And there goes the last of Dell's
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| DrDubious Dec 17, 2011 6:03 PM EDT |
Last time I checked, Dell's pathetic excuse for "Linux (Ubuntu) laptops" were a few netbooks and a single pathetically underpowered, bargain-basement "Celeron"-based laptop. If they're abandoning netbooks, I imagine they'll also be abandoning the pretense of offering Linux systems (with the exception of some expensive servers). |
| kennethh Dec 17, 2011 7:53 PM EDT |
There are the arm "smartbooks" for those wanting a linux netbook experience.. It's a waste to see netbooks being ditched, they are very useful and versatile for students, travelers, the non-tech crowd who use only a web browser, etc.. "Microsoft helped kill off the Linux netbook by lowering the price of Windows XP and applying marketing pressures. Before long, Windows netbooks started fading, too, brought down by the rise of tablets and smartphones, the end of the recession, as well as the format's own inherent limitations." <-- Leave it to microsoft... As for dell I don't care. There are other vendors out there willing to continue on providing inexpensive, small form efficient machines that certain people prefer. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 17, 2011 8:49 PM EDT |
Not just Microsoft; Both MS and Intel got into the game of telling OEMs what sort of systems they were allowed to build (if they wanted competitive prices and reliable access to components). The short version was, "you can't develop the netbook systems people actually want, because we can make more money selling other (bigger, more powerful, more expensive) stuff we'd prefer them to buy, instead". For MS it was protecting their software (esp OS) sales, for Intel their hardware (esp CPU) sales. And so the "netbook format" was designed around MS's and Intel's wishes, rather than the users. Both companies were willing to actively deny their "valued customers" what those customers actually wanted, rather than supply their existing product according demand. And they got away with it. I can't help but wonder, how much the current success of tablets and smartphones, (developed for hardware and OS components beyond this Wintel control), might owe to this sabotage of the netbook. |
| djohnston Dec 18, 2011 12:38 PM EDT |
Quoting:Before long, Windows netbooks started fading, too, brought down by the rise of tablets and smartphones, the end of the recession, ... The recession ended? I didn't get the memo. |
| JaseP Dec 18, 2011 1:49 PM EDT |
You can only get Linux options from Dell if you select business systems, no consumer options. There are two laptop offerings, no desktop systems (only FreeDOS desktops). I used their website feedback system to tell them that if Linux offerings weren't available, I would NOT be buying a system from them. I've bought 6-7 systems from them in the last 10 years ... |
| lcafiero Dec 18, 2011 2:09 PM EDT |
Dell's "contribution" to providing Linux on their consumer hardware probably did more to harm Linux than help it. My personal example, mentioned in these hallowed forums more than once, was that I tried to buy a Dell laptop with Ubuntu for a client and the hardware was not available for two weeks, yet an identical Windows OS on the same model was available immediately. And the reason for that? They couldn't tell me. So, Dell? Good riddance. |
| helios Dec 18, 2011 2:23 PM EDT |
Larry, yep. Advised a friend to buy a Dell netbook when they first came out with Linux and wireless was broken literally out of the box. "Fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice....." |
| jdixon Dec 18, 2011 3:18 PM EDT |
> Dell's "contribution" to providing Linux on their consumer hardware probably did more to harm Linux than help it. I wouldn't go that far. My Mini 9 has been a great little computer. Of course, I had to upgrade it to Ubuntu 10.04 myself, as Dell didn't bother with providing an upgrade. But then I never expect any real level of support from a big box supplier. |
| JaseP Dec 18, 2011 5:05 PM EDT |
The only problem with writing them off is that the next step from no longer providing Linux machines is locking users out of the BIOS... Dell is one of the few major providers who have said they won't lock users up with UEFI "secure" boot. They haven't said they'll keep ALL models open this way, though... I note that the new Latitude TS tablet runs a GMA600, with the same issues that the older GMA500, poulsbo, chipset had ... That smacks of an inside deal with M$. |
| caitlyn Dec 18, 2011 7:57 PM EDT |
While the netbook market isn't dead as the article claims, netbooks aren't the hot thing anymore. They aren't a fad. It's a much smaller market that is still lead by Acer and ASUS. Dell simply couldn't ever catch the leaders so, like HP before them, they've bowed out. BTW, if you go into WalMart they still have netbooks, generally three or four models, just like last year and the year before. They wouldn't keep carrying them if they didn't sell. Ditto the other big box retailers. Linux is a tough sell when retailers generally avoid it. Yes, I know there are low end Android netbooks in retail outlets and yes, I know Ubuntu has managed to get ASUS netbooks preloaded with their distro into retail shops in some countries. In most of the world Microsoft successfully convinced retailers there was no money to be made from Linux: less demand, no add on sales of software. I think that's a separate issue from Dell dropping out of the netbook market, though. As others have pointed out, Dell really didn't know what to do with Linux. Their support was half hearted at best and they never really marketed Linux at all. It might, could have had more success if Dell, like other big vendors, didn't feel like they were dependent on Microsoft. What we need now is a vendor/manufacturer who is where ASUS was in 2007: new to the systems market with a tiny market share. They took a chance on a new product running Linux and built their brand from it. We need someone else who is willing to build a netbook sized device with more powerful processors and more memory. Such systems would shoot past the Microsoft imposed limitations so they couldn't run Windows and still meet a low price point. They would have a unique niche in the market and they could only run Linux. Such a vendor, if they existed, could be the next ASUS. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 18, 2011 8:59 PM EDT |
@JaseP I'm not aware of Dell making any such statement, aside from Ed Bott's rather ludicrous (not to mention contemptuous, and even dishonest) piece on ZDNet (and other people carelessly referencing it as if he'd actually determined anything). I posted my summary of that blatant disinformation piece on LXer a while ago http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/32539/. Since I posted that comment, I have yet to hear anything to make me reconsider, let alone modify my evaluation of the situation. Executive version: >> Companies that already supply Linux or "naked" servers to corporate customers, have no express plans to cut themselves off from these established, paying customers (at least as far as nameless sales/marketing drones at Dell and HP know, anyways). No major OEM anywhere has given any meaningful reassurances -- or even vague reassurances -- that EUFI Secure Boot will be broadly implemented across their upcoming product lines, in a properly OS agnostic fashion. |
| JaseP Dec 19, 2011 2:26 AM EDT |
@BernardSwiss: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1863604&page=2 There HAVE been assurances from Dell,... But, again, not an unqualified assurance for all models. |
| BernardSwiss Dec 19, 2011 4:17 AM EDT |
As far as I can see, that's still not an "official statement", and it still wouldn't be a proper implementation, anyways. (as even your linked thread thread makes clear, as Secure Boot would still be only available to Windows, and dual-booters would have to muck about with BIOS config whenever switching between OSes) |
| JaseP Dec 19, 2011 9:38 AM EDT |
I never said they were official or proper, only that that they're one of the few that have said anything at all... I will note that the Gigabyte s1080 tablet will run Linux. It's similar set of internals to the Inspiron Duo (same Atom, same RAM, same sized HD,... no swivel screen, tough, just a slate). I have a Duo, and they're nice little machines. I'm beginning to think that Linux enthusiasts will have better luck with the Chinese, than with the Western OEMs (all made in the same places, but the Chinese keep 'em generic). Build quality is the main sticking point. We can forget about Gorilla Glass. And WiFi chipsets will be second rate. Gigabyte is a slight step up from the run of the mill. |
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