In comp.os.linux.advocacy, [H]omer
<spam@xxxxxxx>
wrote
on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:03:41 +0100
<fumcq4-g0f.ln1@xxxxxxxxxx>:
> Verily I say unto thee, that Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
>> Acer to acquire Gateway for $710m
>
> Woohoo!
>
> I've disliked Gateway for a /long/ time, and not just because of their
> attitude towards GNU/Linux.
>
> Just ask Ghost, he knows.
>
Actually, I don't; I'd have to research the issue.
I can't say I'm enamored of Acer (my memory suggests
they're into cheaper machines, though not nearly as bad
as Packard H&^HBell), though I've not looked at them.
Gateway ended up with Amiga tech for a time, but I don't
know if they still have it.
A quick perusal of Gateway's configuration page for a
Gateway FX530 shows that the only OS offered, at least
for the FX530QA, is Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
(32-bit). One can't select anything else.
At least with Dell one can get to an alternate "separate
but equal" Linux line, if one knows where to click.
I'm not enamored of that either, but so far Dell wins
(though System76 and Eracks are way ahead, if one looks
through smaller retailers as well).
There is a search facility; many of the results for "linux"
appear to pertain to Lexmark printers. The first result
in particular is the Lexmark E 350d black-and-white laser
printer, which is apparently supported by various Linux
distros (SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, Debian GNU/Linux
3.0, and "Linspire" being three thereof). That's nice, though
it wasn't quite what I really wanted.
A search for "Linux desktop" coughed up, among other
things, the Gateway GT5468 Desktop. There are no
customization options, and the OS is Genuine Windows Vista
Home Premium. If their search facility is that stupid,
I'm not going to dig around for their Linux offerings --
assuming they have any at all, which I doubt.
For their part www.acer.com took awhile to load, then
threw one into a global selection system. (This is a
nice feature, actually.) After selecting "Consumer PCs"
I get the message
Acer recommends Windows Vista Home Premium for Personal Computing
so you can guess who butters their bread. The AST180
is a rather cute-looking desktop but all six offered
configurations require Home Basic or Home Premium as an OS.
*cough*
So my disenamorment continues. (If that's a word.)
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Linux. The choice of a GNU generation.
Windows. The choice of a bunch of people who like very weird behavior on
a regular basis, random crashes, and "extend, embrace, and extinguish".
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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