New Microsoft contract orders PC manufacturers to stop selling hardware without operating system

Slashdot.org ^ | August 10, 2002

[Knitebane]

Funny, I've installed RedHat 7.x on two PowerEdge servers and it was a snap. Worked first time, all hardware auto-detected, no errors.

Your explanation has merit, but only reinforces my point. Linux, due to being easier to install on a server, should have lower costs than an identical server running Windows.

But your explanation has less merit when you realize that you only have to go through the configuration ordeal once. Then you use an image server and the install is automated.

Again, Linux should be cheaper, but it isn't.

[js1138]

For a large manufacturer, the cost of a product must involve a ratio of sales divided by the cost of the people needed to support the product. Regardless of how easy it is to install Linux, a company like Dell must maintain experts to provide technical support. The number of experts doesn't grow as the same rate as income from sales.

There are countless examples of technological products that become cheaper as sales increase.