Comment They'll change their tune-"No Linux:No Sale" (Score 1) 182
Toshiba's not alone.
fwiw, every couple of months for the last year or so I have made a point of taking some time to call the sales lines of DELL, Gateway, Quantex, and a few others to shop for a system with Linux preinstalled.
Of course, the only os they will sell prebundled is from microsloth. big surprise. The sales folks are nice enough, and admit that they frankly don't know why they aren't allowed to preinstall Linux. But that leads us to the point of the sales inquiry...to deliver to the OEM Sales rep the message: "No Linux- No Sale. Thanks for Your Time (click)."
Dell in particular irks me, as Mr. Dell has been going around for a year saying his company supports Linux. What a load of crap! Yeah, they'll preinstall it, IF you buy 50 (that's right, FIFTY) server boxes. But Dell won't sell a single User a preinstalled Linux desktop or laptop.
Early last year I bought a high-end inspiron from Dell through Micro's-to-Mainframes, a supplier to my Customer at the time (I am a consultant). At one point I needed some tech support, and while the Dell rep was helpful, the implication was made by Dell that I should not be running anything other than windows, and that they really didn't HAVE to help me, but they would do me some sort of favor for helping.
In all honesty the rep stayed late, beyond the end of his shift, to get me going again. I applaud the effort of going above and beyond like that, to help me out, but deeply resented Dell telling me what os to run...especially when they HAVE no robust, stable, reliable operating systems to offer to the individual buyer.
I know, I know, Dell has recently made a spate of announcements to appear to have jumped onto the Linux bandwagon, but frankly this seems disingenuous...just enough to appease Linux advocates while not alienating Redmond.
Incidentally, I run Redhat 5.2 currently on the inspiron 3000, XF86-neomagic, and it works like a champ!
I don't know if I would buy from Dell in the future, though, given the weasel-like hypocrisy I see them engaging in.
Anyway, the point is: keep up the pressure. Shop around. Don't be afraid to let these OEM's know...No Linux, No Sale!
(most Linux buyers are going to reinstall/tweak/tune the os anyway...but keeping up a little pressure on the vendors to do what they should be doing anyway...namely listening to the market....can't hurt.)
Who knows? Maybe some might listen? Maybe Dell will start telling the truth: "Yes, we are trying to have it both ways. Sure we will preinstall Linux, but not for You, Individual Customer...You are just not important enough for us to do that unless you want 50 servers. And we don't give refunds for unused windows products because we are in Microsoft's pocket"
Yeah, right. I'll start holding my breath now.
I think Toshiba and other hardware vendors will eventually see the light. When manufacturers realise their equipment has a market disadvantage because their device info is not openly available, then they will make the info available- if it means a better chance to sell iron. In the meantime I plan to keep up the pressure.
Gotta go, it's almost time to shop...
fwiw, every couple of months for the last year or so I have made a point of taking some time to call the sales lines of DELL, Gateway, Quantex, and a few others to shop for a system with Linux preinstalled.
Of course, the only os they will sell prebundled is from microsloth. big surprise. The sales folks are nice enough, and admit that they frankly don't know why they aren't allowed to preinstall Linux. But that leads us to the point of the sales inquiry...to deliver to the OEM Sales rep the message: "No Linux- No Sale. Thanks for Your Time (click)."
Dell in particular irks me, as Mr. Dell has been going around for a year saying his company supports Linux. What a load of crap! Yeah, they'll preinstall it, IF you buy 50 (that's right, FIFTY) server boxes. But Dell won't sell a single User a preinstalled Linux desktop or laptop.
Early last year I bought a high-end inspiron from Dell through Micro's-to-Mainframes, a supplier to my Customer at the time (I am a consultant). At one point I needed some tech support, and while the Dell rep was helpful, the implication was made by Dell that I should not be running anything other than windows, and that they really didn't HAVE to help me, but they would do me some sort of favor for helping.
In all honesty the rep stayed late, beyond the end of his shift, to get me going again. I applaud the effort of going above and beyond like that, to help me out, but deeply resented Dell telling me what os to run...especially when they HAVE no robust, stable, reliable operating systems to offer to the individual buyer.
I know, I know, Dell has recently made a spate of announcements to appear to have jumped onto the Linux bandwagon, but frankly this seems disingenuous...just enough to appease Linux advocates while not alienating Redmond.
Incidentally, I run Redhat 5.2 currently on the inspiron 3000, XF86-neomagic, and it works like a champ!
I don't know if I would buy from Dell in the future, though, given the weasel-like hypocrisy I see them engaging in.
Anyway, the point is: keep up the pressure. Shop around. Don't be afraid to let these OEM's know...No Linux, No Sale!
(most Linux buyers are going to reinstall/tweak/tune the os anyway...but keeping up a little pressure on the vendors to do what they should be doing anyway...namely listening to the market....can't hurt.)
Who knows? Maybe some might listen? Maybe Dell will start telling the truth: "Yes, we are trying to have it both ways. Sure we will preinstall Linux, but not for You, Individual Customer...You are just not important enough for us to do that unless you want 50 servers. And we don't give refunds for unused windows products because we are in Microsoft's pocket"
Yeah, right. I'll start holding my breath now.
I think Toshiba and other hardware vendors will eventually see the light. When manufacturers realise their equipment has a market disadvantage because their device info is not openly available, then they will make the info available- if it means a better chance to sell iron. In the meantime I plan to keep up the pressure.
Gotta go, it's almost time to shop...
