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Dell flirts with the Linux desktop
Desktop Linux ^ | Feb. 23, 2006 | Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Posted on 02/25/2006 7:09:32 PM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing

Is Dell is on its way to becoming the first tier-one PC vendor to offer a mainstream business Linux desktop to US customers? It's starting to look that way.

In the recent past, Dell has toyed with shipping a Linux-powered PC to the US market. But, when push came to shove, the results -- a Dimension E510n PC shipped with an empty hard drive, a copy of the obscure, open-source FreeDOS operating system and no support if you did install Linux -- were less then impressive.

It's a different story for so-called workstations priced nearly as cheaply as desktops. Dell has started advertising a trio of affordable workstations with RHEL WS 4 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux workstation 4) preinstalled.


TOPICS: Computers/Internet
KEYWORDS: dell; linux; oss
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To: Golden Eagle

You've said repeatedly that because communist governments are switching to linux, it's proof that linux is communist.

But when Dell does the same, they are not?

How do you justify that in your mind?


81 posted on 02/27/2006 7:20:15 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing (Linux, the #2 OS. Mac, the #3 OS. Apple's own numbers are hard to argue with.)
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To: Tribune7

There have been so many articles about Dell's games regarding linux. What is your evidence of KR being a tool of stallman?

Besides, given the hate-hate relationship that Stallman and Torvalds have developed, it's not necessarily related that "dell = communist"(according to you) but yet they aren't in a hurry to offer linux.


82 posted on 02/27/2006 7:23:37 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing (Linux, the #2 OS. Mac, the #3 OS. Apple's own numbers are hard to argue with.)
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To: TChris

LOL!!!!!!!

That's a good point.


83 posted on 02/27/2006 7:28:19 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing (Linux, the #2 OS. Mac, the #3 OS. Apple's own numbers are hard to argue with.)
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To: TChris

LOL!!!!!!!

That's a good point.


84 posted on 02/27/2006 7:28:24 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing (Linux, the #2 OS. Mac, the #3 OS. Apple's own numbers are hard to argue with.)
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To: Knitebane; Echo Talon
Other posters have directed you at the various flavors of Wine,

It's hit and miss for Photoshop under Wine, and IIRC CS2 doesn't even run right under any distro yet.

GIMP is great for the home user, who doesn't need the 800lb gorilla of image editors. But don't even try to tell a Photoshop pro user that GIMP is a substitute, as it has far too many deficiencies. Some are its own fault (color management, expanded color models), some the fault of the proprietary nature of some of the printing industry, especially spot colors like Pantone and HKS.

85 posted on 02/27/2006 7:29:37 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
CS2 doesn't even run right under any distro yet.

Well, there goes linux... when they get that fixed let me know.

86 posted on 02/27/2006 7:33:33 AM PST by Echo Talon
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To: antiRepublicrat

I have used GIMP and can see its shortcomings.


87 posted on 02/27/2006 7:35:12 AM PST by Echo Talon
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To: Halfmanhalfamazing

Feh!

Walmart.com has been shipping Microtel boxes with Linux for years. I got mine for $199. They are up to $219 now.


88 posted on 02/27/2006 7:35:25 AM PST by Poser (Willing to fight for oil)
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To: Halfmanhalfamazing
What is your evidence of KR being a tool of stallman?

That's Stallman

And did I really need to be a sarcasm tag on that?

89 posted on 02/27/2006 7:42:34 AM PST by Tribune7
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To: Knitebane
>You've already made up your mind that there's something wrong with Linux

You don't have to think
"there's something wrong with Linux"
to prefer Windows.

They are different things.
One is a fringe OS with
lots of cool features,

and the other is
the whole wide world. Just because
a person enjoys

living in New York
or Los Angeles they're not
saying Des Moines sucks . . .

90 posted on 02/27/2006 7:45:31 AM PST by theFIRMbss
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To: Echo Talon
if they as easy as every keeps saying now, i should try it again.

As you can imagine, I'd recommend it. It's still not going to be a completely transparent change, as it is different, but like I said earlier, huge strides have been made in just the past couple of years.

I'd be really interested in your impressions of the difference. If you give it a try, I think many here would be interested in seeing how it goes. One thing I'd recommend though, is to make sure you have plenty of RAM.

91 posted on 02/27/2006 8:58:15 AM PST by zeugma (This post made with the 'Xinha Here!' Firefox plugin.)
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To: Echo Talon
I've never tried Mepis myself. Though from the reviews I've read, it's not bad.
92 posted on 02/27/2006 9:00:32 AM PST by rzeznikj at stout (This is a darkroom. Keep the door closed or you'll let all the dark out...)
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To: antiRepublicrat
Don't forget about Crossover Office.

