* Dr Adam J Trickett (adam.trickett@???) wrote:
> There have been little specialists shipping Linux for years, but I'm
> sure Dell and Tesco shipping Linux will push HP and the other volume
> players to start shipping Linux. In the short term I'm sure it's
> going to hurn the existing Linux vendors more than Microsoft, but
> with time it should lead to two things:
>
> 1) Better hardware support (always good news)
>
> 2) Clear pricing with the Microsoft tax separate for the hardware
> price.
I don't know that it would hurt the existing Linux vendors much. It
seems to me that at the moment Dell and Tesco are using Linux as a
method of making 'value' machines even cheaper. This may tempt
people to buy them who may not have gone out looking for a Linux
machine. The specialist vendors will still have a market for those
that know what they want form their computer, and are unlikely to be
satisfied by a bottom of the range PC.
Linux will be ready for the home when people can buy these machines,
take them home, plug them in and turn them on, and be on the
Internet without having to even ask what operating system they are
using. For those familiar with Linux, we are probably there now, but
it will be interesting to see how someone without a clue gets on.
I once watched a TV program where they found a computer virgin, and
asked them to setup a PC and an Apple iMac and timed how long before
they got to the shows website. I wonder how Linux would fair in this
type of test? As I have used Linux for years now, I find that Ubuntu
makes the whole process very easy. But I find it very difficult to
imagine how had it would be if I had no experience.
--
Philip Stubbs
http://www.stuphi.co.uk
