Greatest Linux's enemy?!?!

[random guy]

SCORE!

i was thinking of buying an acer from newegg too, i wonder if it matters what vender you get the system from. and supposedly there is no included os disk but when you first boot it asks you for a dvd for a restore disk, i wonder if you have to make the return before that happens. i will have to check that out.

thanks.

[cvill64]

I will definitivly have to agree with Jesterhead.

If the hardware producers would open their eyes, it would be much simpler for the end-users to choose their OS of choice. For some newcomers to Linux, it is hard to understand why they have to do a background check before they can buy any new hardware..

I contacted Dell yesterday, wanting to buy myself e new laptop as a late christmas gift. Strangely they would only sell me a laptop with Windows preinstalled (with an expensive license..). I contacted them in an online chat, and asked if there was no possibility to get the machine without any OS preinstalled. I was told, no that is not an option.. But, as this machine was nice (and only 200€ to expensive), I contacted them by telephone to get a straight forward answer. The Dell sales-representative could tell me that they had en agreement with Microsoft that obliged them to sell all PC's with WinXXX preinstalled, and that they had no way to sell me a PC without OS installed.. So yes, Microsoft is also making life harder (and more expencive) for some Linux users.

And for the record, I told the Dell representative that I would not buy any computers from them, due to the agreement they have with Microsoft. Just so annoying that I will not bee the lucky owner of that machine..

I'm sorry, but they lied to you: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segt ... l=en&s=dhs

[cvill64]

Those preinstalled windows PC´s are easy to explain:

The vendor makes a deal with MS, to only deliver PC´s with Windows on it. and Microsoft give Windows CHeaper away to them...

This is called Business

Actually you should do some research at The Register and they have articles on this, MS pushed for laws and trade deals that would require all computers to come with an operatiing system because they claimed it was necessary to verify hardware, etc etc.

I don't know what Dell is doing to get around this all of a sudden, coz they actuallly were one of the first major distributors to start offering Linux PCs and that's when MS got involved and they went on a huge prissy PR campaign. But if Dell can succeed with their n-Series, I'd be happy!

[GregK]

http://tuxmobil.org/reseller.html

Many of that links are not up to date any more, others are rubbish, but some of them can let you know about where to buy a laptop with Linux preinstalled... Good luck!

[Polygon]

except that in most situations, pc games > console games. One example are mods. Some of the most fun video games ive played have been free third party mods

and not to mention, that for a little more money, you can get a computer that can play computer games decently, and everything else a computer can do but a console cant. Like... word processing, im, web browsing, email, other stuffs.

i know that video games are the reason i have not deleted my windows partition

[tabrown72]

Our greatest enemy is/are

1. DRM (closed codecs and standards)

2. Hardware vendors (not just those that wont provide drivers or specs but ones who provide half ass issued drivers that dont support all the hardware's abilities)

3. Lack of one means for installing apps across the distribution lineup

4. Lack of commercial games

5. Ourselves (If we draw bad publicity to ourselves in any manner the "competition" will be waiting to use it against us)

6. Hollywood for using Linux in the backend production and then DRM'ing the hell out of everything they release so that you are forced to break DRM just to watch movies and listen to music you own on your own hardware.

7. Microsoft for the tactics they use to maintain market dominance