Re: Dell stops offering Red Hat on desktops (fwd)

["Chris H." <chris@yerevan.acp.da.ru>]

> 1) Dell was never serious about Linux on desktops.
> 
> I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't recall ever seeing a
> Dell ad on TV that mentioned Linux as an option.  I don't recall ever
> seeing it on their web site either.  You had to go to some special
> Linux section of their web site to get the option, and it was usually
> for just certain models (at least on laptops).  That special Linux
> section was not readily accessible from their main web site.
> 
> In fact, I still sincerely believe that Dell only went this far in
> response to "peer pressure".  For a while there, every hardware vendor
> was bending over backwards to try to prove that they were supporting
> Linux.  Dell was only hedging their bets, basically doing the bare
> minimum they could do and still say "we support Linux".

True
Of course Dell only went th eminium it had to to say "we support Linux"
that's how most everythign is , unfortunently. Things are changing a bit
thoug, I suppose. : \

 > 
> 2) Linux just isn't that popular as a *primary* desktop OS.
> 
> Yeah, we all like Linux, but I've come to accept that not everyone
> wants to run Linux all day, every day.  I know many (probably most) of
> you dual-boot your systems with some form of Windows.  Others don't
> even run Linux on their primary systems, but instead have another
> (usually older) box dedicated to Linux.
> 
> For people who are going to dual-boot, there's no point getting Linux
> pre-loaded...  You get the box with Windows, wipe it, and reinstall
> Linux and Windows, or you get a copy of Partition Magic and free up
> space for Linux.  Either way, you want that license for Windows and
> whatever software that is packaged with the system, even if you plan
> to primarily run Linux.
> 
> Of course, servers are a completely different issue...  Nobody
> dual-boots a server.  Servers are supposed to just run.  There's no
> advantage to getting a Windows license that you'll never use for a
> server.  (Plus that Windows license adds a *lot* to the price.)

Well, My primary box is -only- Linux... I don't find Windows very
helpful for anything but gamin>:)

> 
> 3) Installation is a personal thing.
> 
> We all have our favorite distribution.  We all have our preferred
> filesystem layout.  We all have a certain set of packages that we like
> to have installed.  I could go on...  There are so many places where
> we like to personalize our installations that I just can't see many
> people wanting Linux pre-installed.
> 
> In fact, I don't remember anyone really pushing for the big hardware
> vendors to pre-install Linux.  Most of us just wanted the big hardware
> vendors to ship a box with no OS.  Oh, and it would be nice if they
> wouldn't hang up on us when we said we ran Linux on a box when we
> called for tech support.
> 
> When I was buying servers from Compaq, this is exactly what I got...
> They shipped with no OS installed.  I did the installation myself, and
> Compaq still let me call them for support.  (Of course, the call would
> just get sent off to Red Hat, but that's OK.)  HP and IBM were
> starting to do the same thing back when I was still dealing with their
> hardware.
> 
> So, again, this news is no surprise.  Is it a sign that the popularity
> of Linux is waning?  I don't think so.  I'm certainly not alarmed.

I agree with this point most of all. Everybody likes to install Linux in
their own custom way to suit their needs best. That's the beauty of it!
So, yes, pre-installed systems obviously wouldn't have last long.

Instresting email, cheers!

 > 
> Steve
> -- 
> steve@silug.org           | Southern Illinois Linux Users Group
> (618)398-7360             | See web site for meeting details.
> Steven Pritchard          | http://www.silug.org/
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