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$150 Linux Laptop for the Masses
Xemu writes "Inspired by Negroponte's laptop for children, the Swedish company Medison is now taking orders for their US$150 Linux laptop, the Medison Celebrity. The laptop is a 1.5 GHz Celeron M 370 with 14 inch screen, wireless network and it comes with Fedora Red Hat pre-installed." Update 2035 GMT by SM: As many readers have pointed out, the more you dig into the details of this company the more fishy it starts to seem. I would suggest any potential buyers be wary on this one.
But will it run Li- Oh. Right. Never mind.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
Among all available distributions, the company has installed Fedora, which by default does not come with installations of mplayer and other music software and libraries. This is a truly educational laptop where children will have to learn to use Linux and install software just to reach the end goal of watching porn. Finally, someone is not thinking of but thinking for the children.
At least you didn't say "But does it run Windows?". You'd never get out of this forum alive.
It's a neat looking laptop, but info on the website is pretty scarce. For instance, what kind of battery life can I expect? Is it as upgradeable as normal laptop (eg. HDD and RAM)?
There is a lot of speculation currently about whether this is fraud. They may be intending to run away with the money and not send out any laptops.
Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
See comments from Engadget:i ty-150-of-linux-laptop-for-the-people
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/25/medison-celebr
This one looks particularly concerning:
Johan Löfgren @ Jul 25th 2007 12:02PM
Hello fellas. I came across this site, when searching for information about this computer. With that pricetag, it would be a brilliant surf & chat computer for me.
I'm a swedish student, and I found an article in a larger web-newspaper in sweden and was amazed..
Sadly though, when reading comments all over, at swedish sites, this thing starts to smell very very rotten..
The speculation is about this beeing a scam, in the same way that you've mentioned above.
There's bankrupcy issues, lies at the homepage, weird and incomplete messages from the people behind this "madison" company. The screenshots of the computer, has been found at other manufacturers. Companies, that Madison claim to work with, hasn't heard of the connection..
The things above, has been discovered by many people, at different swedish sites. Even more than that.
The 4-6 week delivery time, sounds perfect to grab as much cash as possible and run.
No-one can find anyone with an example of this computer. People doesn't believe this thing even exist.
I recommend all of you, to wait and see how everything turns out here in sweden, before you buy this. As most swedes do right now.. Wait and see if the first computers arrive at all.
I hope that this isn't a scam. I'd love to buy one. I'd love if the promised "future generation" will arrive.
But this thing doesn't feel safe.
Cincearly
-Johan Löfgren. Orebro, Sweden
"Aren't Fedora and Centos two totally different things?"
Yes, as are Fedora Red Hat and Fedora Red Hat CentOS.
Fedora Red Hat CentOS is my special creation. I mix the artwork of Fedora, Red Hat AND CentOS.
In this way, I can have the stability of Red Hat, the currentness of Fedora, and the lack of mandatory expensive support contracts which makes CentOS such a great option.
All of this in one distribution. You should try it. It's the next big thing. Honest.
Here:
*offers spoonful of sugar*
That should help it go down.
So I guess IKEA finally got into computer business:)
To quote the website "The phone lines are temporarly closed" all they give is an email address. You can't even call to complain if you don't get it.
If they are legit they are working really hard to seem like a scam.
shouldn't this be taken off of slashdot to reduce free advertising for a potential scam?
> It might take one or two weeks longer to get the laptop.
No, it might take that long (it says elsewhere 4-6 weeks plus they can shine people on for another week or two) for them to get cash from the credit card clearing house before they disappear. Add up the BOM on that machine and they can't buy those parts in 100,000 lots for $150USD. Scam.
Democrat delenda est
It's a scam. Editors, please extend the story accordingly.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I just sent an email to their people asking if they would be willing to do a live interview to clear some of the fraud questions up. We'll see how it goes I suppose. If they agree, I will get the interview up and posted on YouTube and UStream asap.
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
"Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
ROOOOAAAAARR!!!
You're doing it wrong...
First salt, then Medison, then lemon. Then you wake up in a shopping cart in a stranger's bathroom with a pounding headache, no memory of last night and no idea where your clothes are.
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
As his website says, he is on vacation in Thailand but he will consider doing an interview when he returns. He claims he knows nothing about the rampant fraud/vaporware suspicions all over the internet about this.
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts, Inc.
"Quality Custom Software and IT Services"
Medison Europe United was incorporated less than 2 weeks ago: http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/02f0dac25c029c53 8688518e70982ba3/compdetails
I C-MULTIMEDIA-DISTRIBUTION-LIMITED.html/ 05905858.htmlD .aspx- INVEST-LIMITED.htmlT ED.aspxs px
2 7+ruffets+wood,+gravesend,+kent+england&sll=37.062 5,-95.677068&sspn=49.71116,81.738281&ie=UTF8&t=k&z =16&iwloc=addr&om=1
Also, take a look at the address provided
27 RUFFETS WOOD
GRAVESEND
KENT
DA12 5JQ
My my, Nordic Multimedia Distribution Limited is listed as having the same address: http://www.ukdata.com/company-credit-reports/NORD
GI Finance Limited is located here as well: http://www.simplycreditreports.com/company-number
La Vida Art Limited: http://www.companiesgate.co.uk/LA+VIDA+ART+LIMITE
BYGG Invest Limited: http://www.ukdata.com/company-credit-reports/BYGG
HG Shiprepair Limited: http://www.companiesgate.co.uk/HG+SHIPREPAIR+LIMI
Also, Ken-Erik Limited is listed as having the same address: http://www.companiesgate.co.uk/KEN-ERIK+LIMITED.a
I checked google maps to see if I could locate the address: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=
Looks a lot like a residential area, either house/condo/apartment, definatley not a corporate or even industrial location.
