Here comes summer's first Linux netbook

Because sometimes you need to make a good product

I am FAR from anyone that would demonise profits. Profits are the reason people organise, invest, and work. However, profits are EARNED by providing a quality product at a reasonable price.

Also, they do no, nor could they, force everyone to use Linux. They are offering a variety similar to their competitors. Sure, if they could force everyone to use Windows, and then gouge them on third party apps when customers realise (if they didn't already) that Windows by itself doesn't really let you do anything (discluding web apps, I guess).

How would it be smart for a business to posture itself as "Buy it this way, or get lost". It was that way for some time till one of them operating on those razor thin margins as you say attempts to jump in on that niche. The other companies at that point are forced to respond. Even if customers don't want Linux, they may be compelled to look first to the companies thought to be "up to date" and offering the most options, even if it is options they have no interest in.

On the other hand, as mentioned in the article, Microsoft is taking the hard stance of "take it or leave it" in hopes of bullying customers giving Microsoft a fair portion of the cost of better machines.

To Microsoft: Careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it.

Why sell Linux

Should the only car you drive be a Chevrolet, or will a Ford or Chrysler be a great alternative.

For the netbook, linux offers a great free product. That allows HP and others to sell a computer that does not include the Microsoft Tax, or constraints. You just read about what MS insists are restrictions they impose to protect their sales of Vista.

For the big box stores, would they prefer to sell 100 computers at $299, with a $100 profit on each, or 200 computers at $225, with $75profit on each.

Furthermore, with Linux, the amount of fantastic, free software, from business systems, finance, games, e-books, etc and with current support for any bug fixes, makes the linux box a super attractive offer when compared to the alternative.

Remember, the netbook is used mainly for an Office suite, the internet, emails, video and music.

We could not have all that, even if XP was free, as the other programs are expensive. (Office, with word, excel, powerpoint, etc... )

Time for MS to recognize that as one would chose cell phones, we want alternative choices.

no margin on free software?

if you sell something at any price and did not pay for it yourself would that not be profit?

for the big OEMs this should certainly be better than trying to make a profit on something that they had to buy themselves?

for the Best Buy stores might want to sell Microsoft Office, sure, currently Office runs on windows and OSX, i am sure MS could make it where it would run on linux? whose fault is that?

follow up purchases could be webcams, mice, external hdds extra monitors, USB accessories, digital cameras, etc, all the same stuff that goes with MS OS. DVDs, CD-Roms, backpacks, laptop bags, you name it, no different than MS products?

Also: if they sell you a MS product and you wipe it for linux, they don't get the follow-up windows office sale? what if i use Open Office on windows? no follow up sale either...

maybe somebody needs to go visit the big stores and explain the linux value proposition?

regards

uli

That is incredibly morinic -

OK, so Best Buy doesn't have people smart enough to see the value in selling Linux? Now, that's an idiotic thought.

Maybe they do see the lack of value in selling Linux based products.

Windows users buy the same web cams, laptop bags, and other stuff. So for no particular reason, retailers should cut themselves off from follow on sales of extremely high margin things like GAMES?

They won't touch Linux without a darned good reason and that reason always involves more money for them. Since the GPL prohibits making money from direct sales, what is their incentive?

Don't look to big box retailers to help a market as small as Linux. Just won't happen.

Better find another avenue of getting Linux out there. Then again, after 18 years, nothing has really worked yet.

GPL what?

"Since the GPL prohibits making money from direct sales, what is their incentive?"

It always confounds me when people say things like this, because I can never figure out if these people are repeating lies they heard, or making them up.

THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON PRICE FOR GPL SOFTWARE! Never has been. Virtually none of the restrictions in the GPL are monetary. The nearest thing to it was introduced in GPLv3 where if a piece of GPL licensed software is tied to a patent, users must be able to use the software must get a royalty free license, meaning that people are free to copy the technology to make the software work.

Of course trademarks are another issue, but if I wanted to put together my own collection of GPL software or my own Linux distribution, I could charge any price I wanted for those CD's or DVD's. What I can NOT do is sue the people I sell them to for copyright infringement if they choose to turn around and sell it for half price or even free.

The GPL is not long, it is not confusing, and it is easy to follow and adapt to any business (in this context).

As far as "nothing working on Linux", I think the Internet isn't all too bad.

I think you need to give Linux a first look.

For the opportunity to sell other things

I suspect big box stores will sell them, to generate store traffic. A $279.99 HP netbook is almost irresistible.

Once they get people in the store, they not only have the opportunity to sell the advertised product, but also tons of other stuff (cameras, mobile phones, flash memory, ...). Plus, they can always try to upsell to the Windows version, if the customer is willing to pay for it.

Who cares?

So, a $279 HP will draw crowds and then the retailer can Bait and Switch) to Windows? You want them to use Linux as a stepping stone to Windows??

Besides Best Buy already has a $299 HP based on Windows XP Home. $279 won't make any difference in traffic brought into the store.

So, again, why should a retailer bother with Linux?

200$

IMHO

The ARM chipset + 9 hour battery life + full application suite + GNU/Linux = $200.00 price point = stampede to the door