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Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge)
NewsForge is running an analysis on the failure of
companies to profitably serve the Linux-on-laptops market.
"If Dell or IBM -- or someone else -- had been willing to sell me a low-cost
laptop with Linux already on it, they would have had a sure sale. I had my
credit card out, with plenty of available balance on it, ready to spring $1,500
but not $3,000. Too bad these biggies didn't want my money or my loyalty. Maybe
someday they will, and maybe someone else will come along who doesn't sneer at
my money-saving nature and wants to do business with me."
(Log in to post comments)
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 21, 2002 19:50 UTC (Fri) by smoogen (subscriber, #97) [Link] Oh waaaah. The one thing that people need to realize is that laptops are usually sold near cost already. They arent cheap hardware folks.. (ok after the last one I had fell to pieces.. I know they are made out of cheap hardware) if you want a laptop then you are going to need to pay the bucks.. or figure out a way to make a homegrown one from parts you can get at the store.
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 21, 2002 20:19 UTC (Fri) by pgarland (guest, #270) [Link] The point of the article isn't that laptops are too expensive, he wasn't claiming that the higher end laptops are overpriced for what you get.The problem the author had was that the only laptops the original manufacturers offered for sale with GNU/Linux preloaded were the higher-end, more expensive ones, which he doesn't want because the extra features do not justify the extra cost for hime. The cheaper, lower end laptops he wants to purchase exist, but the original manufacterer sells them preloaded only with MS Windows, not GNU/Linux. That is the writer's complaint: that the hardware and operating system he wants are not matched to each other by the manufacturers
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 22, 2002 1:54 UTC (Sat) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203) [Link] Instead of seperate stocking units like IBM tried, how about we admit we are a niche on laptops and try for the possible. I'd settle for a vendor supplying timely and complete install details/drivers for one or two popular distros. Mandrake & RedHat would be my picks since laptops are 'desktop' boxes most of the time.Any company who did that would rate a B in my book. To get an A they could include a CD with a restore image of a Linux distro. Pop it in and bang! Instant Linux, either alone or dual booting with Windows. They already have the tech since that is how they supply Windows. If they stick it in the 'hidden' restore partition that seems the rage these days their cost would be minimal.
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 22, 2002 16:06 UTC (Sat) by DeletedUser2207 ((unknown), #2207) [Link] I have to agree with much of what the author says about Linux on laptops. I bought a used Dell Latitude CPx-J650 on Ubid. Before I started bidding, I checked out how well Linux sits on this machine. Turns out everything was known to work with little trouble.But there is more than just price behind poor sales of laptops with Linux. To me, having Red Hat pre-installed on any computer wouldn't sell me on that machine, because I prefer Mandrake. If computer sellers want to reach the Linux market, they have to offer more than one distro. Wal-mart/Microtel has the right idea, giving buyers a choice between Lindows and Mandrake -- anyone who prefers a different distro knows that the machines are fully Linux-capable and can buy an OS-free unit.
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 24, 2002 8:09 UTC (Mon) by DeletedUser1835 ((unknown), #1835) [Link] I can't imagine why people seem to tend to think of this as something that is difficult. All one has to do in order to be able to provide a PC or laptop with any distribution of Linux would be to have each of those distributions ready installed on seperate harddisks identical; when the customer asks for a certain distribution preloaded, you just copy it on to the disk that goes in his machine. What could be simpler?I know - this is just the basic concept, of course, and it could be refined a lot, but the point is: there's nothing to it. It's only mental lazyness that's in the way here. Perhaps it would help a lot if somebody were to write a program that could take a diskimage from a CD and whack it onto a harddisk. And then of course a program that would put an installed distribution on a CD as well. I can't believe nobody has done this yet??
Why Linux-loaded laptops have sold poorly (NewsForge) Posted Jun 27, 2002 13:43 UTC (Thu) by DeletedUser1740 ((unknown), #1740) [Link] One of the few companies I've found that sells Linux laptops is www.aslab.comI have no affiliation with them, but am a satisfied customer. They currently have two models with the low end around $1500.
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