12 replies to this topic

[V.T. Eric Layton]

http://tinyurl.com/cuwhh4y

[securitybreach]

Good news, maybe they will get it right this time around!!

[amenditman]

Both those have pie in the sky starting prices.
The 17"  

Quote

The price for the laptop starts at $3,579.

The 15"

Quote

The M4700 weighs roughly 2.78 kilograms with a six-cell battery and is priced starting at $1649.

Maybe they'll get the XPS 13 with Ubuntu down around $1000 and give it a shot at success.
These others are going to be niche markets and not huge sellers.

When will a mainline OEM get a mass-market Linux laptop right?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I'd just as soon get a hand-me-down Dell netbook and install Bodhi on it.

[amenditman]

V.T. Eric Layton, on 31 July 2012 - 03:36 PM, said:

I'd just as soon get a hand-me-down Dell netbook and install Bodhi on it.

That would be a sweet machine.

If one of these OEMs would just put together a machine with all the right parts (read that as all natively supported by drivers in the mainline kernel and linux firmware, no proprietary firmware) and adequate specs (nothing cutting edge required) and a nice user friendly Linux (like Bodhi), they would have a serious market contender on their hands.

Most people just use their computers to browse the web, read some email, and watch some YouTube videos. Nothing too complicated to replace with a lot of advantages for Linux.

Edited by amenditman, 31 July 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I just set one up for my pal Ron (in Valrico) for his birthday a week ago. He's loving it! The person who provided that netbook is supposedly looking for another for me.

[securitybreach]

V.T. Eric Layton, on 31 July 2012 - 04:11 PM, said:

I just set one up for my pal Ron (in Valrico) for his birthday a week ago. He's loving it! The person who provided that netbook is supposedly looking for another for me.

Kewl

BTW I like the new sig

[raymac46]

My experience with Linux on Dell over the years:
Desktops - A+. You can install Linux friendly wifi and video cards in most of their towers, or if they are small form factor Optiplexes they have Linux friendly Intel hardware. Never had any problems and I've probably worked on 6 at least.
Notebook - C. Haven't installed on this one but with Live CD video is fine and wifi fails. Another Broadcom issue. I use VBox for Linux here.
Netbook - F. Horrid video and unfriendly wifi. No upgrade path for kluged distro. Distro itself was installed by Dell and was a brain dead fork of Ubuntu 8.04. It took years for the community to fix this after Dell dropped support for it. Now it's a lovely machine, no thanks to Dell.
Bottom line: I agree with Eric. Better to install your own stuff than depend on Dell to get it right. I am not convinced they have any real commitment to Linux. Show me the money.

[amenditman]

raymac46, on 01 August 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

I am not convinced they have any real commitment to Linux. Show me the money.

No corporation has any commitment to any product beyond the income it generates. When the money dries up the product line is re-made, sold off, or phased out.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

amenditman, on 01 August 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

No corporation has any commitment to any product beyond the income it generates. When the money dries up the product line is re-made, sold off, or phased out.

That's capitalizm, comrade. Da!

[amenditman]

V.T. Eric Layton, on 01 August 2012 - 04:43 PM, said:

That's capitalizm, comrade. Da!

I don't have a problem with it as long as they play fairly. When they cheat, lie, steal, and kill to make the buck then we have a problem.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Who ever said fairness was an integral component of capitalism? Greed is, but not fairness. IIWII

[raymac46]

I spent many years in industry, and it always drove me nuts when the company marketed something without a real commitment to give the customer anything but hype. That's what Dell did with its Linux boxes in 2009.
It's one thing to drop an underperforming product line; it's quite another to set that line up for failure by wimping out on support from the outset.