The reason why businesses have an IT department is to take care of out of warranty, software, networking, security, user issues, and a host of other issues. IT departments actually do relatively small amounts of hardware work. Why do you think most companies buy Dell? They purchase it with the 3 or 4 year onsite warranty. This means that when a systems hardware breaks Dell sends a tech within 24 hours (a whole lot less if you're a major customer) and your IT department can focus on the more critical issues. Also it means that the company doesn't have to stock parts for all their components which reduces cost. The cost of buying a Dells with the best support option for most major companies is actually cheaper then highering the number of staff it would take to maintain all those issues. You also don't have somebody that just knows the hardware sitting on his butt when nothing is broken. You also don't have the guys with the major salaries wasting their time doing what a tech at Best Buy makes $10 an hour for.
Ok the author goes on and on about how much money people spend on bundled software and constantly sputters about how much you would save if you used linux because everything comes preinstalled with even greater functionality. The author fails to recognize that another measure the PC manufacturers could take is to install the WINDOWS VERSION of the most popular linux applications. OpenOffice is completely free and yes, for the average user, comparable to MS Office. The author just assumes that ALL the bundled software is Microsofts fault. I've sold Microsoft OEM for years and you're not required to install anything but the OS. All the other "bundled software" is at the manufacturers discretion. Yes, the buyer can choose to pay more to have me install the OEM version of office as well or they can ask me to install OO or install it themselves.
And as for us "'white-box' or no-name brand PC makers" the reason businesses shy away from us has nothing to do with the fact that we're not a household name it has to do with support. We don't have a thousand service techs on contract to go hold your hand or replace parts like crazy which is a big factor for a lot of businesses. Businesses aren't forced to do business with Microsoft and there's plenty of businesses now that don't. The "Name Brand" companies can get their computer hardware cheap because they can manufacture most of it, this is something white-box companies can't do, we have to rely on wholesalers which means that yet another person get's part of the profit and drives up costs. For the author to state that the users that don't want to use Windows are then limited to a fraction of the hardware out there is just plain ignorant. Most of the hardware out there is available to anybody, the only thing that's not are the mass produced motherboards and some cheap add-ons that Dell and HP put in there systems to keep their costs down. There's actually not a huge VARIETY available. Most hardware innovations are actually bought by gamers that install the hardware themselves in their already super fast machine.
To say that Apple Mac is a Hardware manufacturer is decidedly less then accurate, how many people do you know that go on and on about the awesome hardware of a Mac, it's the software that they love and advertise so much. They are two seperate things sold by a single company, they didn't invent the UNIX software which their OS X is based on did they?
Linux is NOT READY FOR THE AVERAGE user. I deal with 300 average users a day and when they see Linux they don't want it. However I do have linux in a very specific setup for a very specific reason to keep costs down in a specific area. The average user wants to be able to walk into a store and say "Hey, I need a program to do my taxes," and the clerk to hand them something that they can install (yes even the average user can install something in windows, even without a package manager) on their system (and not worry about the flavor or version they're running {do you know how many problems the average users had with just the 98 programs wouldn't work on XP or vica versa, and that's only two options}). And if you want support you can call anybody (and if you live in a rural area it's normally only one person).
The same market applies to both Windows and Linux, it's the demand that's different. People demand Windows because it's what they used at school (unless they had Macs there) and it's what they use at work, they don't want to use a different OS in different places. Oh yeah and didn't the author say something about businesses staying away from white-boxes earlier, they stay away from linux for some of the same reasons.
Yes the cost of software versus the hardware is coming up, that's because the hardware's getting cheaper and new software prices stay about the same, that's a good thing not a bad thing. And the "If you buy windows then you can only install Microsoft software" is actually less equivilant
Ok so it's a general concensus that money is at least one of the main forces behind malware, so why don't we hit them where it hurts. Anytime a company is found to have used these practices they are "blacklisted." Basically boycott any company that is known to use this practice and make them aware that we will no longer purchase products or services from them until they cease and desist. You would be surprised at the effect that boycott's have had on big business. Doubt me? Google it.
