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System76's Much-Anticipated Open Source 'Thelio' Linux Computer Will Be Available To Pre-Order Starting Next Month, But Shipping Date and Specs Remain Unclear (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the things-to-watch dept.

Brian Fagioli, writing for BetaNews: When you buy a System76 computer today, you aren't buying a machine manufactured by the company. Instead, the company works with other makers to obtain laptops, which it then loads with a Linux-based operating system -- Ubuntu or its own Pop!_OS. There's nothing really wrong with this practice, but still, System76 wants to do better. The company is currently working to manufacture its own computers ("handcrafted") right here in the USA. By doing this, System76 controls the entire customer experience -- software, service, and hardware.

This week, the company announces that the fruits of its labor -- an "open-source computer" -- will be available to pre-order in October. Now, keep in mind, this does not mean the desktop will be available next month. Hell, it may not even be sold in 2018. With that said, pre-ordering will essentially allow you to reserve your spot. To celebrate the upcoming computer, System76 is launching a clever animated video marketing campaign.

14 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. christ its all over the map by nimbius · · Score: 2

    Put on your waders because the website for Thelio is an absolute marketing shit-wreck of CSS and HTML5. the only thing youll find is a cartoon hosted at Vimeo prattling on about broken space robots?

    At the presser, the ominous is stated

    Please note: The article previously referred to Thelio as a laptop, but it is actually a desktop.

    so what the hell are you making besides noise, system76? why is "open-source computer" in scarequotes??

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  2. Re:Open-source hardware, eh? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

    TFA has zero information, the website (thel.io) has no details. What is this thing?

    x86 and CoreBoot/LibreBoot? RISC-V?

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. What do they even do? by Brama · · Score: 2

    Clicked around for a couple of minutes to figure out what exactly it is that they do, other then slapping some linux distro on laptops or desktops. Didn't get any wiser.

    1. Re:What do they even do? by Desler · · Score: 3, Informative

      They rebadge Clevo desktops and laptops and put a Linux install on it.

    2. Re:What do they even do? by Narcocide · · Score: 2

      That is pretty much all they do, but selecting hardware that is known to work in Linux (even if it requires proprietary drivers/firmware to accomplish) is the one thing that escapes the majority of entry level Linux users. It is literally the single biggest cause of people failing to adopt Linux. So, it may not seem like a lot, but it is something that few people can do, apparently.

    3. Re:What do they even do? by bonius_rex · · Score: 2

      IIRC, they are trying to get away from re-badging Clevo hardware. They recently built some sort of factory to manufacture some things in house. I saw them on Twitter setting up a powder-coating apparatus.

  4. Re:Pop_OS! Seriously?? by nukenerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    What retard came up with that name [Pop_OS!].

    They didn't. They came up with Pop!_OS. That's much more sensible.

  5. Re:Open-source hardware, eh? by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think for the purposes of marketing, System76 is re-defining the meaning of "open-source computer" here to mean merely a computer that does't have any components which require closed-source/proprietary drivers or firmware.

    If they can even succeed at that much without muddying the waters further with lies and half-truths I will commend them and perhaps buy one. As a US citizen however, the thing here that gives me the biggest cause for suspicion is the claim that these computers will be manufactured in the US.

  6. Re:Open-source hardware, eh? by Narcocide · · Score: 2

    Spoiler alert: It's just going to be a rebranded Thinkpad with a different audio and networking devices.

  7. Open Source? Really? by LaughingRadish · · Score: 2

    No mention of what System76 considers an Open Source computer. At the very least, I'd want something that uses Coreboot and free/open payloads for the same as well as a means to turn off or reliably block management engine backdoors. Meanwhile there ARE completely Open Source modern computers from Raptor Computing Systems in the form of the Talos series, although they're very expensive.

  8. Re:Cool story, gramps #2 by urbanriot · · Score: 2

    lol - https://gadgets.ndtv.com/lapto... - " HP Leads Global Laptop Market, Apple Takes Fourth Place" I think you meant Apple, not HP.

    https://www.notebookcheck.net/... - "Market intelligence provider IDC has released a report detailing the state of the worldwide traditional PC market for the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18). According to the data, both Dell and HP have seen increases in market share in comparison to the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17).

  9. How about Purism? by chill · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Purism is already far down along this path, with good quality hardware.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  10. "Open source" doesn't help us know what's offered by jbn-o · · Score: 4, Informative

    No mention of what System76 considers an Open Source computer.

    Precisely; and that's a big part of the problem with marketing terms—they are designed to tell you nothing substantive. This seems particularly useless when pitching a computer for sale (pre-orders are said to be on offer in October) and speaking to what is likely a technically literate audience that values being in control of their own computers. I know what features I'd want in a modern, powerful computer but I can't begin to evaluate if this computer is worth considering.

    The Free Software Foundation (FSF) put together criteria by which hardware ought to be evaluated however this organization predates the development methodology brought up by the term "open source" by over a decade. The FSF has a history of doing work with published, carefully structured definitions (such as their list of "Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing") based on critical thinking about relevant technological and social issues. For example, the FSF doesn't want to be lumped in with "open source" because they stand for different values.

    I'd like to see this new system be evaluated for the Respects Your Freedom campaign; I'd find that useful information to help me determine whether I should order one of these computers. But right now all I see are vague terms and an ad campaign that doesn't illuminate what's really going on offer.

    --
    Digital Citizen
  11. Re: Open-source hardware, eh? by jpaine619 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Cheap? The 500 most expensive and powerful supercomputers on the planet run Linux.. Linux has a 100% market share of those machines... So no, not all Linux users are cheap.. Linux users actually purchase and use machines that cost hundreds of millions of dollars each.. What's your big contribution? $2K? oooooh.. slow down big spender....

    Who cares what percentage of the desktop it has? The Linux project is, and will remain, viable for the foreseeable future. If System76 thinks there is a market for US assembled Linux computers, why does it concern you if they give it a go? Their experiment will cost you nothing...

    While it is true that desktop sales are slowing, it's not a huge drop off.. They aren't going from 100,000,000 units to nothing.. The change from 2017 to 2018 was 97 million to 94 million units.. (Laptop sales actually increased during the same time frame)

    Linux also has a, roughly, 55% share of the internet server market... So yeah.. it's a viable OS.