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Hewlett-Packard Brings Linux To Select Desktops
Tatey writes "Hewlett-Packard, one of the world's largest PC manufacturers, has announced it will start selling Linux-based PCs aimed at the consumer market ... in Australia. For the time being it appears the HP Linux models will only be available down under, with prices starting at $AU600 (just under $500 USD). 'This PC is a low-end business PC. It comes powered by any of a variety of AMD processors. These range from the 1.60 GHz AMD Sempron 3000+ processor to the speedy 2.8 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5600+ processor. The dx2250 can hold up to 2GB of RAM. For storage, it maxes out with a 250 GB hard drive. It comes with a variety of optical drive options, ranging from ordinary CDs to a DVD+/-RW LightScribe, Double Layer/Dual Format drive. At this time, it is not clear exactly what options HP will be offering with the RHEL-based system. Previously, HP had offered this desktop computer with a choice of Vista Business, XP, and FreeDOS. In the latter case, this was almost always replaced by users with a Linux distribution.'"
>>Hewlett-Packard, one of the world's largest PC manufacturers ...
While RHEL isn't every Linux user's choice, at least they're now getting a real, usable OS instead of FreeDOS.
Ignore this signature. By order.
...the two most important words in the summary: in Australia.
www.purevolume.com/martyd
What is the cost of this computer with XP/Vista in comparison. We have seen this happen before where Dell shipped FreeDOS systems that actually cost more than with Windows (which means there is definitely malarky going on there).
I must applaud both DELL and HP however, for starting to realize that they should offer the customer what they want, and not what some third party dictates them to.
Do we have our new excuse set up for when they stop selling these systems due to lack of demand? Have the scapegoat committee look in to something.
One of the systems sounds close to mine. FC works on this with just a few issues with the video driver (answered here on slashdot). This sounds like a smart move.s -selling-solar.html
--
Rent residential solar power: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-user
I predict that 17 people will buy one of these HP Linux computers.
I would like to see what HP supports on those PCs? Do they support xorg, multimedia and other desktop Linux issues?
Sudheer Satyanarayana
www.techchorus.net
I used to laugh at people who kept saying Linux for desktop is coming, and I'm not that big of a fan of the Linux desktop as well (I'm a fan of the Linux servers).
But what I kept saying is they need vendor support. No support, no lunch.
Now HP and Dell, the hardware vendors, offer desktop support. Those are big players, we know the smaller players will follow though quickly.
Something's definitely going on, I remember the same excitement as Firefox was making its first steps eating at IE's market share.
In theory we should now started seeing more and better drivers and more Linux versions of popular applications. If the right approach is taken I think some companies will provide code/docs/etc.. Any way you slice it, it's good news.
Its a real OS, and more then useable.
YOU may not like DOS, but that doesn't negate its usefulness. You might be suprised how much its used these days, and how much support is still out there.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
What Dell and HP really need to do is install Linux on all, or at least most models of their computers. They currently only install Linux on a cheaper model that many power users(which is the majority of the Linux user base right now) don't want. We want the high end stuff. As long as the system has drivers for everything(free as in freedom or free as in beer), and most systems do, you should be able to select Linux just like you can select what ever version of Windows you want.
Everything works backwards down there - Summer is in December, colder in the South, water spirals down the drain in the opposite direction ... and Linux on the desktop.
${YEAR+1} is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop!
What is the cost of this computer with XP/Vista in comparison. We have seen this happen before where Dell shipped FreeDOS systems that actually cost more than with Windows (which means there is definitely malarky going on there).
No malarky, Red Hat charges for RHEL. Prices range from $80 to $339 depending on whether or not you want support for 2 CPU sockets, more than 4 GB RAM, virtualization, server applications (apache, samba, nfs). Keep in mind that Red Hat is offering support.
https://www.redhat.com/apps/store/desktop/
...so what ?
