Correct me if I am wrong, but ...
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| TxtEdMacs Sep 10, 2005 5:17 AM EDT |
Quoting: The HP Linux and Open Source roadshow rolled into Johannesburg ... Is this just another instance where it will not be shown to USAians, because we are (as...)ians? |
| Abe Sep 10, 2005 7:23 AM EDT |
We are asinine partly because we allowed MS to lock us in. MS had this chance for some time now, but the genie is out of the bottle. I have seen HP commitments to Linux couple years back when my friend and I bought two desktops with Mandrake. They were $125 each less than the Windows based ones. Today, HP has their servers and all their desktop models available with either Linux or FreeDOS and without any MS Windows tax. Never mind the "HP recommends Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional" for now; they are a company and still need to make money. See the links http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/12454-64287-89... http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF04a/12454-64287-89... With the lock-in MS had on the users, they also had ALL the OEMs locked-in too. In additions to the contractual agreements, MS enticed many of the vendors with generous deals. Let's face it, MS was the only "dealer" in town and had the free hand to demand and do whatever they liked. FOSS changed and continue to change the landscape. First it was IBM, today, it is HP, tomorrow it is Dell and others. Dell is not going to allow HP to build a strong presence without reacting to it. But let's not be naive, these OEMs and companies will do what they think is best for themselves and they see the landscape changing. They are not switching for the love of FOSS, but rather because they have to, otherwise they will fade away. It is taking time, but it will happen. MS is very entrenched in the US corporate world and very popular with the home users. It is taking more time than the rest of the world because we are a lot more dependent and sophisticated in using IT in every field. It is much harder for us to switch without impacting our normal business process than the rest of the world who is not yet deep enough into IT and not as much dependent on it. The MA initiative to mandate OpenDocument format is a major milestone in the US on the path of adopting FOSS. It is not Munich, or any other major deployment of FOSS in the workd. This initiative will prove to be the critical mass in the path of adopting FOSS in the US. The best thing we can do now at this time is grab this opportunity to help make this initiative a nation wide trend. |
| dinotrac Sep 10, 2005 8:08 AM EDT |
Abe: >But let's not be naive, these OEMs and companies will do what they think is best for themselves and they see the landscape changing. Exactly. Used to be that FOSS types considered that a bad thing, but I think we are (for the most part) past that now. Companies exist because somebody had an idea to make money. Families gotta be fed, mortgages gotta be paid, etc. Neither good nor evil. Just a fact of life. If HP or Dell leans heavily in the Microsoft direction, it's because, in their business judgment, that's what makes sense to do. They could be right; they could be wrong. They're just trying to do the best thing for their business. |
| richo123 Sep 10, 2005 8:29 AM EDT |
Dino, What you say is perfectly correct however we should never forget that MS holds a close to monopoly whip hand in the market and constantly uses this to their advantage in a quite socially destructive fashion (sorry for the rant ;-)). It is a pity that the antitrust case did not break that uncompetitive power in the late 1990s.... My point is that there are macro issues as well as micro. |
| dinotrac Sep 10, 2005 4:50 PM EDT |
richo123 - We should never forget the monopoly power of MS, if for no other reason than to cut vendors a little slack. That's a mighty nasty beast they have to face. The nature of FOSS is hard for a monopoly to grapple with, however. We'll be okie-dokie. |
| richo123 Sep 11, 2005 6:27 AM EDT |
Dino, By all means cut the vendors slack however don't give up on doing the right thing on a macro scale. In other words reopen the the antitrust case and bust MS's balls. Teddy Roosevelt who introduced this legislation to defeat Standard Oil must be rolling in his grave.... |
| mvermeer Sep 11, 2005 10:47 AM EDT |
> [HYPERLINK@h10010.www1.hp.com]
> [HYPERLINK@h10010.www1.hp.com] Laptops?!? |
| Abe Sep 11, 2005 11:48 AM EDT |
HP made a pretty good laptop, the nx5000 last year and made a big ad campaign about. It is was available for purchase on their web site but no longer. I don't know what happened but it could be MS arm twisting, ran out of it, or not enough demand. Any how entertain yourself with the following links or call HP and ask them about it if interested in purchasing one. Keep in mind that, there are many HowTos on the Internet to install Linux on HP laptops. Google is your friend to find them. http://news.com.com/1606-2-5298692.html http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/321957-64295-8... http://enterprise.linux.com/article.pl?sid=04/09/23/1627251&... http://trends.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/09/23/1342232&... |
| Abe Sep 11, 2005 12:02 PM EDT |
mvermeer:
I found one link for you, but I hope you read German.
http://www.tuxhardware.de/product1017/product_info.html?osCs... And this is a PDF Docs on how to install it. http://h10018.www1.hp.com/wwsolutions/linux/products/clients... Certified Hardware http://developer.novell.com/yes/80551.htm I know we expect HP to have full support, but I suppose they have their reasons. |
| mvermeer Sep 11, 2005 6:35 PM EDT |
Yeah. The nx5000 was terminated also here, and the nx6110 and nx6120 are only offered with Windows. So that would be mail order, with luck from within the EU.
Let's never forget when a company, especially a johnnie-come-lately, claims to be 'supporting us': it is us supporting them! Perhaps it is with offering Linux as with Putin-critical journalism in Russia: Putin doesn't mind as long as nobody notices... Here in the newspaper ads, when selling laptops, it's invariably "HP recommends..." (do people really believe that crap? And is a still well-reputed company like HP really putting their name on the line like that?), but when selling server stuff, the phrase is lacking. As is any reference to an operating system, Linux or other. The absence is so conspicuous it's almost a trademark infringement ;-/ |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!