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System76 Linux Computer Maker Offers a Sneak Peek Into Its New Factory (betanews.com)
BrianFagioli shares a report from BetaNews: System76 has long been a Linux computer seller, but recently, it has transitioned into a Linux computer maker. What's the difference, you ask? Well, currently, the company doesn't really make its own computers. System76's laptops, for instance, are made by other manufacturers, which it re-brands as its own. No, System76 doesn't just slap its name on other company's laptops and ship them out the door. Actually, it works closely with the manufacturers, tweaks firmware, and verifies that both Ubuntu and its Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS will work well on the hardware. System76 then offers top-notch support too. In other words, the company isn't just selling a computer, but an experience too. Unfortunately, when you rely on other computer manufacturers, you don't fully control the experience. Ultimately, System76 cannot achieve its true vision without building its own laptops. And so, that is exactly what it is going to do! Yes, System76 will be building and selling the computers right here in the USA (Denver, Colorado to be exact). I mean, when your company supports open source ideology and takes pride in being "Made in America," how can you go wrong?
Many folks in the Linux community are excited to see the fruits of System76's labor, and today, we get a small peek. No, the company isn't sharing any of its computer designs, but it is showing off its new manufacturing facility. In a new blog post by System76 customer service all-star Emma, she shares several photos of the new factory. [T]he space is absolutely massive! It seems System76 has very lofty goals. Exactly when these new computers both designed and manufactured by System76 will become available for purchase is anyone's guess. Quite frankly, based on the System76's blog post, it seems they are still at very early stages. With that said, it will be interesting to see what is born inside that factory in Colorado. The Linux community is anxiously awaiting something special.
Many folks in the Linux community are excited to see the fruits of System76's labor, and today, we get a small peek. No, the company isn't sharing any of its computer designs, but it is showing off its new manufacturing facility. In a new blog post by System76 customer service all-star Emma, she shares several photos of the new factory. [T]he space is absolutely massive! It seems System76 has very lofty goals. Exactly when these new computers both designed and manufactured by System76 will become available for purchase is anyone's guess. Quite frankly, based on the System76's blog post, it seems they are still at very early stages. With that said, it will be interesting to see what is born inside that factory in Colorado. The Linux community is anxiously awaiting something special.
Seriously, "Pop!_OS"? That's the dumbest name I've heard in a while. I suppose the underscore is supposed to look "modern", because random punctuation is what the kids use -- oh wait, that was maybe 20 years ago.
Good fucking grief.
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Someone I used to know worked in a warranty repair centre in the UK, for televisions. He said that the BOSE televisions were Panasonics, as in if you removed the BOSE bezel the original Panasonic bezel was still there underneath.
This would be six-eight years ago and I'm passing on anecdote rather than having hard proof, but yeah - badge-engineering has long been a thing. Car industry is notorious for it.
Most likely 'Assembled in an American factory'.
Where do all those parts and software components come from?
Especially when it comes to computers, "Made in America" is not really a mark of quality. I do not expect it to come with less spyware than a machine labelled "Made in China". "Made in Iceland" would probably be a far better deal.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
Does anyone have one of their laptops? How is the durability? I got a Dell laptop recently, and the durability of the case is miserable. There are so many parts made out of plastic, and the hinge is not strong at all. Makes me miss the metal Apple cases (but not the lousy keyboard and weird bar).
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Wow, this story seems like nothing more than an ad, especially the writing style. It's like one of those infomercials that pretends to be a news broadcast with a skeptical reporter. How unprofessional.
Bang & Olufsen used to have a reputation for simply rebadging Philips TVs. Sure, they used Philips tubes, but that was because Philips was one of the best CRT makers in the business. Everything else was B&O designed and built.
However when it came to plasma TVs in particular, in some cases they literally took a Panasonic plasma display (meant for use with an external control box), glued aluminum trim to the front and supplied their own control box. And charged 5-10x as much for it as the exact same panel from Panasonic.
