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Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com)
News.com
covers the recent availability of $200 Linux PCs.
"Linux is not just for computer whizzes.
In fact, buying Linux and learning how to use it are easier than ever, thanks to the open-source operating system's expanding presence in affordable computers and mainstream retail outlets.
In quick succession, the number of mass-market, sub-$200 desktops has tripled--from one to three--in less than three months. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, small form-factor PC maker Shuttle debuted its $199 KPC. The catch? It's not preloaded with Windows, but an operating system based on Linux."
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Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 5:01 UTC (Fri) by AJWM (guest, #15888) [Link] > The catch? It's not preloaded with Windows, but an operating system based on Linux. They say that like it's a bad thing. I'm sure most of us here at least would regard that as a bonus (even if we would promptly wipe it and replace it with our own distro of choice).
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 12:38 UTC (Fri) by hitmark (guest, #34609) [Link] yep, the simple fact that it runs linux indicates that the hardware used should work in any reasonably up to date distro. still, one cant really be 100% sure, as some have a bad habbit of adding proprietary modules to the kernel in the default "distro"...
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 22:12 UTC (Fri) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link] Not having Windows *is* a bad thing for most average consumers who only know Windows. This is a very positive article, for once Linux is seen as a real mainstream alternative to Windows...
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 6:06 UTC (Fri) by kanchanaoz (guest, #50113) [Link] I think the writer is giving the wrong impression to the buyers. Now a days people buy PCs not b'cos they love the OS. They want to get things done. Therefore there is no need for the writer to say that there is no need to be afraid of buying a cheap PC b'cos it is running LINUX so it is okay to do that. I say the five good reasons to by a LINUX powered PC is that if can do the following: 1. Write documents and share them with others 2. Emailing 3. Instant Messaging 4. Web Browsing 5. Upload and Manipulate Photos I believe that most lINUX distribution can support the above. These are the most common things average Joe look for, they don't look at breaking the PC or taking it into parts to examine how things work. Therefore whether it is a $200 or a $2000 PC powered with LINUX OS they shouldn't have fear as to whether they should buy it or not. my 2 cents.
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 8:03 UTC (Fri) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] An aside: Linux isn't an acronym and is not capitalized. (The same was true of Unix before the corporate lawyers got to it.)
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 8:55 UTC (Fri) by simonckenyon (guest, #41836) [Link] i think you will find that Unix is spelt U\s-2NIX\s0
UNIX Posted Jan 25, 2008 20:53 UTC (Fri) by rfunk (subscriber, #4054) [Link] Actually it's not quite corporate lawyers that turned Unix into UNIX. It's the availability of a small-caps font in troff. When the original Unix guys were writing their tech documents, they thought the small-caps UNIX looked cooler than plain old Unix, and then the caps stuck.
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 11:04 UTC (Fri) by jordanb (guest, #45668) [Link] It seems to me like the author is taken as given that buyers will be discouraged from buying a machine because it doesn't come with Windows, and then proceeds to argue that that sentiment is wrong and then responding to a set of anticipated complaints people would have against Linux and explaining why they are not valid for these products. This article reads like a Linux advocacy piece to me. I don't know why people are having trouble with it.
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 21:51 UTC (Fri) by pr1268 (subscriber, #24648) [Link] This article reads like a Linux advocacy piece to me. I don't know why people are having trouble with it. Speaking for myself, I have a little trouble with the article because it seems overly defensive about Linux (the aforementioned "It's not pre-loaded with Windows" quote from the article, in particular). But, I also have general concerns about consumer perception of Linux being the "el-cheapo" operating system of choice for discount-rate computers. Linux is every bit as powerful, stable, reliable, and versatile an operating system as Windows or Mac OS, even more so, yet it is found pre-installed most commonly on the $200 bargain-bin PCs and laptops sold today. Consumers have a funny way of equating bargain-bin price with bargain-bin performance (and usually that relation holds true), but Linux is most certainly not a bargain-bin performer!
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 25, 2008 22:14 UTC (Fri) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link] The article also mentions that Dell and Lenovo are selling high-end PCs with Linux... The real point is that if Linux breaks into a niche such as low-end PCs, it has a solid beach-head from which to expand. Selling 2-3% of all types of PCs is no way to get real volume, which is what Linux really needs to get hardware vendors and app writers to pay attention by providing specs, drivers, support, etc.
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 26, 2008 4:09 UTC (Sat) by jordanb (guest, #45668) [Link] > But, I also have general concerns about consumer perception of Linux being > the "el-cheapo" operating system of choice for discount-rate computers. I think being the "el-cheapo" choice is a very good position for Linux to be in, especially given that smaller and cheaper is what this industry is coming to. Microsoft could find itself like Apple, a company trying to sell a "premium" computing product to the tiny percentage of yuppies who go for that. Remember that "conquer from below" is exactly what MSFT did to IBM.
Five reasons not to fear a $200 Linux PC (News.com) Posted Jan 29, 2008 18:02 UTC (Tue) by holstein (subscriber, #6122) [Link] In fact, I really feel like we will see a textbook case of Innovator's Dilemma. Using Linux in these place is changing some rules of the game.
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