On Mar 10, 8:13 pm, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> HP sees Linux desktop nearing critical mass
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | The good news, according to an HP executive, is that the company
> | sees "the Linux desktop nearing critical mass." The bad news,
> | for would be off-the-shelf Linux desktop buyers, is that it's
> | still not there yet.
> `----
> http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3687814342.html
Keep in mind that HP has thrived by supporting hardware designed to
run on Linux, rather than limiting itself to Microsoft's offerings.
They introduced the AMD-64 processor in their laptops and desktops,
and sold millions of such machines, expanding it's market share and
it's unit volumes at a time when most Windows PC vendors were just
trying to survive the delays of Longhorn/Vista.
HP sold the machines with Windos XP Licenses, but only to eliminate
the risk of piracy issues. It was very clear from support requests,
visits by customers, and other indicators, that a huge number of these
machines were being converted to "hybrid" Linux/Windows systems. ON
HP machines, Linux was often the primary operating system, with
Windows being reinstalled as a virtual client.
The IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads were similarly designed to run Linux as well
as Windows, but more often, Windows was the primary operating system
on these machines, with Linux being the virtual client. This may have
been because Lenovo didn't ship installation media.
Dell has followed HP, trying to prevent further loss of market share.
Most of their top-of-the-line systems are designed to run Linux, not
Vista.
Keep in mind that Vista Aero requires DirectX-10 video cards, which
are few and far between. On the other hand, Linux machines perform
best with OpenGL based cards. Most NVidia, Intel, and ATI cards
provide extremely fast graphics, including 3D graphics, on Linux.
Microsoft's attempt to drive the industry away from multiplatform
OpenGL technologies seems to have backfired. Instead of driving the
industry away from Linux and allowing Microsoft to declare a huge
victory, the split in technologies made it much more evident that a
huge percentage of the newer machines being purchased, were being
converted to Linux.
In fact, most hardware vendors are now making Linux support a
priority, because they can actually see their sales jump when they
provide Linux drivers.
It seems that one of the big drivers has been large corporations, who
have been testing all machines being considered for Linux
compatibility before opting to purchase hundreds or thousands of
machines. Even when the machines are not immediately being converted
to Linux, Linux is still driving the purchase decisions.
When HP listed all of their machines as SUSE Linux certified, many of
those who wanted this assurance have been giving HP even more
business. I seriously considered picking up such a machine myself.
I ended up getting the Z61p which still has the IBM Logo. The only
problem I'm having is with the Atheros a/b/g/n wireless card. They
claime that Linux drivers will be available in Q1 2007, so hopefully
I'll have a fully functional machine with high speed wireless - in a
few weeks. For now, I'm using a PCMCIA wireless card, which seems to
be working.
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