[KLUG Advocacy] Seagate and Lindows.com

[Adam Tauno Williams]

>>>This announcement is probably aimed 
>>>at resellers and users who aren't afraid to install thier own disk drive
>>>and tnker a bit, still a minority of users in general (I think the general
>>>popu-lation thinks of computers they way they do of toasters), but it is
>>>another step in the right direction.
>>With regard to the general population, the toaster analogy is
>>quite good (IMO).  Lindows has been trying to get that market 
>>to see the value of Linux for quite some time.  Those low cost
>>pre-loaded systems sold through Wal-Mart were the first step
>>toward getting Linux delivered to the masses 
>That's right, Lindows is doing the same thing that Microsoft did in the
>early 80's, pushing the install up the supply chain so it's invisible
>to the user. Lindows is first in this market in the sense that you don't
>have to look for the "Linux page" or the "Linux option" on some website, 
>or interrogate a customer service rep while HUNTING for pre-installed Linux.

It is a nice developement;  it just bugs me that it is Lindows.  Lindows is sort
of a bait-n-switch Linux - sure here is free Open Source Linux.  Want to install
packages so you can actually use it for something, etc... - join our
subscription service.

>Please note carefully that terms like "software quality" "long-term
>stability" and "reliability" have not been mentioned in this thread. The 
>history of this industry shows that, for marketing efforts, they are not as 
>important as getting to market first, and getting it installed before it is 
>delivered to the end user.

Yep,  but is getting an OS preinstalled on a hard-drive the same as getting a
pre-installed PC?  Or is this deal only available for system-builders?

> It would be interesting to see if the "typical purchaser" of these systems
> feels that they have received good value.

I'm more curious how many system-builders choose to purchase these drives for
this reason.