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You can have your computer and save money, too
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| Let's start with the computer. We're using laptops for this price comparison,
| mostly because we're seeing a lot buzz about cheap, sawed-off "netbooks,"
| which as a group have Linux 10-inch or smaller screens, vs. the
| middle-of-the-road 15-inch laptop that runs Windows. Netbooks are generally
| touted as much cheaper than standard laptops.
|
| About the best you'll do pricewise is the Asus Eee PC 2 G Surf, with a 7-inch
| display and minuscule 2-gigabyte solid-state hard drive, for $250. Preloaded
| with Linux, its great charm (apart from price) is portability for surfing the
| Net. The tiny drive is a deal breaker for many kinds of serious work.
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http://www.newsday.com/business/yourmoney/ny-bzdolinar5917174nov09,0,5228224.column
"Don’t encourage new, cross-platform Java classes, especially don’t help get
great Win 32 implementations written/deployed. (..) Do encourage fragmentation
of the Java classlib space."
--Ben Slivka, Microsoft
Microsoft makes almost no money in this area.
Recent:
Linux boom?
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| Part of the success of Linux on notebooks to date has been due to one thing:
| Netbooks.
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http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Software/5866.html
These lightweight, stripped-down netbooks can get the job done
,----[ Quote ]
| This time last year, it seemed downright weird - take a laptop and shrink it
| to the size of a hardcover book, throw in wireless Internet access, throw out
| the battery-draining CD-ROM drive, and sell the stripped-down device for
| under $500.
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http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/11/06/these_lightweight_stripped_down_netbooks_can_get_the_job_done/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7
Microsoft Missing Out on Netbook Growth as Linux Wins Sales
,----[ Quote ]
| Small laptops are becoming a big problem for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows
| business.
|
| A new breed of lightweight computers called netbooks are beginning to crack
| the company's dominance of operating systems. Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer
| Inc., which together account for 90 percent of the netbook market, are using
| the rival Linux software on about 30 percent of their low-cost notebooks.
|
| The devices, which usually cost less than $500, are the fastest-growing
| segment of the personal-computer industry -- a trend that's eating into
| Microsoft's revenue. Windows sales fell short of forecasts last quarter and
| the company cut growth projections for the year, citing the lower revenue it
| gets from netbooks. When makers of the computers do use Windows, they
| typically opt for older and cheaper versions of the software.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3VyE_ofSwwE
Microsoft Battles Low-Cost Rival for Africa
,----[ Quote ]
| In Nigeria, Microsoft proposed paying $400,000 last year under a
| joint-marketing agreement to a government contractor it was trying to
| persuade to replace Linux with Windows on thousands of school laptops. The
| contractor's former chief executive describes the proposal as an incentive to
| make the switch -- an interpretation Microsoft denies. In Namibia and
| Nigeria, where it has sought government contracts, the company hired family
| members of government officials. Microsoft says they were qualified.
|
| [...]
|
| On Oct. 30, Mandriva announced it had won the contract to provide Linux
| software for the Classmates. Microsoft didn't give up. The next day, it
| delivered TSC a revised draft agreement with an "effective date" of Nov. 1,
| documents show. It offered to pay $400,000 to TSC. In the revised agreement,
| there no longer was any mention of TSC having to comply with Microsoft's code
| of conduct.
|
| In an Oct. 31 email, TSC told Mandriva that there had been a "change in
| circumstances," and that it "has recently reached an understanding with
| Microsoft to convert" the Classmates from Linux to Windows.
|
| Mandriva's chief executive, Francois Bancilhon, responded by posting "an open
| letter to Steve Ballmer," Microsoft's CEO, on Mandriva's Web site. "What have
| you done to these guys to make them change their mind like this?" he
| wrote. "It's quite clear to me, and it will be to everyone. How do you call
| what you just did, Steve? There are various names for it, I'm sure you know
| them." Mr. Bancilhon declined to elaborate on his letter.
|
| In the end, the joint-marketing agreement was never signed, and the Microsoft
| deal unraveled. Microsoft says it gave up after "it became clear" that the
| Nigerian government wanted Linux.
|
| The laptops were delivered with Linux.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122332198757908625.html
Related:
[Mandriva CEO:] An open letter to Steve Ballmer
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| Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their
| mind like this? It’s pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone.
| How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live? In my
| place, they give it various names, I’m sure you know them.
|
| Hey Steve, how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
|
| Of course, I will keep fighting this one and the next one, and the next one.
| You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics
| you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win
| too.
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http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/31/an-open-letter-to-steve-ballmer/
Linux wins Nigerian school desktops back from Microsoft
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| "We are sticking with that platform," said the official, who would not give
| his name.
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http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/government-law/public-sector/news/index.cfm?newsid=6124
http://tinyurl.com/27ycq9
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