[TriLUG] official Linux on a laptop for under $500?

[Ian Meyer]

Taking this WAY OT, (then back again I promise),,,

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/01/business/01health.html (soul sucking
registration required): walmart cost the state of california $32
million in health care costs because their employees are so poorly
insured

now back On-T:

The point about a major brand is a BIG one. When people see some
no-name company offering what they see as a crappy laptop, it gives
them a bad image of linux. My mom doesn't know much about computers
but she knows that, in general, more GHz is better, as is more MB.
When you see a computer, regardless of price, with half the specs of a
major brand from someone you've never heard of, AND it has this
"LUNIX" stuff on it, people will think its cheap and lame.

What really needs to happen to heat up the desktop wars is exactly
what you said: same laptop from a major brand, for less money with
linux.

My soapboxing and $0.02 from someone who hasn't been in a Wal*Mart in
almost a year,
Ian


On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 00:54:24 +0000, Kevin Flanagan <kevin at flanagannc.net> wrote:
> I caught the connection, but see some issues with this.
> 
> One:
> Walmart, not my kind of company, the drive to the lowest possible wages
> concerns me.  A phrase that I heard recently seems to sum it up to me.
> 
> Henry Ford realized that in order to ensure a business he needed to pay
> workers enough to afford the product that they produced.  Walmart works
> on the principle that they should pay workers so little that the only
> place that they can afford to shop is there.
> 
> While that may be a bit of hyperbole, I think that it sums up a bit of
> the current state of some businesses, at least how it looks from this
> side.
> 
> Two:
> I don't think that this is a particularly good computer, will people
> associate the limitations of the system with Linux, Walmart, or what.
> Some folks will be just fine, but by using the lowest possible price you
> get what you pay for.
> 
> I don't want to get into the "heat on the lap" conversation, it's
> roughly the same on all brands.
> 
> I think that a deal with one of the bigger names, to offer a set of
> bottom of the line systems options etc, would do Linux better in the
> positive image department.  Think if you could get an HP, Dell, or even
> IBM/Lenovo laptop for $500 with Linux or $600 with Windows.  A co-worker
> bought a Dell for $600 with Wndows just last month.
> 
> Just my $.02....
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
> On Wed, 2004-12-22 at 11:19 -0500, Shane O'Donnell wrote:
> 
> > Ummm...did anyone happen to take a peek at the BIG PICTURE?!?!?!
> >
> > Linspire, a LINUX company that ships/sells a Linux distribution, has
> > partnered with arguably the largest retailer in the world (and certainly the
> > retailer with the greatest reach in the U.S.) to deliver a Linux-based
> > laptop to the masses at a price point that has, until now, been untouchable.
> >
> >
> > Do you get it?  VERY aggressive price points?  MAMMOTH distribution?  This
> > is LINUX we're talking about.  The SOHO market "desktop" wars have just been
> > ratcheted up a notch.
> >
> > The Linux community always wants to talk about World Domination, but when a
> > major coup is in the offing, they want to debate the heat generated by the
> > processor in a cheap laptop.
> >
> > And think what you will, Michael Robertson has already done more (in getting
> > this deal inked with Wal-Mart) than ESR EVER HAS OR WILL in support of
> > gaining wide-spread adoption of Linux.  Don't like his business practices?
> > Sue him.  Don't like his haircut?  Send him an email.  But don't focus your
> > energies on tearing down what just might be the commercial foray that will
> > take Linux to the next level.
> >
> > Have you ever tried to take a product back to Wal-Mart?  Guess what -- you
> > can.  Almost anywhere in the US, as a matter of fact.  This means that
> > purchases at Wal-Mart are safe purchases to make for almost anyone.  And if
> > SOHO users start turning to low-end Wal-Mart machines to accomplish their
> > business tasks (which they can, despite the laptop configuration dispute of
> > earlier), they are going to need someone to support them.  Someone like
> > Linspire--or Red Hat--or Ceriant--or their local computer guy.
> >
> > Wake up, folks!  If you want Linux to be widely accepted, installed,
> > distributed, understood, respected, et al--get on board.  The open source
> > world's inability to successfully market itself and continually turn on
> > itself over geek "religions" (e.g., Linux vs. BSD, GPL vs BSD license, ESR
> > vs Stallman, whatever) is stunning, and stunning on an ongoing basis.
> >
> > Descending my soap box,
> >
> > Shane O.
> >
> 
> -- 
> Kevin Flanagan <kevin at flanagannc.net>
> 
> 
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