There's a cost to it, but the latest version supports Photoshop 7. They're not sure about CS or CS2 yet--these might run as unsupported software.

As for the GIMP, IMO it was designed to be a casual-user replacement for Photoshop--and not intended as a replacement in professional use.

93 posted on 02/27/2006 9:05:59 AM PST by rzeznikj at stout (This is a darkroom. Keep the door closed or you'll let all the dark out...)
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To: When_Penguins_Attack; Echo Talon
I'd like to point out the Penguins is absolutely correct about WiFi cards. They can definitely be a bear to work with. The reasons for this are mostly political (thanks FedGov), but there isn't much we can do about that. I've got WiFi running on 5 laptops. some were easy, some were not. There is a good chance you'll end up having to use 'ndiswrappers' to make your wifi work.

My most recent laptop provided by my employer has the Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG (rev 05) internal wireless card. This worked like magic upon installation. The rest of the laptops I've played with over the past couple of years had various Broadcom chipsets that required ndiswrappers, which are easy to get working once you've done it a time or two. The first time is really confusing though.

94 posted on 02/27/2006 9:10:43 AM PST by zeugma (This post made with the 'Xinha Here!' Firefox plugin.)
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To: rzeznikj at stout
As for the GIMP, IMO it was designed to be a casual-user replacement for Photoshop--and not intended as a replacement in professional use.

Here we run into the difference between the person who suggests the practical uses of OSS and the zealot. People are out there right now trying to use Gimp for pro work, but they suffer in quality ("I don't care if the color is a little off") and expense by having the service bureau do the final-stage Photoshop for them to make it ready for print.

From the service bureau side, it's about as annoying as those who send for-print jobs in Microsoft Publisher.

95 posted on 02/27/2006 10:17:30 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
I use the GIMP for day-to-day usage. In other words, it's sufficient for my purposes.

I'm no longer studying graphic arts, and since my working of images doesn't necessarily have to be professional grade, (or fully prepared for offset printing) I no longer require access to Photoshop to get the task done.

But if I got back to doing any professional work, I'd just purchase copies of Photoshop 7 and CxO Pro--and run that on Linux.

Here we run into the difference between the person who suggests the practical uses of OSS and the zealot

Excellent point, though unfortunately, some posters refuse to acknowledge this difference.

96 posted on 02/27/2006 10:32:11 AM PST by rzeznikj at stout (This is a darkroom. Keep the door closed or you'll let all the dark out...)
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To: theFIRMbss
Firm,

This is true enough but it does not mean when someone says 'Linux is hard' that its true. What brought on the parent to your post was a series of 'Linux cant do this' that were factually incorrect like 'Linux is hard to update'. Im not asking anyone to use Linux, Im happy to help people who want to play but when someone throws a big heaping pile of lie on the floor Ill call it what it is..
97 posted on 02/27/2006 11:16:11 AM PST by N3WBI3 (If SCO wants to go fishing they should buy a permit and find a lake like the rest of us..)
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To: N3WBI3
>What brought on the parent to your post was a series of 'Linux cant do this' ...

Well, this is caused by
one of the "ground truths" about
Windows and Linux.

Regardless of what
Linux can or can't do, folks
have few resources

in the mainstream for
tracking down tips and techniques
(in common English).

On the other hand,
Windows has half a dozen
mainstream magazines

and entry level
websites helping out users
and entire sections

in local bookstores.
Mis-information about
Linux doesn't come

from people lying,
it just reflects the vastly
larger knowledge-base

Windows has in place.
(And I don't see this changing
because nobody's

making money off
Linux books, while Windows books
sell to everyone

who wants to get work
in the corporate job scene.
The marketplace rules.)

98 posted on 02/27/2006 2:15:29 PM PST by theFIRMbss
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To: theFIRMbss
...entry level websites helping out users

There's Linux Questions as an example

...nobody's making money off Linux books,...

...except for O'Reilly, Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.

My point is that there is just as much, if not more, Linux information available to the average person as Windows knowledge. I can name several magazines devoted to Linux right off the top of my head.

You're just not familiar with them as you have no need for it. That's fine, but your statements are incorrect.

99 posted on 02/27/2006 2:28:36 PM PST by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: theFIRMbss
We are trying to be nice about Windoze here.

Ignorant posts like that one are not helpful in that quest.

100 posted on 02/27/2006 3:14:18 PM PST by When_Penguins_Attack (Smashing Windows, Breaking down Gates. Proud Mepis User!!!!)
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