It's obviously a scam. You don't need to do a whois look-up or anything else. Just look at the specs.
There's no way in hell they're going to offer a 1.6GHz CPU, 40GB HDD, 14" LCD, 256MB DDR, etc., for $150... Even at twice that price ($300) it would be a stretch, but just possible. At $150, it's laughable.
You could make a $150 laptop... If you went with a tiny screen, no backlight, no CD/DVD, tiny HDD, no battery, ancient CPU, etc., etc. But with fairly modern specs as this has, there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that it's real.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
Change the article to note that this is a scam.
Yes, this is redundant, but I don't care. Every minute that Slashdot keeps this "story" up on the web page is another minute that they are providing free advertising for scam artists.
I'm sure that Slashdot's sponsors would love to know that they are accomplices to fraud.
Change the article, or take it down.
After some light diggin thru public registers this is what I've found out about the owner of Medison.
Valdi Ivancic, born 1970-03-26, has a filed residens on Holmgatan 16F, 37138 Karlskrona. However he is also listed as living on Lundenvägen 24, 56134 Huskvarna. The Huskvarna listing also has a cell phone number for MR Ivancic, +46-76-3384142.
Whois information for medisoncelebrity.com refers to the Huskvarna address but lists another cell phone number +46-70-7572858 and also states the mans email address to be valdi_ivancic@hotmail.com.
Also residing at the Huskvarna address is one Ljubo Ivancic, born 1947-08-14, listed with a land line number of +46-36-131524 and a cell phone number of +46-70-4326089.
Neither Medison or Medison Consulting seem to be registered trademarks in Sweden.
medison.se was registered 2007-02-09 and medisoncelebrity.com was registered 2007-04-11.
Not to be confused wth Red Hat CentOS Fedora or CentOS Fedora Red Hat, what a bunch of wankers...
May contain traces of nut.
Made from the freshest electrons.
Glad I read the comments. My kneejerk reaction was to go to the site and read the specs. For a moment I thought "it's on Slashdot so it's OK." I was about to call my wife and tell her she can have the laptop she wanted, and I hit the back button on my browser and started reading all the posts about this being a scam.
So the readers of Slashdot, often characterized as the great unwashed, saved me from a scam brought to me by the editors of Slashdot.
I suspect the difference in performance will be that the ASUS laptop will be a computer, and the Medison machine will be a sad memory of 150 dollars you once had.
Registration Service Provided By: Surftown Domains .99# / year....with low setup fee, smells fishy....someone's going the cheap route about their corporate site.
Contact: dns@surf-town.net
Visit: http://www.support.surftown.com/
Of course if you're too lazy, I've already pulled one up.
The three key points:
1) Domain name registered in april 07, for a term of ONE YEAR, how many hardware companies do you know who put up a domain for 1 year? Obviously only the companies that don't expect to be in business for a second year.
2) The contacts are at hotmail. Okay, that's not good. Usually a hardware company would register itself with a DBA company name instead of a "Valdi Ivancic valdi_ivancic@hotmail.com", leaving
human name contacts for administrative and technical contacts.
3) The site hoster.... Surf-net charges
4) company can't afford a fax? Interesting.
at least the scammer hasn't used anonymity services during registration.
My two trollish cents.
Domain name: medisoncelebrity.com
Registrant Contact:
Valdi Ivancic (valdi_ivancic@hotmail.com)
+46.707572858
Fax:
Lundenvagen 24
Huskvarna, 561 34
SE
Administrative Contact:
Valdi Ivancic (valdi_ivancic@hotmail.com)
+46.707572858
Fax:
Lundenvagen 24
Huskvarna, 561 34
SE
Technical Contact:
Surftown A/S
DNS Administrator (dns@surf-town.net)
+45.70200776
Fax: +45.70200776
Lautrupsgade 9, 1
KÿFFFFF8benhavn ÿFFFFD8, 2100
DK
Status: Active
Name Servers:
ns1.surf-town.net
ns2.surf-town.net
ns3.surf-town.net
Creation date: 11 Apr 2007 19:04:10
Expiration date: 11 Apr 2008 19:04:10
Organisationsnr: Företagsnamn(firma): Företagsform: Firmatyp: Län: Status:
19 700326-2016 1 Medison Consulting E Firma 10
556525-1096 Medison Data AB AB Firma 10 Konkurs avslutad
916575-3832 MEDISON Handelsbolag HB Firma 04 Avregistrerad
969622-6852 Medison Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 Avregistrerad
969627-7657 Medison Inlärning Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 Avregistrerad
969628-2749 Medison Media Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 Avregistrerad
-----------------
Let me translate that:
Organisation Number: Company Name(firma): Företagsform: Firmatyp: State: Status:
19 700326-2016 1 Medison Consulting E Firma 10
556525-1096 Medison Data AB AB Firma 10 Bankrupt
916575-3832 MEDISON Handelsbolag HB Firma 04 De-registered
969622-6852 Medison Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 De-registered
969627-7657 Medison Inlärning Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 De-registered
969628-2749 Medison Media Handelsbolag HB Firma 06 De-registered
--
https://snr3.bolagsverket.se/snrgate/default.jsp
(Search for 'medison')
--
http://www.mufjonkoping.se/medisonVSclevo.JPG
Pictures stolen from a company named "Clevo" that is based in Taiwan. Yet they claim that they are assembled in Brazil and that they
will continue to do that until they have their manufactoring facility ready there.
--
It's a scam, nothing more to see here, move along now.
P.S
Their demand that they are/will be getting (as pointed out by a member of some other forum) will surpass the ones on Apples MacBooks, it is highly unlikely that this company from out of nowhere will be able to supply.