That's a significant step forward.
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| nmset Apr 09, 2013 3:58 AM EDT |
Remains to see if it will last, until we see such PCs sold for productivity tasks. (It's yet sad we still have to first rely on futile gaming activities, but that's a personal opinion.) |
| tracyanne Apr 09, 2013 5:04 AM EDT |
It's a general purpose computer, you don't even have to use the pre installed Operating System. So what if it comes with the ability to install games. The productivity apps are a simple install away. It's even a good (as in not considerably expensive) price for good hardware. |
| nmset Apr 09, 2013 5:16 AM EDT |
Yes tracyanne, you're right, the HD can be wiped and re-installed at will. I'm just satisfied to see good specs machine sold nearly Linux certified. |
| r_a_trip Apr 09, 2013 8:55 AM EDT |
I'm thrilled to see a vendor picking up a Linux based OS for general purpose computing, but at the same time I'm torn by the choice for Ubuntu. On the one hand, Canonical is pushing Linux on the PC and slowly succeeding (yay)! On the other hand, they are creating a monolithic monstrosity with the Unity/Mir combo, that is showing early signs of becoming an isolated, one size fits all system, not unlike MS Windows or Apple Mac OS (Boo). If Canonical succeeds, they will have made FOSS ubiquitous, but I dread what they are creating to make that happen. It will become the equivalent MS Windows, but released Open Source. Choices, choices. What is more important? FOSS everywhere (but as a monolith) or a diverse ecosystem with a multitude of choice in packages and broad cross-distro compatibility... |
| tracyanne Apr 09, 2013 6:10 PM EDT |
So you don't want Ubuntu, replace it with something more to your liking. It's not as if you are paying for Ubuntu, there is no license fee for getting it pre installed. At least if it runs Ubuntu it will work with any other Linux |
| caitlyn Apr 09, 2013 10:43 PM EDT |
Computers designed for productivity preloaded with Linux explain the 9% market share on the corporate/enterprise desktop that Forrester Research reported. Those machines are out there, but they are marketed to businesses, not to consumers. That really isn't what most consumers even buy a computer for nowadays. |
| r_a_trip Apr 10, 2013 2:57 AM EDT |
No, I don't want Ubuntu. I do want Linux compatible hardware and vendor Linux support. That is where the tension comes from. Buy Ubuntu preloaded hardware and you create a market for Ubuntu preloaded machines. I think Canonical has started the process of becoming what they were claiming to fix, so I don't want to give vendors the idea that swapping one undesirable option for another horror is good business. At the same time, if I don't buy these Ubuntu preloaded machines (and simply go for a Windows box), I give a signal to the mainstream market that I don't want Linux on my computers. Before anyone mentions the boutique Linux shops like ZaReason, System76, etc. I know they have more options than Ubuntu alone. It's marvelous that they exists, but I want mainstream vendors to break the Windows monoculture, preferably by giving more options than establishing an Ubuntu monoculture. |
| tracyanne Apr 10, 2013 4:03 AM EDT |
[quote]No, I don't want Ubuntu.... ...I don't want to give vendors the idea that swapping one undesirable option for another horror is good business. [quote] I don't have your problem, to me Ubuntu is just another Commercial Linux, just like Red Hat. I can use it or not, but the fact that it makes Linux Certified hardware available at a reasonable price is sufficient for me. I may not want to use Ubuntu, but the fact that it means I don't have to buy a windows pre install means I now have a choice, a real choice, and I can recommend Linux pre installs to the sort of computer user I meet regularly, and they can even choose it based on the lower price. |
| caitlyn Apr 10, 2013 2:28 PM EDT |
I don't see Ubuntu as "just like Red Hat." Red Hat has always maintained it's commitment to Open Source. Canonical recently? Not so much. Red Hat buys proprietary software and opens it to the community as soon as licensing permits. Canonical seems to be moving in the direction of some closed pieces on top of their FOSS platform. I find the differences between the two companies to be striking right now. The rest of ta's comment I agree with. If it runs Ubuntu well chances are it runs other Linux distros well. Ubuntu, however, is being heavily marketed to OEMs and has made some inroads there. That is the one real value to the community that Canonical adds. The other distros? Not so much... |
| r_a_trip Apr 11, 2013 8:15 AM EDT |
Thank you Caitlyn. Very eloquently put! That is exactly my view on Canonical and their commercial Ubuntu variant. It might be Linux now, but I don't feel confident if it will be recognizable as a Linux later on. It's very uncomfortable for me to struggle with the question "Should I nurture this or kill it with fire?" I wish I could cheer this on enthusiastically and celebrate the emergence of a mainstream Linux market, but the more Canonical communicates their "vision" through ill conceived PR babble and less than gracious actions (turning the dash into an advertisement billboard, working in secret on Mir and then trashing Wayland during their "Tada" moment), the less I trust them. Nurture it now and find you supported the creation of a market for a thing that has become detrimental to the larger Linux community... I'd rather not. One Mac OS X is enough. |
| nmset Apr 11, 2013 8:52 AM EDT |
I get the feeling reading this thread that people actually don't like or fear giants. There may be lots of reasons to reject MS and Apple, I really don't see why we should so early fear Canonical. Even without X but Mir, they are still on GNU/Linux, unlike Google with Android/Linux and Chrome/Linux, against whom nobody ever expressed fears and doubts. You can't simply use the devices running Google Linux flavours with GNU/Linux, but you will be able to swap Ubuntu for another distro on devices where Ubuntu is installed. I don't care if Canonical becomes a giant company through hard work, as long as it doesn't step into the users' freedom. After reading this : http://kdubois.net/?p=1815 I rather feel that Canonical is on the right path. |
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