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.'"

Comments

Don't miss....

[martin_henry]

...the two most important words in the summary: in Australia.

Re:Nice.

[morgan_greywolf]

RHEL Workstation isn't bad. It has a lot of the desktop usability of Ubuntu and support from Red Hat. HP and Red Hat have a long-standing business relationship as HP already sells workstations and servers with RHEL pre-installed.

What I want to know is...

[VE3OGG]

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.

2008 year of Linux desktop after all ...?

[suv4x4]

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.

Re:2008 year of Linux desktop after all ...?

[enrevanche]

I think that this is allowing PC manufacturers to learn how to support Linux on the desktop.

With windows, manufacturers really can't distinguish themselves that much. With Linux, in the long run, this will allow them to become more like Apple, allowing them to provide a product that they have more control of. Microsoft requires that most of the branding of the PC be MS branding. Linux will allow a PC manufacturer to make this branding more their own.

They've been under the Microsoft whip for a long time now. They've helped stop a large a part of the server market from going to Microsoft. The next step will be to take control over the desktop. Even if they will eventually just use Red Hat or Ubuntu, they will be able allowed customize them substantially more than with windows.

Also, this will allow them to negotiate better with MS.

Re:2008 year of Linux desktop after all ...?

[myrdos2]

Yeah, but I remember this excitement last year... and the year before that. In the last few years, I've seen tremendous improvements in the ease-of-use of Linux, and yet there has been no corresponding increase in the number of users:

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

The number of Linux users has been roughly flat for the last three years. To me, Linux is ready for the desktop, and has been for quite some time. However, the simple truth is that most people buy a computer to run software, the vast majority of which is for Windows. Sure, Linux comes with a TON of its own stuff, which makes it useful to many, many people.

But even more people want to run commercial software that is Windows-only. Like games. Or business apps. Or the CD that came with their camera. Face it; if Wine worked with 100% reliability, Windows would be dead.

You can rant and rave about improvements in reliability, security, efficiency, GUI elements, and so forth, but at the end of the day what people care most about is: "Will it run my software?".

Linux on all models

[nukem996]

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.

People like their OS preinstalled.

[symbolset]

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.