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____/ Ian Hilliard on Wednesday 23 July 2008 11:00 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
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>> ____/ Ian Hilliard on Monday 21 July 2008 10:09 : \____
>>
>>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dell begins rolling out Ubuntu 8.04, adds media codecs
>>>>
>>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>> | Dell began to address those problems with the 7.10 release by adding
>>>> | legal support for DVD playback. With the 8.04 release, Dell is going a
>>>> | step further and will be adding licensed codecs for common audio and
>>>> | video formats.
>>>> `----
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/07/19/dell-begins-rolling-out-ubuntu-8-04-adds-media-codecs
>>>>
>>>> Why do they pay Microsoft? They ought to offer PCs with no software at
>>>> all, at least as a cheaper option that's not tainted.
>>>>
>>>
>>> As is often pointed out, most people don't see the big picture. Most
>>> people just "want it to work". That means that the codecs should be
>>> pre-installed. Dell cannot put the open codecs onto their computers
>>> without having to worry about getting sued. From that point of view, what
>>> Dell is doing is the lesser of two evils. I applaud them for it.
>>>
>>> Linux is a great OS for multimedia. The issue has simply been the
>>> licensing of the codecs. Without licensed codecs being available for
>>> Linux, the OS will always be in the legal grey area and as such
>>> marginalized.
>>
>> I think they ought to offer 'undressed PCs' (no, not "naked" like
>> Microsoft calls them) for those who wish to install their own O/S without
>> paying prematurely for something they do not require.
>>
>> There's some good momentum for unbundling at the moment (in France in
>> particular, at least in Europe). In fact, my current PC I bought from
>> Novatech and it came without an operating system. Every distro I through
>> as it worked perfectly (all hardware detected). The installation process
>> was probably trivial enough even for my technophobic parents to handle.
>>
>
> While I certainly agree with the idea that people should have the right to
> decide what OS or No OS should come with a computer. That is however not
> everyone's point of view. Many people want to buy turn-key solutions.
>
> At the moment, the biggest problem is that consumers don't understand that
> there is no separation between the computer and the OS. If the EU is able
> to push the ability for consumers to decide which OS comes with their
> computer, then the average consumer may better understand the difference.
I think it's in Microsoft's interest to keep Windows hard to install. And yes,
having installed several different distros a few weeks ago, I can say for a
fact (no need to reference others) that it's easy. Power on, put CD of choice
on tray (it's also a live CD and the PC boots from CD-ROM before HDD, so no
BIOS fiddling is needed), then put in your name, password, etc. The hardware
was in all cases detected perfectly. The wide-screen worked well and attaching
another monitor left you just needing to drag and drop for desired layout in
the NVidia settings manager.
- --
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Lions are like hippie tigers"
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Tasks: 145 total, 1 running, 144 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
http://iuron.com - knowledge engine, not a search engine
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