2012 August 30 archive at Robert Pogson

Archive for August 30th, 2012

PC OEMs in Revolt Against M$

Published by Robert Pogson August 30th, 2012 in technology. 28 Comments

“HP has already decided to halt development of Windows RT tablet PCs, while Dell reportedly may also back away from the segment, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.”

via Digitimes – Microsoft fails to pacify PC vendors about Surface tablets.

There you have it. M$ is messing with OEMs and they are fighting back. “Technological Evangelism” fails when M$ threatens OEMs with vertically-integrated and unfair competition. M$ is not going to tack on $100 to the price of “Surface” to please OEMs. OEMs are refusing to build the things.

I have a suggestion. If OEMs really want to get M$’s attention, all they have to do is stop shipping that other OS and ship Debian GNU/Linux instead. The whole Wintel house of cards would fall flat within a few months. M$ would never again be in a position to order OEMs to do what was not in their best interests. That would be revolutionary but a good revolt is a good start. Enjoy.

- Robert Pogson

Goobuntu

Published by Robert Pogson August 30th, 2012 in technology. 50 Comments

“You’d be a fool to use anything but Linux”

SJVN quotes Google. It’s a great line and it’s the truth. As much as naysayers condemn GNU/Linux on the desktop, it sure beats the alternatives every way imaginable:

price,
security,
flexibility (licence, installation and configuration),
performance, and
management.

Google made some poor decisions IMHO with Android/Linux but they chose Ubuntu GNU/Linux because of its package manager, APT, and Canonical’s “cadence” which suits Google’s upgrade cycle of two years. I guess they haven’t heard of thin clients… Oh, well. Google can afford to disagree with me. They also pay Canonical for support.

see The truth about Goobuntu: Google's in-house desktop Ubuntu Linux | ZDNet.

- Robert Pogson

Got an Old *TX PC Kicking Around? Newegg Can Help You Turn It Into An Android Desktop for $64.99

Published by Robert Pogson August 30th, 2012 in technology. 0 Comments

There are a few things that can go wrong with old ATX PCs but a swap of components can often fix them. Here’s your chance to swap a dead/old motherboard with a new/live neo-ITX mogtherboard sporting an ARMed processor and Android/Linux. All you need is a screwdriver, dexterity and $64.99 ($59.99 in USA). You can help your environment, too. No fans on this baby unless your PSU needs one.

see Newegg.ca – Avatar APC 8750 WM8750 Processor (ARMv6) – ARM1176JZF @800Mhz 6.69" x 3.35" Motherboard/CPU Combo.

OK, 800MHz is a bit from the last decade, but if you’re not in a rush, you can do a bit of browsing or run some nice app in 512MB. Besides plug-compatibility, neat features of these units are 4 USB ports, a VGA and an HDMI port. It even has a microSD slot. Surely you can do something with them, like feed images to your FaceBook/Blog site or use them as thin clients.

See APC, the manufacturer.

I am not sure I have any dead-motherboard-*TX units laying around. I may have to do some dumpster-diving or pay some kid to do it for me…

- Robert Pogson

Acer and Marketing

Published by Robert Pogson August 30th, 2012 in technology. 13 Comments

Acer is one of the top five PC OEMs unless you count small cheap computers. Lately they are having growth pains, building stuff no one wanted and stuffing channels. I guess they’ve seen the light and intend to remedy that.

The news:

“"In the product development stages, we will place marketing ahead of R&D and design," Acer CEO J.T. Wang said in a statement. Understanding customers’ needs will decide how the company designs its products and services, he added.”

That could be NewSpeak for doing what everyone else is doing but it could be that Acer will really begin to supply the need for small cheap computers instead of the need for Wintel to keep growing. Their new market strategy partners, Red Peak Group, seem to have the right idea:
“Red Peak’s approach to brand strategy starts with a study of the organization, the consumer and the cultural context in which they exist. We use a variety of qualitative and quantitative research techniques to get to a well-defined strategic approach.” That’s not about pleasing Redmond… It could be about remaining relevant in the 21^st century with small cheap computers reigning supreme. It could be about another OEM exploring ways to escape the Wintel monopoly.

see Acer to link marketing closely to product development, appoints new CMO | ITworld.

- Robert Pogson