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The reason why businesses have an IT department is to take care of out of warranty, software, networking, security, user issues, and a host of other issues. IT departments actually do relatively small amounts of hardware work. Why do you think most companies buy Dell? They purchase it with the 3 or 4 year onsite warranty. This means that when a systems hardware breaks Dell sends a tech within 24 hours (a whole lot less if you're a major customer) and your IT department can focus on the more critical issues. Also it means that the company doesn't have to stock parts for all their components which reduces cost. The cost of buying a Dells with the best support option for most major companies is actually cheaper then highering the number of staff it would take to maintain all those issues. You also don't have somebody that just knows the hardware sitting on his butt when nothing is broken. You also don't have the guys with the major salaries wasting their time doing what a tech at Best Buy makes $10 an hour for.
Ok the author goes on and on about how much money people spend on bundled software and constantly sputters about how much you would save if you used linux because everything comes preinstalled with even greater functionality. The author fails to recognize that another measure the PC manufacturers could take is to install the WINDOWS VERSION of the most popular linux applications. OpenOffice is completely free and yes, for the average user, comparable to MS Office. The author just assumes that ALL the bundled software is Microsofts fault. I've sold Microsoft OEM for years and you're not required to install anything but the OS. All the other "bundled software" is at the manufacturers discretion. Yes, the buyer can choose to pay more to have me install the OEM version of office as well or they can ask me to install OO or install it themselves.
And as for us "'white-box' or no-name brand PC makers" the reason businesses shy away from us has nothing to do with the fact that we're not a household name it has to do with support. We don't have a thousand service techs on contract to go hold your hand or replace parts like crazy which is a big factor for a lot of businesses. Businesses aren't forced to do business with Microsoft and there's plenty of businesses now that don't. The "Name Brand" companies can get their computer hardware cheap because they can manufacture most of it, this is something white-box companies can't do, we have to rely on wholesalers which means that yet another person get's part of the profit and drives up costs. For the author to state that the users that don't want to use Windows are then limited to a fraction of the hardware out there is just plain ignorant. Most of the hardware out there is available to anybody, the only thing that's not are the mass produced motherboards and some cheap add-ons that Dell and HP put in there systems to keep their costs down. There's actually not a huge VARIETY available. Most hardware innovations are actually bought by gamers that install the hardware themselves in their already super fast machine.
To say that Apple Mac is a Hardware manufacturer is decidedly less then accurate, how many people do you know that go on and on about the awesome hardware of a Mac, it's the software that they love and advertise so much. They are two seperate things sold by a single company, they didn't invent the UNIX software which their OS X is based on did they?
Linux is NOT READY FOR THE AVERAGE user. I deal with 300 average users a day and when they see Linux they don't want it. However I do have linux in a very specific setup for a very specific reason to keep costs down in a specific area. The average user wants to be able to walk into a store and say "Hey, I need a program to do my taxes," and the clerk to hand them something that they can install (yes even the average user can install something in windows, even without a package manager) on their system (and not worry about the flavor or version they're running {do you know how many problems the average users had with just the 98 programs wouldn't work on XP or vica versa, and that's only two options}). And if you want support you can call anybody (and if you live in a rural area it's normally only one person).
The same market applies to both Windows and Linux, it's the demand that's different. People demand Windows because it's what they used at school (unless they had Macs there) and it's what they use at work, they don't want to use a different OS in different places. Oh yeah and didn't the author say something about businesses staying away from white-boxes earlier, they stay away from linux for some of the same reasons.
Yes the cost of software versus the hardware is coming up, that's because the hardware's getting cheaper and new software prices stay about the same, that's a good thing not a bad thing. And the "If you buy windows then you can only install Microsoft software" is actually less equivilant
Ok so it's a general concensus that money is at least one of the main forces behind malware, so why don't we hit them where it hurts. Anytime a company is found to have used these practices they are "blacklisted." Basically boycott any company that is known to use this practice and make them aware that we will no longer purchase products or services from them until they cease and desist. You would be surprised at the effect that boycott's have had on big business. Doubt me? Google it.