Smaller companies have been doing this for a while. Why do we need to go to big companies like HP when we can get computers from places like Los Alamos Computers and Penguin Computing? Oh wait, geeks now want dirt cheap computers instead of top of the line machines?
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Don't forget that HP was one of the whores provided by Microsoft to vote yes to OOXML in Sweden. http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/28/123 7255
One thing I've never understood about all the whining over PC manufacturers not offering teh Lunix pre-installed: isn't anyone who wants teh Lunix going to install it themselves?
The only thing I can figure is that the FOSSies are seeking to get PC manufacturers to indoctrinate new FOSSies, who will not know enough about computers to know they aren't getting Windows.
Sure, many Linux users are power users, but you've got to start somewhere. And the money isn't with the power users, as that pool is too small. It seems to me that starting with the low-end is a good idea. More people go from low-end systems to high-end than starting with high-end and then moving to low-end systems.
I use dirt cheap computers, and not top line ones.
Changed atitude since dirt cheap computers started running everything I needed (somewhen around 2003).
Rethinking email
This isn't really new: HP sells PCs with Mandriva across Latin America.
Circumcision is child abuse.
That way they don't have the chicken/egg problem of how to download and burn the installation disc.
HP is very GNU/Linux savvy. They have a Linux landing page. They certify six different distributions. Their Insight Diagnostics are actually a custom Linux distro for performing system diagnostics and repair on their systems. HP supports open source software, and has for a long time. They support organizations such as the Free Software Foundation, Open Source Software Institute, and the Linux Foundation. The home of the Linux kernel, kernel.org runs on donated HP servers.
They often sponsor community events like the Linux Kernel Developer Summit, the Debian Conference, the International Free Software Forum, GNOME User and Developer European Conference, the Desktop Linux Summit, the Libre Graphics Meeting, and LinuxWorld. HP has not only supported Open Source projects, they have over 100 of their own. They have over 1,000 open source printer drivers. It's nice knowing you can plug in the HP printer and it will just go. Once upon a time printer drivers in Linux were a severe pain point.
So if you're considering buying a PC with Linux on it, apparently you could do worse than go with the HP one. (Full disclosure - I don't work for HP and I don't sell their stuff, but I do work in the business so of course I deal with their stuff somewhat. My opinions are my own, YMMV, yadda yadda.)
Now that Microsoft has decided to sell PCs it's natural for other PC sellers to consider their options. Every Windows + Office sale is a profit center Microsoft can use to subsidize their attack on the PC market much like they're funding their attack on the game console market. If you're a company that is already in the business of selling PCs, subsidizing your competitor is a very bad idea -- especially if the competitor can offer themselves considerable discounts on software.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
the same could be true of linux distros (though it happens much less often), but the point is FreeDOS is intended to save the company from having to buy an OS when they already have one.
not only is time travel possible, it's irrelevant.
The guy is just another jealous FOSSie grinding that anti-MS axe. When Subway started opening sandwich stores, did you say they were attacking lunch? When Saturn opened dealerships, did you say they were attacking the auto industry? Do you say Apple is attacking the computer industry? Or the music industry? Or the TV industry? Or the movie industry?
If you don't like MS, and think you can do better, feel free to open a company. MS has lots of competitors. Grow up, stop whining. It makes you sound like a bitch.
I used to wish and long for high end PC's. With specs like these I find myself wishing and longing for low end PC's. Anyone else?
Hey, that's not fair. I stand up for Microsoft now and then. Were those posts not helpful?
The Fine Article is about HP selling consumer desktop PCs with Linux, though. I don't what your post has to do with that but you anonymous cowards aren't getting astroturf points off of me today. Instead I'll provide informative topical discussion and foil your evil plot.
The original source for this story is apcmag. From that article:
I can only hope this is a pilot, with PCs for the US market to follow. Like many of the people leaving comments on that story, I would like to buy some Linux laptops from HP here in the US. I would also like to see a choice of processors. This is a nice start though.
