On Thursday, 15.03.2007 at 10:32 +0000, Alistair Crust wrote: > On Thu, 2007-03-15 at 10:17 +0000, Dave Ewart wrote: > <snip> > > One of the points made is that, under a Windows pre-install, various > > companies pay to have other software included (trial versions of Norton > > AV and so on) that have a net effect of subsidising the cost of the PC. > > One claim is that this is enough to counter-act the cost of the Windows > > OEM licence and, as a result, a Linux PC (or a "no OS at all" PC) will > > as a result be more expensive than a Windows PC. > > > > So, in hardware cost terms, it may still really be cheaper for customers > > who ultimately want Linux to just buy the Windows PC and then wipe off > > Windows, together with all the other trial software that includes. > </snip> > > You have to ask "why" do these software companies want to do this. > > If machines were shipped with linux as an option their prospective > target audience would dwindle. How long would it be before these > companies got wise an started releasing their software for linux too. > Just to claw back their target audience. > > This has the benefit of 1) forcing software vendors to look at support > linux and 2) bringing down the cost of hardware just as it does with > pre-installed windows. > > Did I hear someone say "chicken or the egg?" which came first?
Hmmm. Right now, though, even if I was buying a 'Linux desktop', I would be extremely likely to re-install the OS; partly paranoid, partly just to get it the way I like it. Any third-party apps would be lost via this route. Linux desktops/laptops are still, generally, for Linux enthusiasts and, although the number of "normal users" (!) using a Linux desktop/laptop may be increasing, they are still the minority. Server-side, things are a little different. I would like formal Debian support for servers, for example, but I probably wouldn't want the OS pre-installed there either... Dave. -- Dave Ewart - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - freenode: davee All email from me is now digitally signed, key from http://www.sungate.co.uk/ Fingerprint: AEC5 9360 0A35 7F66 66E9 82E4 9E10 6769 CD28 DA92
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