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AOL Considers Linux?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the isn't-that-scary? dept.

News.com is running a story about AOL Considering Linux, although its fairly hazy on the details. Talks about Netscape turned AOLs investment in Red Hat, Linux in Consumer devices (seems to say its a bad idea, despite the mention of the empeg) and other assorted rumors with little solid claims from anyone beyond 'no comments'.

1 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Ideas by Splat · · Score: 3

    This could really change the whole way people look at computers in their lives. "Hiding Linux from the user" is not as hard as this article makes it sound. Infact, I don't see what is hard about it all. Computer's in themselves "hide" things from users. Your average computer user doesn't know how the CPU works, what's on a motherboard, nor really cares. The average population just wants practicallity in a device. Writing a slick GUI on top of Linux does not sound real complicated at all.

    I don't even see why Linux is "not an OS for consumer devices" either. Why not? Is there something glaringly obvious I should be aware of? Hmm let's see here - portability, reliability, performance, low cost. Stripped down to it's core functional enviornment it makes the IDEAL consumer device OS.

    AOL could basically make "AOL Appliances". With the current pricing of electronic components, I'm sure you could package a cute little computer capable of running the GUI I mentioned above on bare-bones hardware. Linux has the potential to be a breakthrough in the way we use machines. Companies need to "think outside the box".