That sounds like a full featured environment for the average user. Much better than Microsoft Works, a non-removable trial copy of Office and the usual collection of junkware that comes with a Windows PC. With compatible software vendors like this impressive list finding commercial software for your HP/Red Hat system should be no trouble. Dag has a whole bunch of free stuff available for it too. I imagine Windows users will have a hard time understanding that yes, you can just click on one of thousands of great free programs and it will install but it won't turn your PC into a spam zombie. It shouldn't take them long to get fond of it though. That's a significant change for people used to dealing with a software vendor that's proud that three quarters of a million of their customers were infested with root kits.
Windows gamers will be relieved to hear that for a measly $5/mo they can join Transgaming and play Windows games. If they have Windows programs they don't want to throw away like one of these, Wine will be a nice free addition to their Red Hat desktop. If they prefer a professionally maintained compatibility engine they might like Codeweavers' Crossover Linux which supports these programs and only costs $40.
The list of hardware known to be compatible with RHEL 5 is impressive, as is the list of systems that are certified and supported.
Disclosure - I also don't work for anybody mentioned here or sell their stuff. My opinions belong to me and I'm not getting paid to have them. YMMV, yadda yadda.
The choice of Red Hat as a partner in this venture shows just how GNU/Linux
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Microsoft has decided to compete in sales of computer systems direct to end users.
The negotiations will be short.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
nVidia or ATI/AMD? Wee, considering that ATI/AMD still doesn't have 3D support for their R600-series 3D cards (in Linux, of course), my short term bet is on nVidia.
Still, stranger things have happened.
Actually the AC has a fair point, unintentionally probably.
HP produces some hardware that can technically run OSX, unfortunately running OSX legally on HP hardware isn't really going to be an option till Apple say so.
Feel free to speculate as to if and when that might happen and if this would be a good thing for Apple and users of OSX.
I guess it might be possible if it was branded as Apple generic OSX a product clearly inferior to genuine OSX running on Apple hardware... It's the little differences that matter I guess.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
" it maxes out with a 250 GB hard drive" Looks like someone copied the Windows version of the promo. :P
Take a look at this.
That article clearly suggests Dell make around $50 to $60 by having all those ISP trials and software demos pre-loaded. All OEMs put the same crap on their machines, so it's fairly reasonable to assume that they all make broadly similar amounts. Now, purely for the sake of argument, lets pretend that the only cost differential between a Dell with FreeDOS and a Dell with Windows is the OS licence (it isn't of course, but what the hell).
So, Dell lose $60 of revenue from having no "craplets". They then gain back whatever the Windows licence would have cost them, but I doubt they pay retail price. If they were paying less than $60 for a windows licence, a figure which is not too unlikely, then the FreeDOS machine SHOULD cost more, and that's before you factor in the cost of adapting the production line to produce machines without Windows pre-installed.
"I realise this is not a very popular opinion but it's the truth, and there for needs to be said" -Bill Hicks
Similar spec, slightly better maybe: Sempron 3600+, 512M RAM, 80GB hard drive, GeForce Go 6100 video card, 802.11, wired eithernet, modem, 2 usb ports, firewire, s-video, etc. Windows Vista Home. $350 USD.
(it was slightly slow playing video games, understandably slow due to the shared memory on the GeForce card: Vista + video game had ~256M while the card had 256M. I added 1 gig of RAM (total of 1.5 gigs) for $40, it is now quite zippy. I had considered downgrading to XP but don't think I will anymore)
It seems that people, especially Linux users DO NOT like their OS preinstalled. HP, Dell, and Acer all provide installation media if desired, and usually at no extra cost. Most of the AMD processor based laptops and desktops are "Linux Ready" and can be converted to Linux systems in less than an hour using a standard Linux installation DVD.
Desktop Virtualization
Desktop virtualization tools such as Xen and VMWare have also made it easier to install Windows as a VM. A customer can now use VMWare converter to convert the installed Windows XP system into a VMWare Image stored on a USB drive. The user can then install Linux, install VMWare Player, and then pull the VMWare Image back-up back onto the main PC.
