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PC Mag Slams Cheap Wal-Mart Linux Desktop
An anonymous reader writes "PC Magazine reviews the $200 Linux desktop wonder sold by Wal-Mart. This desktop sold out quickly and has been cited as proof that consumers are tired of the Windows tax and ready for Linux. Not so according to PC Magazine, which gave the gPC a 1.5 star rating." Previous discussions we've had about system reviews were realistic but not quite so harsh; is this just nitpicking or is the 'shiny' starting to wear off of the cheap Linux PC concept?
All stop! This is the point where "follow the money" entered my head.
This isn't a review. It's an attack on a competing OS where PC Mag can affect the mind of their readers. Put linux in a negative light to thier readership and the readership won't move to it (and, thusly, continue to pay for PC Magazine). "Reviews" like this one serve to keep the people in doubt about switching to linux in the Microsoft world.
To be fair, in the same article he also recommends just installing Ubuntu on a cheap PC.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
The 200$ PC is a via C7 processor. I have one, it can barely run a desktop in linux. the C7 processor is best suited for very thin client applications or non-display terminal type services such as a firewall or a slow file server.
I follow the SDK and GDN principles.. Spelling Dont Kount, Grammer Dont Neither
Did you notice how they listed that it doesn't run Mac or Windows software as a drawback? Vista doesn't run Mac, Linux, and some XP software, but you never see that listed in the reviews. To take a $200 computer and review it compared to one costing twice as much (or more), it should be obvious which one is superior.
Before yet another post dismissing the review in its entirety is posted, there are some totally valid claims.
1. Lack of flash plugin. Yes, they totally side-stepped the legal problems, but how about a script to do the job on startup??
2. Lack of polish. I backported everex's e17 gui onto an older kubuntu and I found the same issues the reviewer did. Plug a flash drive in and watch what doesn't happen. No system tray and none was ever planned. I discovered pulseaudio though and that was worth the effort.
3. It's under-powered. Until Microsoft sells PC Magazine's editors on a "new low-power market" PC Mag will call low-power anything bad.
It should go without saying that a $299 PC is the worst possible thing to happen to PC Magazine. Everex certainly isn't going to spend money on PC Magazine's editors or buy adverts with the tiny profit margins.
As an FYI: Everex's one or two of the e17 source packages are very broken. They aren't even ubuntu quality and they would never make it into a Debian repo. I took careful notes during the whole build and I'll forward them to anyone who is interested in building the desktop.
Attention KDE developers! Add native pulseaudio support to the kde desktop ASAP!
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Welcome to the entire raison d' etre of PC Magazine. Take a peek at their 'best' rated stuff sometime... none of it costs less than four figures, and often you can buy a dual-quad PowerMac for what some of these systems cost (yet strangely enough, I bet half the mag's fanboys would whine about Macs being too pricey...)
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Its so stupid to always look for the cheapest solutions and then say ...lets go with "Linux". If you want a GOOD functional PC with the good stuff in it - running nicely and doing what you want - you'd want a STRONG PC with the good stuff in it, it doesn't really matter if you run Linux or Vista... I can't believe they always tout the cheap pcs with Linux...like Linux where the cheap alternative, it's not the price - its what you want to do with your system, silly! A hardcore PC config will most likely kick major B*TT with Linux (I know it does with mine, and I never went for the cheap stuff as I know what the outcome will be anyway)...even if you ran windows on it. The point is - dont tout Linux with a small system - give it the major system you'd sell as a top notch windows machine - then compare - you do the math, the Linux systems have come a LONG way now - and they're as serious for the Desktop as any Windows (even better on security) would ever be, I know because I've been running both systems for over 10 years now (ok...not vista for 10 years...but windows) side by side, today I'm like using Linux 95 percent of the time...windows for the essential games only, but really...its all about c choice - not the price!
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
Never had that kind of problem.
Been installing Linux on various types of PC's for over 10 years. Been installing Linux on PC's since before grub even existed. Some have been randomly selected laptops. Some have had poor support for "multimedia devices". None have ever choked on installing the bootloader.
Sure I might end up with the Linux equivalent of a overpowered cablemodem router but I never ended up with a brick.
My most recent "Dirt-Cheap Vista PC" purchase installed Ubuntu without a hitch.
So did my Mac Mini.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Since when is Enlightenment Google-oriented? And since when is it a theme?
*slams cheap PC Mag uneducated revluser*
Another little tidbit ... Windows Vista, the OS, costs as much as this whole computer. Add Microsoft Office 2007 and you have spent double the price of this machine and all the Linux software you want. And you don't even have a computer yet.
...sure, 'cause it's a LOT harder to move the mouse 'n' click icons in Linux than it is in Windows...
