To aloniv:
Question: Every large OEM has a "recommends Windows 7" logo (so they can get
a
discount from Microsfot presumably as they aren't selling any other common
operating systems). Why not make a similar logo for Trisquel at least for
those that visited via libre.thinkpenguin.com?
Answer: I think this is a bad idea. It's not about Trisquel or any particular
distribution. It's about the freedom. We decided to start supporting Trisquel
because it was free. I contacted Rubén because it was free. Now why Trisquel
over another free distribution? Trisquel has a long and prosperous history.
It's got a solid base (Ubuntu), it's kept up to date (Trisquel), and it is
usable (pretty and functional)! We wanted to support something everybody
could use (to the extent possible).
http://libre.thinkpenguin.com/ was setup in response to this. In the future
we might list other free distributions here. Currently we haven't made an
effort to support other free distributions because of the amount of time in
consumes to keep the information up to date. We would rather provide proper
support to the extent it is possible than to try and support everything.
That said I like this idea. It just needs a little tweak (and we can actually
use it everywhere): "ThinkPenguin recommends Free Software". It probably
won't be implemented though. Maybe at some point if I think of it and our new
site is designed. Which reminds me... I need to respond to an email in
regards to the specifications for a new design...
Question: I found a 720P webcamera. Why not post some screenshots and videos?
That's something you rarely find online these days.
Answer: There is no doubt the site needs an overhaul. It was designed in the
summer of 2008. Almost nothing has changed except back end upgrades. It had
an almost zero dollar budget. Why there aren't more pictures and better
pictures of products comes down to appearances. Throwing up pictures isn't
going to make it look better. If people want pictures we can send them on
request. People have asked for better pictures of our laptops. They got them.
They have even posted them on other websites (with consent). The real work on
a new web site will probably start in September. The goal will be to design a
new site and fix a lot of these little issues.
Question: I found an MP3 and OGG player. Does it run RockBox? Is the firmware
free? Does the firmware support non English characters? Could you add
screenshots?
Answer: It does not run RockBox. These are VERY basic players. I'm not sure
what you mean by add screenshots. If you mean take pictures of the actual
product feel free to make a request. Pictures will be sent.
Question: I found 2 HP printers but couldn't find the models on the site.
Answer: It's a time issue. There are actually a few models with the same
specifications from HP for each printer. One supports older versions of
GNU/Linux out of the box. The other does not. We can't post real pictures
because the machines are different in appearance. We should add each printer
separately although it is not something that I've had time to do. The reason
it's not separate is because each time HP discontinues a model we have to
update the site. It just happens too frequently. All the specification
information should be posted for the printer though. This was updated at one
point. Except this to be fixed within a handful of months (once we have the
new site up).
Question: Also, aside from free software drivers, it would be nice to buy a
printer that can use recycled cartridges for environmental and price reasons
(they are much cheaper than original ones).
Answer: Inkjet printers aren't really good to use recycling wise. We might
add a higher end laser printer at some point where the cartridges can be
refilled. HP is the way to go when it comes to refilling cartridges. It'll
raise the cost of the printer if we ship with a cartridges that can be
refilled out of the box. I've been told to do it properly you need to spin
the cartridges. Probably would be very messy. However I've heard of people
doing black and white laser cartridges without issue for years. The majority
of people are just looking for a basic printer so all of this comes down to
demand and a lack of resources. More customers, more resources, more
printers.
One last thing. The demand is increasing. The problem right now is getting
things adjusted so that we can expand and I have more time to work on the
details. I'm responding to these posts as a gesture. Although the more of
this I do the longer it takes to get these issues resolved. Most of which are
being worked on... however slowly.
:)
