Linux laptop availability in Australia
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| sleepy Jul 19, 2008 5:05 PM EDT |
But then there's this... http://www.techworld.com.au/article/253737/eee_pc_1000h_arri... That article has the sub-heading "Effectively using Linux to raise publicity", which I think sums it up. As far as I am aware, the following sums up the availability of laptops with Linux pre-loaded in Australia: Dell - No. Lenovo - No. HP - No. Acer - Not as yet, but it will be interesting to see if a Linux-powered Aspire One becomes available. Asus - Eeepc up to the Celeron-powered 900 only - no Atom-powered models; no other models. VG Computing - Yes, but if you examine the pricing, you are still paying the Windows tax. p4laptops - Yes, but only on models from manufacturers such as Clevo, Compal & Mitac. Sleepy |
| tracyanne Jul 19, 2008 5:22 PM EDT |
Quoting:When asked why the new 1000H only ships with Windows XP a spokesperson for ASUS said the reason is "mainly due to high consumer demand for the familiar Microsoft [operating system], particularly since [the 1000H] is available through retail only". But since Linux isn't available, we actually have no idea what the demand for Linux powered ones will be. |
| sleepy Jul 19, 2008 5:52 PM EDT |
Yes, I would have thought the very success of the eeepc in the first place basically countered this argument. But this is the same rhetoric the other companies use: make it very obvious on your web site and in other advertising material that Linux is not an option, and then claim there is no demand for Linux because few ask for it. I believe that if they pursue this policy, Asus will be seen to have used Linux to force a good deal from Microsoft, and then to abandon the Linux community, who will remember. And, since the Linux-powered eeepc was a success in the first place, someone else will pick up the dropped baton. |
| tracyanne Jul 19, 2008 5:59 PM EDT |
I know that Linux could be a popular option, simply because of a question I was asked by one of out customers (I work for a Web development company, and we built his website/application). He is not particularly computer literate, but depends on the web application we built to run a small business. He asked me if I had bought the new ASUS Eee, and I said which one, to which he replied, the Linux One. He the choice of the XP version or the Linux version and chose the Linux version. He chose the Linux version because it's easier to use. |
| TxtEdMacs Jul 20, 2008 3:37 AM EDT |
sleepy,Quoting: ... Asus will be seen to have used Linux to force a good deal from Microsoft, and then to abandon the Linux community, who will remember Well Dell did it once before, only to have a mob of fans fall all over themselves praising their announced intentions of selling a few models with Linux installed on lower end units. While I read here that Dell has announced a slight expansion of their intended offerings using Ubuntu 8.04, Dell may be playing the same game with MS. Where is the outrage? (Just kidding - better buy a local, long term supporter's machine.) HEY SLEEPY!!! Where is Grumpy and Happy?? You were the one last seen with them and they have gone missing. We know beneath that sleepy exterior, a violent individual lurks. Better come clean! Where are they, what have you done to them? [S.W. is really pissed, with the mob of kid she and the Prince downloaded they need the baby sitting help. Even Grumpy carried his load, while you shirked your duty sleeping on the job.] Now don't take a nap, answer the questions ...!!!!! |
| sleepy Jul 20, 2008 5:28 AM EDT |
Actually, the original Sleepy of whom you speak was later found to have been taking Stilnox (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11115), and did Grumpy and Happy in during a particularly violent somnambulistic episode. The other four were only too pleased to help dispose of the bodies, and they were very good at digging... My label goes back a number of years to a very long night of computer gaming, when everybody got cool callsigns like "Ace", "Sniper" and "TimTamMan" (*Australian reference: http://www.arnotts.com.au/products/TimTam.aspx). Apparently all agreed that "Sleepy" seemed most appropriate for me, and it kind of stuck. These days its just easy to remember as a login. |
| tracyanne Jul 20, 2008 1:08 PM EDT |
@sleepy where in Oz are you. |
| sleepy Jul 21, 2008 1:29 AM EDT |
Brisbane |
| tracyanne Jul 21, 2008 1:35 AM EDT |
I'm half an hours drive from Hervey Bay |
| sleepy Jul 22, 2008 9:51 PM EDT |
Tracyanne - that's a nice part of the world. And apparently anytime I'm not around the fishing is good! |
| tracyanne Jul 23, 2008 5:19 AM EDT |
My partner and I are Mexicans (for the yanks, that means we're from South of the Border......), we moved up here from Sydney about 5 years ago. Right now it's pissing down, and the chooks are flooded out, and may have to learn to swim. |
| rijelkentaurus Jul 23, 2008 5:30 AM EDT |
Quoting: Right now it's pissing down, and the chooks are flooded out, and may have to learn to swim. Uhh....what? |
| jdixon Jul 23, 2008 7:15 AM EDT |
> what? It's pouring rain and flooding. From a quick google search, It looks like a chook is a chicken. |
| gus3 Jul 23, 2008 7:55 AM EDT |
Quoting:My partner and I are Mexicans (for the yanks, that means we're from South of the Border......)Hahahaha! Thanks for the clarification, TA. Actually, I'm in a northern(!) border state, and we have lots of Mexicans here, too. I've even been called on a few times to translate when the message obviously wasn't making the leap. |
| jezuch Jul 23, 2008 11:57 AM EDT |
Quoting:Right now it's pissing down, and the chooks are flooded out, and may have to learn to swim. Ah, memories! AD 1997 there was a major flood in Poland... I was a lucky inhabitant of a part of my town with a name that translates roughly to "Muds Colony", between a long lake (Wikipedia says it's "oxbow lake" in English) and Vistula river. For one day I lived on an island. Although the wave was significantly weakened at that point (it was much worse in southern parts of the country). Anyway, watching water creep up the hill was, um, creepy ;) I very much liked that location. The seclusion. The lake. The river. The fields. The woods. The dunes. The mud. And it was less than a kilometer from the capital's vicinity (which doesn't mean the country looks like Elbonia ;) ) Apologies for the OT :) |
| sleepy Aug 26, 2008 6:02 AM EDT |
In the interests of fairness, it appears that a Linux-powered Eeepc 901 is now available in Oz. http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/eee-pc.php |
| tracyanne Aug 26, 2008 8:34 AM EDT |
If you look through the customise and buy page you begin to see the real differences between the Linux 901 and the XP 901. . For $700 you get all you can eat (a fully functioning system out of the box) with Linux (incuding a larger SSD), for $700 you get a very basic system with Windows, on top of which you can add at least another $700 worth of software, including anti Virus, in order to get a usable system. Which one is the better deal now? |
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