Now, the customer has Windows XP AND Linux running on the same machine, at the same time. The Linux PC provides better disk caching, memory management, and security, as well as providing a very reliable way to do back-ups of the easily corrupted Windows system.
Microsoft Still up to their usual "Dirty Tricks"
The bad news is that Microsoft has expressly forbidden the use of Vista Home edition as a virtual machine. Vista users much purchase, or upgrade to, Vista Business Edititon. The problem for HP is that most retail machines are being shipped with Vista Home edition, and customers don't want to pay for, or perform, the upgrade to Business edition.
Dell and HP have indicated that a substantial portion of the PCs they are selling, are being sold with XP instead of Vista. One report on CNBC indicated that "most" of the machines being sold by these OEMs were still being sold with XP instead of Vista. Given the excessive memory requirements of Vista, the limited advantages, and the inability to run AeroGlass on machines shipped with OpenGL oriented cards, there seems to be some strong indicators that many people and companies are choosing to upgrade to "Linux/XP" instead of switching to Vista.
History Repeats Itself - Is Vista another Windows NT 3.1 or Windows ME?
Remember that back in 1994-1996, Microsoft really had to struggle because there were so many customers who were using Windows 3.1, and didn't want to have to replace hardware, 3rd party software, and learn new user interfaces. Windows 95 eventually broke through, but even then, many businesses waited until Windows 95B was released, providing a significantly more stable platform, before making the transition to the new system.
Microsoft may be experiencing similar problems with Vista. Customers seem to be rushing to get systems with XP while it's still available, while they tend to wait for a "Service Pack 2" type upgrade to assure them of a reliable version.
Microsoft still has a big problem with 3rd party developers. After watching what has happened to Symantic and McAffee, the last bastion of 3rd party software on a "Windows Only" API set, it has become more obvious that coding in "Microsoft only" APIs and tools is a "dead end street". Many developers are now using wrappers to permit easy transition between DirectX video and OpenGL video. They are coding to portable APIs such as Java, and using portable toolkits such as Eclipse.
What is remarkable is that Microsoft still refuses to permit the OEMs to offer Linux based desktop and laptop systems that offer virtualized Windows. Microsoft has permitted Apple to run OS/X with virtualized XP, yet Microsoft refuses to allow OEMs who have been loyal, to offer competitive products based on Linux with Virtualized XP or Vista.
The bigger problem, for Microsoft is that ACER is now about to purchase Gateway, who's stock price has collapsed in the face of massive losses do to commodity pricing and a glut of "Windows Only" PCs that had to be deeply discounted to clearance prices below cost, even in their own retail stores.
The "Perfect Storm" is brewing. Trouble for Microsoft
This means that HP (who has openly defied Microsoft repeateddly), Dell (who has covertly defied Microsoft
IBM Certified IT Architect http://www.open4success.org
Dear Beautiful Mackenzie Morgan (an Actual Girl):
I'd like to sneak up behind you and start fondling you violently and then as you struggle to try to escape I'll take a scientifically-proven magic petrification ray from my bag and zap you with it, and it would first disintegrate all your clothing, leaving you gloriously naked, then it would start the process of transforming your body into marble, inducing in you a massive magically-induced which would be captured eternally as your body is turned into solid stone from the feet up to the head gradually, freezing your final moan of ecstasy as you become a beautiful, cold lifeless statue, but with your mind still alive inside the statue, aware of everything that happens to you. I would put you in display in art museums so that everyone could admire your spectacular naked & petrified teen body, then I would put you on a pedestal in my apartment and admire you constantly, and climb up on the pedestal and make love to your stony form, getting my penis raw & red from the friction, and covering your beautiful hard marble skin with my spooge, my beloved naked-and-petrified queen.
(NOTE: This is just a fantasy; I would not actually do this.)
p.s. I like masturbating to your Blogspot picture