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HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
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HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 13, 2006 23:21 UTC (Fri) by einstein (subscriber, #2052) [Link]
I recently went to the HP website and tried to order a laptop without microsoft expeee - I wasted a lot of time going in circles and/or being sent to 404 pages, before giving up.
How cool would it be, if HP actually offered a choice?
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 7:02 UTC (Sat) by AJWM (subscriber, #15888) [Link]
HP offers -- or perhaps offered, I don't know if it's still available -- the nx5000 laptop with SUSE Linux pre-installed. I admit I had a hard time trying to figure out how to actually buy that model on the HP web site just now.However, HP does provide some support for post-purchase installs of Linux. A search for "linux notebook" from the HP main page turned up info on how to install Linux on some HP notebook computers: Linux Configuration and Installation on HP Commercial Mobile Products (PDF) as well as info about updating the BIOS on HP notebooks with Linux installed Update your Linux notebook.
The above also has the following about 3 lines from the top: "HP also has a fully supported notebook PC that comes preinstalled with SUSE Linux, the HP Compaq nx5000" but that seems to be links to support rather than sales.
Of course if you're a server customer you can get Linux (RedHat or Novell/SUSE) pre-loaded.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 15, 2006 20:12 UTC (Sun) by job (subscriber, #670) [Link]
Check out the Thinkpad line of laptops. Their keyboards are exceptional, and they are very solid. I believe they support Linux officially on some models, but I don't know whether you can you them without MS tax.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 3:00 UTC (Sat) by nbecker (guest, #35200) [Link]
I just bought an hp dv8000 notebook. They told me that installing linuxwould void my warranty. Support Linux? I don't think so.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 7:10 UTC (Sat) by AJWM (subscriber, #15888) [Link]
Who is this "they"? I find this hard to believe.
Sure, they won't warrant anything on the software side if you load Linux -- the Linux Support Policy starts out "HP provides Linux software downloads as a courtesy to our customers who are using the Linux operating system. These software downloads and any related documentation are not supported by HP Customer Support and are provided "AS IS", without warranties of any kind," etc etc (the same disclaimers as with any distro).
However, as far as I know that doesn't void the warranty on the hardware. Just don't call support for help on anything not clearly hardware related after you've installed Linux.
Of course, the above doesn't apply to server hardware, which they'll happily sell you with Linux, support included.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 15, 2006 7:41 UTC (Sun) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]
The system that comes pre-installed probbly has a hidden partition with a rescue copy of the OS on it. Not to mention a partition layed up for hibernation.
If you care paying up slightly more, buy an extra 2.5 HD, remove the original one with the XP an keep it in a safe place (in case you need that warantee). Preferebly do that without accepting any XP license.
Instead, install your extra empty HD and a fresh copy of $FAVORITE_DISTRO, which should opefully work reasonably well.
Ideal solution? no. But this makes you independent of any crazy requirements of the vendor.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 15, 2006 14:41 UTC (Sun) by beoba (guest, #16942) [Link]
If anything, you'd think that opening up a laptop and replacing the harddrive would be more likely to void the warranty than switching the OS.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 15, 2006 15:36 UTC (Sun) by tzafrir (subscriber, #11501) [Link]
Not at all.
The rest of the story: after a while I decided someone else's laptop would be better for me. I switched laptops with him. I installed the old HD back to the laptop and moved my linux HD to the new laptop. I had almost zero migration problems and there was still no warantee to void. First laptop was some Dell, socond is a used Compaq of some sort.
Two monthes ago I temporarily switched laptops again with someone who needed my lighter laptop for a time of travel. Again, I switched HD and had a very simple transition, but the poor windows guy has spent a whole day of reinstallations.
Now think who was closer to voiding warantees.
HP rescue partition
Posted Jan 16, 2006 4:30 UTC (Mon) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link]
HP ships its computers with rescue partitions, but there's nothing hidden about them. The first partition is a VFAT rescue partion, the second is Windows XP. There's nothing getting in the way of your shrinking the XP partition and installing Linux, leaving you with a dual-boot box. Just make sure, when setting up Grub, that the boot to Windows XP chooses the second partition; if you ever boot the first partition, it will restore the box to its shipped state (it will re-install XP and reset the partition tables to their original configuration).In fact, I needed the rescue partition, because it seems HP didn't place the boundary between the first two partitions at a cyllinder boundary. The result is that QTParted winds up with an unbootable XP partition. To keep the start of the XP partition in the same place, I had to give the -u option to fdisk, so I could keep the same sector as the start of the partition. Since I wanted a dual-boot box, I just chose the "recovery" option and it restored XP.
This is arguably a bug in QTParted; the user (me) tried to move only the end of the XP partition, but QTParted moved the beginning as well (rounding it off to the nearest cyllinder).
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 3:02 UTC (Sat) by smitty_one_each (subscriber, #28989) [Link]
Drivers, drivers, drivers!
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 3:24 UTC (Sat) by finster (guest, #32338) [Link]
Do the large PC vendors simply use the idea of preinstalling linux as a threat against M$ to achieve a price reduction on M$ XtraPathetic? Or is this just my dislike of M$ bubbling over again? ;-)
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 14:52 UTC (Sat) by N0NB (subscriber, #3407) [Link]
I think you're right on the money.
