Startup to sell Linspire-powered PCs

Desktop Linux ^ | Jan. 06, 2006 | Desktop Linux

[x5452]

What a useless waste of startup capital.

[N3WBI3]

OSS PING

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-- Back from a long and much needed vacation

[N3WBI3]

Maybe, maybe not... neither you or I have access to their business plan and many people said Redhat was a waste of capital..

[x5452]

No but I do know what the major applications folks buy computers for are:
Microsoft Office
Adobe Suite
iTunes

None of those run on Linux...

[rzeznikj at stout]

While I'm personally not a fan of Linspire, it is nonetheless a start.

Though personally, I'd like to see computers offered with commonplace distributions such as SuSE or Mandriva. Both are good general distributions that are relatively quicker to learn to current Windows users.

[N3WBI3]

No but I do know what the major applications folks buy computers for are:

MS Office = Open Office
Adobe Sweet - as in writer or photoshop? for what 99.9% of people do in photoshop GIMP is just fine.
iTunes - I know of no windows users who use iTunes (though some I am sure exist)

BTW with Winde I have run MS Office, and Photoshop on Linux though I have never tried iTunes..

[x5452]

Open Office, I actually beleived that till I convinced the company to buy it at one point...

Photoshop/InDesign/Distiller-Acrobat Can similar stuff be done on Linux? Yes. Do companies feel like spending millions retraining people to use it? No.

iTunes.

iPod uses iTunes to populate the iPod with songs. There are a copy third party utilities that can also do it but iTunes is free and usually far more uptodate/compatible with the latest iPods. I can't imagine not using iTunes with an iPod though my Russian freind does this.

[N3WBI3]

Your contention was that everybody used MSOffice, Photoshop/InDesign/Distiller, and iTunes..

I would guess less than 10% of computer users use photoshop, maybe 10% uses iTunes and MSoffice is very interchangable with OpenOffice for home users.. These are SWAG of course but nodoubt so were yours..

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

that they all have 450-watt power supplies

Well that is promising!

[Salo]

You know one. :-) I have it on my mac, too.

iTunes - I know of no windows users who use iTunes (though some I am sure exist)

[martin_fierro]

I know of no windows users who use iTunes

OK, two.

[rzeznikj at stout]

When I'm on Windows, I use iTunes. A lot of people do.

But from what I've read, Crossover Office Pro can run Office, IE, iTunes, Adobe, etc. The bad thing is that it costs $$$--though I believe there are bulk discounts available. It's something I'm going to look at investing in when I get a computer and Linux back up and running.

As for running with Wine, I've been able to get the install to run but not the program.

Most of the programs I've been able to run are small install-executables, with FF being the notable exception.

[Knitebane]

The bad thing is that it costs $$$--though I believe there are bulk discounts available.

Even without the discounts it's not that expensive. Consider the price as part of the whole. Cost of Windows + Cost of Office compared to Cost of Linux + Cost of Crossover Office + Cost of Office.

As for running with Wine, I've been able to get the install to run but not the program.

Note that Crossover Office (and the other "Windows software on Linux app" Transgaming's Cedega) is just Wine with a pretty front end.

What you're paying for with CxO and Cedega is the work that someone has gone through to make it easy to install and run. The base software is the same.

[goldstategop]

OpenOffice 2.0 and if you need The Gimp - the GimpShop should do nicely in Linux as a Photoshop hack. Its true Microsoft Office and Adobe don't run in Linux but then there are free equivalents. Not sure about i-Tunes.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[goldstategop]

Yep. With WINE you can run Microsoft Office and maybe Photoshop to a fair extent in Linux. Don't expect 100% compatibility. If you need that stick to Windows or buy WinLinux, get a copy of Windows 98 and run the needed applications in a Microsoft window in Linux.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[twntaipan]

Open Office 2.0 is sweet. If your only experience with OO is 1.x, give 2.0 a try. Much improved.

[goldstategop]

Photoshop is high end software. Its famous due to its bloat and price tag. Of course if you need the very best, nothing else will do - but at $600 its overkill for most people. They're better off with a more suitable editor like PSE, JASC Paintshop Pro or Photoline32. That plus their camera software should cover everything they need in the image editing department.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[rzeznikj at stout]

Even without the discounts it's not that expensive.

I agree, when comparing the price of Windows and the software versus running it on Linux and the cost of the CxO and the cost of software.

And for most people, you're right, the costs shouldn't be that much of a problem. They're not bad in themselves. Though for some people, it may indeed pose a barrier, or be a turnoff to purchasing it--especially where money is tight (i.e. small businesses, college students, etc.)

I'm running Wine on Slax, could this (running a live cd) be why I'm having trouble running iTunes, Opera, etc.?

[bigdcaldavis]

None of these run on Linux? Then tell me why I can use Crossover Office 5 Pro to run iTunes and Adobe Photoshop.