Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Chuckle. A story broke that New Egg considered the warranty void if a customer installs GNU/Linux. I can see their position since they sold a system including OS but they have seen the light that offending customers is not good for business and recanted. Perhaps this incident will put into mind their giving more retail space to GNU/Linux so customers would have choices they like instead of compromises by installing GNU/Linux over that other OS. Good for New Egg.
see Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux – The Consumerist.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Clarence Moon is a troll who frequents these pages with silly, ignorant comments sometimes. He does know his Spirea, however…
John Roberts made this comment:
“Hi Robert
Your article headed
“Servers: GNU/Linux v That Other OS” refers
The erstwhile commenter Clarence Moon
Had this to say of Australia and obviously the inhabitants
“One can excuse the AJ Fisher chap’s ignorance, Mr. Pogson, since he is an Aussie as clueless as your own Oiaohm. More dignified, according to his bio info, but still located in the backwaters of the world and hence lacking practical world experience.”
Perhaps you could point him to these sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_inventions
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/how-the-aussie-government-invented-wifi-and-sued-its-way-to-430-million/
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/australian-scientists-cash-in-on-wifi-invention-20120331-1w5gx.html“
I have tried for months to teach Clarence Moon some manners but “education is seldom very efficaceous except in those happy dispostitions where it is almost superfluous” (Gibbons). Thanks for the pointers, John.
Australia may have been occupied by strange animals and Stone Age aboriginals until England decided it was a great prison but Australia has a diverse economy and can stand on its own when it comes to technology. My family’s ancestors divided the family fortune and one branch went to Australia 150 years ago.
Even Alice Springs has a Linux Users Group and can help you buy a notebook running GNU/Linux. That’s a sparsely populated region, so FLOSS and IT done right can be said to permeate Australia. Good on them!
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
What more could I say…
“Android was clearly the preferred choice, with 44% of respondents saying they’d choose a device that uses the Linux-based operating system. Only three percent of respondents said they’d opt for Windows 8, and 21% said they weren’t sure.”
This is another example that shows when people have choice, they will choose FLOSS over that other OS and stuff made by M$’s “partners”.
see Android tablets beating out iPad in business and IT: Report | ITworld.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Via who has long made alternative CPUs for x86 and who has made a good living selling small motherboards for thin clients was caught off guard by the demand in the market for */Linux on small cheap computers. They developed a motherboard that sells for $49 and runs Android/Linux. The first batch sold out in hours.
Via! Wake up! Ramp up production as ASUS did for the GNU/Linux netbook and you too could be bought off by M$… or not. You could make a good living supplying the demand for small cheap computers that M$’s OEM-”partners” do not. That will teach them to lock themselves to sinking ship.
"We began to accept pre-orders of APC. Those who had registered to be notified were given the first opportunity to place orders, which were limited to a maximum of 2 units. Due to the staggering demand we sold out in just a few hours. [...] We are truly overwhelmed by this response and would like to thank everyone for your support for APC,"
It’s just June and my prediction that we shall see an abundance of PCs running */Linux in 2012 is coming to fruition. I predict that Via will respond to this clear demand for their product by increasing production and establishing deals with OEMs to crank out units. Since it is a standard motherboard, those should be quick and easy relationships to build, just insert the motherboard into assembly-lines. It’s only another small step to give those units retail shelf-space.
see First Batch of Via Technologies' $49 Android PC Sells Out – Company – X-bit labs.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Thin clients continue to evolve and Google’s Chrome OS is a part of that. While ChromeBooks are not ubiquitous they work for those many businesses that depend on web applications. It’s the right way to do IT when HQ wants to manage everything and know everything and minimize costs.
“Cloud Sherpas executives told The VAR Guy that their company was using roughly 50 Chromebooks internally.”
Cloud Sherpas are helping businesses get into the cloud in a big way and customers are adopting ChromeBooks.
see Google Apps Consultant Cloud Sherpas Deploys Chromebooks | The VAR Guy.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Chuckle. Some governments and businesses are seriously locked in to Wintel but some are sufficiently aware they are locked in they publish the fact in their tenders. In Poland the fire service has done so and stirred an ant-hill. I would bet this blatant admission of lock-in will have the effect of focussing energy on escaping the lock-in. In my experience the longer and deeper lock-in is maintained, the harder it is to escape, but because the future is infinite, the effort is well worth while. Even the Polish fire service can escape. They could follow the detailed approach of Munich or they could switch over some weeekend like Extremadura. Whatever works for them is the right way.
I recommend Debian GNU/Linux, a cooperative project of the world to provide good software efficiently.
Polish State Fire Services excludes open source in procurement | Joinup.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
“The IT department must act to break its dependency on a single software vendor", the council members state in their resolution. "(The lock-in) exposes the city to certain operational and financial risks. For example, the IT supplier can dictate the license fees and it controls the file format of the city’s documents.”
Amen. It’s well past time that governments and businesses everywhere woke up and come out of the trance induced by the snake-charmers at M$.
via Helsinki council presses IT department to continue using open source | Joinup.
- Robert Pogson
Published by Robert Pogson June 15th, 2012
in technology.
Wintel suppliers are going to meet in July to figure out how to cut costs. While Intel and M$ may wish to keep their cash cows flowing freely, I would bet the makers of hardware will want the high costs of monopoly-priced CPUs and licences for operating systems to share the pain…
It appears Wintel cannot even compete with Apple let alone */Linux on ARM in price. I wonder when the government departments in charge of price-fixing will notice…
see Intel to hold ultrabook cost-reduction meeting with Taiwan supply chain makers in July.
- Robert Pogson
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