Blogging Ottinger (tim)Why naked PCs are a good idea.
Don’t be afraid of Naked PCs. They’re not a threat, not a lewd act of public indecency. They’re a good price for a good product, and a good way to get our PC prices lowered.
I think we should be happy to see these Naked PCs. They let us choose what OS to run (after all, you know, there are many good ones to choose from). It is easily in my own best interest to get a good PC cheap and install the operating system of my choice (generally Debian Linux) but I could be convinced to use a BSD or BeOS, or maybe even some really whacky alternative OS.
However, someone wants to convince you that there is no legitimate reason to buy a naked PC except to install Windows, in clear violation of the End-User License Agreement (that thing where they threaten you, and you just click “okay” and ignore them).
Don’t violate your EULA. Install something else.
I love the idea of naked PC’s for the ability to select your own OS; however, as a Windows user and someone whose livelihood comes from working in a Windows environment, and at this point probably always will, naked PC’s are a minefield. It’s hard to get one from any of the larger hardware producers (Sony just told me “no”, and also refused to upgrade the OS for a machine to Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition). And purchasing from build-out shops is hit-or-miss because you often get stuck with components NOT on the Hardware Compatibility list. Which means maybe it will work, or maybe not.
I think a big part of the problem is that the major manufacturers want to drive up the hardware price for people who want a beefier OS (Dell for example has several desktop models that will run Windows 2003 server, but they won’t ship you onel they want to sell you a server which costs an additional 30% more than the cost of component differnces).
Sigh. Greed ruins everything.
Comment by Kris Cook — 2006-May-22 @ 12:36
It’s hard to get them, that’s for sure. Some who (M)anufacture (Soft)ware try to make it illegal to sell them without an OS. I kind of feel bad for the sellers who are caught up in this mess.
It would be cool if the vendors could preinstall your choice, but I guess that requires someone to do some extra legwork. That would make it cost about the same if you didn’t sell thousands or millions of units.
Imagine getting a Debian Linux or one of the BSDs installed for you, preconfigured to your hardware. With a standardized line of hardware, that shouldn’t be hard. Especially with the slick new installers.
But if there is no naked pc and there is no choice, then there is one winner and all the rest are losers. I think that’s a poverty.
Also, you’re right about the hardware cost — the few times vendors did preinstall an alternative OS in the past they wanted to charge a special “server” price for the hardware.
That’s nuts. I don’t want to pay *more* for a free operating system. I want to pay less and get more.
So there are problems.
BTW: I got my last computer from EmperorLinux, preinstalled with Debian Etch — and that’s how I’m typing this.
Comment by Tim — 2006-May-23 @ 07:37