...availability of quality software...Yeah, that MS-Paint has GIMP beat somethin' fierce. If you're thinking Adobe, enjoy paying $649 for functionality the average Ubuntu user has built-in.
...reliability...Hint: An Apache server is NOT a web server run by Native Americans. It's used by many providers for a reason. Guess what that reason is?
...and hardware compatability.Installed Ubuntu 6.10/XP dual-boot on my work and one of my home PCs. XP needed me to hunt down drivers for my video card, TV card, NIC, and sound card. Ubuntu recognized 'em all and I was watching TV on it 20 minutes later. Yay, TVtime!
Still not convinced? Friend of mine asked me to get their PC to recognize their digital camera. Took a driver disk before Windows would recognize the cam. I plugged it into my Ubuntu box....
...and lo and behold, pics!
Linux is starting to get device drivers down better than Windows, if you're willing to look.
Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
Ubuntu sure does look good when you compare it to the absolute worst of Windows. Unfortunately, my sound card doesn't work right and I've literally spent hours getting dual monitors to halfway work. Vista, an XP for that matter, had no problems at all.
Exactly my experience. gOS was a botch, so I installed vanilla Ubunto over it. My daughter is now happily running Gnome, OOo, and Firefox on her Everex box.
Find free books.
What this system really lacks, from what I have read, (I haven't really bought or even used one.) is synaptic, and a quick link to a Debian repository. Then the Author could get whatever he wanted. Firefox/Iceweasel, games like Freeciv, Westnoth, whatever. He could get his fill of ofice type apps too.
For the specs I've seen Abi or Koffice might be a better choice than Open Office, the specs for the machine are minimal. If I had one of these machines the first thing I'd do is add memory. It's still slow, but would at least run some interesting stuff.
Still, it is a nice first stab at a decent low end home machine. I can remember being happy with my old K6 300. This thing has better specs than that. You just have to be choosy in what you run.
Everybody knows 3 people with my name.
The issues with not being able to delete a menu entry is due most of the time to users attempting to certain things as root inside their home directory. Hence, when certain files are created they end up with root permissions (meaning you need root to modify them). I suspect this is what happened in your/your friend's case. At some point the root account was used to create a hidden folder or file in your ~ folder and that caused you to now need root permissions to alter them. You should avoid root at all times until you are proficient and capable at Linux, and even then avoid root. Your background changing issue could be the result of the same problem.
Honestly, Ubuntu is much easier for any new computer user to use. Someone that has used Windows and then tried to switch to another OS will expect that OS to operate like Windows. The first thing to keep in mind is that Linux isn't Windows and you should not view it as Windows. View it as something else. Maybe you'll conclude it is more or maybe you'll conclude less, but they are not the same animal, so please treat them differently.
One thing that most people forget about Windows is that it has taken the route of privacy violation. From the 47 programs that monitor what you do and report back to Microsoft to the WGA/WGN that operates as if it were Walmart knocking on your door some Sunday morning wanting to rifle through your belongings in order to determine if what you have that is from Walmart was actually legitimately paid for. You wouldn't let Walmart enter your home and search your belongings, hence you should not allow Microsoft to do the same thing. So Microsoft is doing it with a hidden camera. You wouldn't let Walmart monitor you with a hidden camera. So, if you want to ensure your privacy and the security of your computer Linux and open source is there to help you. It's not just the open community and the good support. It is about the privacy, security, and peace of mind in knowing that someone, some entity, isn't violating your rights.
Linux is growing wildly. Almost magically. People are trying it and liking it. But you get more. That peace of mind is unbeatable.
You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
I have never used Linux before, but I did use Unix on Sun workstations for a little while in the 90's. I own about 10 windows based computers.
....
Here are my comments on the Walmart computer.
Good
- Cheap! $200.
- Very Quiet!
- Seems stable.
- Comes with lots of installed software: Word Processor, Photo Editing, Spreadsheet, a PDF viewer, FireFox,
Bad
- Somewhat slow (which I had expected.)
- I think that it will take me a long time to get used to GOS (Linux?), but my kids are doing fine with it. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to change the screen resolution. There are icons that I can't seem to get rid of, but I haven't tried too much.
- The little documentation that came with the machine was not 100% correct.
Overall: Seems like a great cheap computer for the kids and it may even be good for surfing the Web and learning about computers in general.
Flash 9 lockups are a sign that your audio is not set up correctly. Basically, flash in its default state goes for the default ALSA device and if it is already locked by the OS you are pretty much stuffed. Depending on your setup it is either a browser or even X lockup or a coredump. The only solution is to have libflashsupport installed and set to default to ESD or PULSE and either esd or pulseaudio configured. From there on flash 9 works flawlessly. Oh, and you owe me a beer.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
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