Eat the rich.
With the car industry it's typically either a parent company designed platform that the different brands use as basis for their cars or a product from under the same corporate umbrella. While cases like Tata tried to sell their Nano as a Rover were fairly common in the 1980s and early 1990s (Honda platform Rovers and Mazda platform Fords spring to mind), they're vastly outnumbered by common platform and re-brands from within the same company.
"Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
"In other words, the company isn't just selling a computer, but an experience too." ...seriously?
"how can you go wrong"
"customer service all-star"
I don't use Linux exclusively I tend to stick with Windows. But seriously, the custom Linux PC's seem really over priced when you factor in the OS is free and there is no licensing fee. Most people I know buy a inexpensive Windows PC that is spec'd out to run a Linux desktop OS and simply goes that route. That System 76 Pop OS is the dumbest ideal yet in Linux desktops. Its a knee jerk reaction to Ubuntu going back to Gnome 3 from Unity and Pop OS is so not what most want in a Linux desktop.
What I saw was open floor space and some tables- small for a "computer factory" tiny if it is also to include warehouse space. A factory requires a massive amount of infrastructure and capital investment. If they are also taking more development on, the amount of test space is significant as well. Commercial rent is not cheap in Denver, nor is the cost of living- I live in Austin, TX- relatively expensive for Texas, and Denver is about 10% higher than here. This is the type of move they need to grow, I'm sure. I hope it works.
Kind of difficult. A lot of what you want is dependent on the motherboard which is linked to the CPU. So basically Intel.
It's not a technical issue. You could always drop in an extra chip as middleware or get a custom motherboard. But the problem is that you are now the deviation. Your materials, assembly, and support costs will reflect that.
The laptop is a commodities market. So any cost deviation from market is a no starter.
Flag this article as trash written by an idiot.
I remember the day I was driving my shiny new 2001 Suzuki Vitara and pulled up alongside a Chevy Tracker at a red light. It was the same exact vehicle as mine but with a few different plastic trim pieces, different bumper covers and different wheels. I believe it had a different engine as well, they simply shared the same body and interior trims.
-==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
What does the license of of the software have to do with what the software does?
Heck if I wanted to spy on somewhere a Linux System that comes preinstalled would be a good spot for this.
I have the source code, I can embed the spyware in a vital process (perhaps directly in the kernel itself) compile it and give the executable to be part of the base install. Sure GNU says that you should release the source for all your changes, but if you are going to spy on someone illegally, would the GPL really stop you?
Now you have spywhere on a system, where a number of people trust because it is open source. But they will not check the Complied code to the Source Given to make sure it matches up.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
How many of these ports do you really use? If you are using all of them why don't you save some money and get a desktop?
You can get laptops with all this stuff, but they are big and bulky, and for the most part are not currently popular enough for most mainstream company to sell.
These ports take up space, and they use power even if not being used. Many of these buttons and switches are not hard cutoff items, but asks the OS if it ok to turn this off now. Relying on extra divers to support it.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Just what the world needed!
I'm fine with my laptop screen being whatever aspect ratio that my keyboard happens to be. I'd rather have a compact laptop that opens up in an airline seat or on a train than an ultra thin laptop that doesn't fit into a small bag.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Yes and no. A decade ago now I had the idea that you can for example detect if a cable is plugged in to the ethernet port with a microswitch at the back of the socket that is closed when you physically plug the cable in. No physical cable plugged in, power down the ethernet. You could do something similar for other sockets too, certainly USB both type A and C, as well as SD cards. What other ports do you actually need?
Thanks for explaining that to us. We are all enlightened by your analysis. :P
More to the point, somebody has been buying computers from System76. They've been in business for years, and they only seem to keep getting bigger.
pity it's ubuntu and not debian
Go well
They were also very protective of their design, and refused to license it, or sell tubes to other TV manufacturers.
Eat the rich.