It seems to me that there have been numerous occasions where the big PC suppliers have claimed Linux support (first tier even) only for the community to find the Emperors have no clothes. Time and again this has happened since the late '90s, yet there are those in this community that rush in believing the hyperbole. I'm too cynical to believe that any of the mega-corps would seriously put their cosy relationships with MS in jeopardy. Only when MS' market share demonstrably drops below 50% will these companies change their tune.
IBM, by unloading its PC division, has proven to be the smartest of the lot. They now can butt heads with MS when need be as they are no longer beholden to Balmer and CO. HP and Dell are Puppets of Redmond despite occasional protestations to the contrary.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 15, 2006 14:44 UTC (Sun) by beoba (guest, #16942) [Link]
I think under 90% or 80% of the PC market (excluding macs, as Dell/HP won't be selling anything running OSX any time soon) would be enough.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 4:21 UTC (Sat) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]
For a HP laptop without XP.
Start at www.hp.com
Click on "online shopping"
Click on "Small and medium business store"
Click on "Notebooks and Tablet PCs"
Click on "Notebooks"
Click on "Small and Light"
Scroll the page all the way over to the right then select "Configurable thin and light"
In there you can select FreeDOS and get rid of Windows XP Pro. This subtracts 100 dollars from the price of the laptop.
Unfortunately these cost more then other similar laptops. You basicly paying HP to format and install Freedos. Other laptops are all mass-built and costs savings are low enough to offset the cost of the Windows OS with specific 'smart buy' laptops.
Also be VERY carefull. Most of these come with Broadcom wireless and these suck for Linux support. You want to make double sure that your buying one with a Intel wireless device, which has very good Linux support.
...
Here is HP's sourceforge website. There they specify open source and Free software projects that they support.
http://hp.sourceforge.net/
....
Here is HP's opensource and Linux website.
http://h10018.www1.hp.com/wwsolutions/linux/index.html
They are working on a project called 'Linux Reference Archictecture'. This is a effort by HP to provide documentation and support for using various open source solutions to build a orginization on and document the support options they offer. The idea is that instead of having to go do dozens of different vendors for different aspects you can go to HP and get it all and all the support for everything you use and need from them.
....
Here is a list of certified computers ment to work with Redhat, Suse/Novell, and Mandriva.
This includes servers, laptops, workstations, and desktops.
http://h10018.www1.hp.com/wwsolutions/linux/products/clie...
....
HP is the ONLY PRINTER MANUFACTURER that makes sure that it's products work with Linux before releasing them.
Here is their webpage:
http://hpinkjet.sourceforge.net/productssupported.php
....
HP is has the BEST support for Linux out of all the major business hardware vendors. Yes, this is including IBM even though IBM has recently got rid of all of it's PC business.
Yes you have a hard time ordering windows-free devices AND their website sucks balls.. But they are still the best your going to find.
If you want Linux pre-installed you either have to be a big customer and specificly request it and have enough money to make it worth their while.
The reality is that 98% of their customers don't give a crap about Linux on the desktop. That's reality. They have to compete against the likes of Sun and Dell and have a hard enough time at it.
If you want hardware that has Linux preinstalled and such there are numerious other small vendors to go through...
Penguin computing. ASL labs. Los Alamos Computing.
If you want to buy a HP Linux desktop you have to go to their 'workstation' class hardware. There is no vendor except Linspire and friends that sell consumer-grade desktops and laptops for Linux.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 16:31 UTC (Sat) by pcampe (subscriber, #28223) [Link]
>HP is the ONLY PRINTER MANUFACTURER that makes sure that it's products work>with Linux before releasing them.
Except, at least, if you have a LaserJet 1020, which is not supported, and it (partially) works with Linux by an hack.
I have asked HP to support this printer, and they said there were no plans for this.
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 14, 2006 20:23 UTC (Sat) by finster (guest, #32338) [Link]
Thanks drag, for the useful info to check into. My experience with HP is via Compaq on a laptop. People are right to say, don't mention linux when talking to tech support. (Sorry for off-topic content.)
HP Appoints New VP for Open Source, Linux (eWeek)
Posted Jan 17, 2006 2:55 UTC (Tue) by grouch (subscriber, #27289) [Link]
"HP is the ONLY PRINTER MANUFACTURER that makes sure that it's products work with Linux before releasing them."
Strangely enough, all of my Samsung laser printers seem to work just fine with GNU/Linux, after an easy point-and-clicky install for CUPS from the included CD. My Epson inkjet also worked just fine with CUPS until dust and clogged jets killed it.
HP, on the other hand, ran me through a gantlet of web pages (many displaying that damnable "HP recommends Windows XP" message) which claimed to be helping me pick a printer. At the end of the trail, it recommended 2 printers, each over $2,000 for my Linux system. I couldn't believe this so I backtracked and changed ONLY the OS selection, from Linux to Windows or Mac, and (surprise! surprise!) instead of a selection of 2 expensive LaserJets, it presented me with a page asking how much I wanted to spend with the cheapest selection available being "under $100".
The new exec is quoted as saying HP provides "a level playing field". Bullshit. Beyond the open printer drivers, HP provides nothing but lip-service support for Linux.