freedos.org/
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
Companies like Dell are in a unique position to break the Windows monopoly. /et al/ have that clout. A simple decision - only use hardware for which full specs are available - would force the manufacturer's hands. The developers of xorg, linux, BSD etc would use that to produce full support, and everyone would have a real choice. The companies would not have to pay the MS tax, MS would have an incentive to actually make their products useable, DRM would take a heavy thwacking as people can choose not to have it.
The main problem Open Source developers are having is the near-impossibility of getting hardware documentation. The manufacturers are unwilling (which is something I do _not_ understand!), and we lack the marketing clout to force them.
Dell, Hp
Ah, a perfect world. Well, I can dream, can't I?
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
Why yes. Yes there is.
http://web.archive.org/web/20000818081805/http://
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
Link to customize E520 Link to customize E520n
It was a pain in the ass slogging through 42 pages of Tax Prep software offers and all sorts of crap, but here's the breakdown between the two systems. The E520n is no OS, the E520 is with Windows & the Windows-tax.
(1) The E520n forces you to take a "free" 90 gig HD upgrade. Upgrade the E520 for $40.
(2) The E520n forces you to take a CD/DVD drive combo. Upgrade the E520 for $30.
(3) The E520n forces you to take an nVidia video card. Upgrade the E520 for $40.
(4) The E520n forces you to take a floppy drive. Upgrade the E520 for $30.
(5) The E520n forces you to take a 56k modem. Upgrade the E520 for $20.
(6) The E520n allows you to take a "free" recycling program on your old PC. Upgrade the E520 for $25.
(7) The monitor pricing is screwy, and I think they may have made an error. One way to look at it is that the E520n gets a $60 EXTRA discount if you actively select the "no monitor" option. The other way to look at it is that the E520n pays an extra $60 (or more) penalty if it takes any monitor. I took the no monitor option to pocket the (possibly accidental) $60 bonus.
Once the systems are made as identical as possible, the final prices are $509 for no OS and $704 with OS.
So you "apparantly" get a $195 discount for taking no OS. However on order to get that $195 "discount", you are forced to pay an extra $185 for mostly unwanted overpriced crap. The actual dollars-paid difference is a $10 less for taking no OS (you could get the E520 with no upgrades for $519), but the no-OS comes with various "free stuff" thrown in instead of the OS. In my oppinion the $40 for an extra 90 gig HD ain't bad at all, the $30 for CD/DVD drive combo and $40 for 3D video card upgrade are maybe reasonable or a total waste depending, the $30 for a floppy and the $20 modem and the $25 recycling deal (which by default is left unchecked and unused) are pretty much rape. IMO.
So we still can't pull out a pure price difference for the OS, because Dell picks your pocket for an uncertain amount of money by forcing you to take that mixed bag of "upgrades" in order to get no OS, but it does look like you are getting a decent discount by taking no OS. No more games with an "OS-free" computer actually costing more than an identically configured Windows system. However a good chuck of that discount only crops up if you actively select the non-monitor option. If you take the default monitor, or if you switch to any of the other offered monitors, you basically get hosed for $60 for takeing no-OS and a monitor. If the $240 discount for the no monitor option is a mistake, or if you take the monitor, then no-OS is still a discount but not nearly as signifigant.
The other differences betwen the systems that cound not be avoided are that the Windows system comes with 6 free months of AOL (value $0), comes with free Adobe Acrobat reader (value $0), comes with free Corel photo software (value $0), comes with free Yahoo Music jukebox (value $0), and 1 year of tech support. That tech support *is* valuable, bot to you as a buyer and as a cost to Dell. If you take the no-OS option, they stiff you on the tech support. The money they pocket there in revoking tech support is signifigant and takes a signifigant bite out of any no-Windows-discount that they are actually giving you.
There is one final difference that I'm not sure if it is a real difference. The no-OS version lists "10/100/1000 Ethernet" whereas the Windows version lists "10/100 Ethernet". If the 10/100/1000 Ethernet is actually a different and better network card, then that maybe that is valuable addition in the non-OS system. However I suspect... and I may easily be wrong here... that it is the same card in both s
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