Lies, Damned Lies, And Linux Netbook Return Statistics

[VinDSL]

Somebody made a comment about this in another (recent) thread, but I can't find it...

SOURCE: http://www.bmighty.com/blog/ma...4/lies_damned_lie.html (6 hours ago)

Some netbook retailers are slamming Linux for boosting their product-return rates. Here's why you should take their protests with a grain of salt.

Lately, quite a few netbook makers and resellers are saying that buyers return Linux machines far more often than identical models running Windows XP. Last year, for example, the director of U.S. sales for MSI told Laptop Magazine that customers return Linux netbooks four times as often as Windows netbooks.

As Computerworld.com contributor Eric Lai pointed out, however, such claims can be misleading.

According to Lai, MSI's numbers weren't based on the company's actual netbook return rates.

In fact, at the time, MSI wasn't even shipping a Linux-powered netbook model.

So, where did MSI get its information? From third-party market research...

Surprise... surprise!

Ubuntu accuses Microsoft of Linux netbook FUD!

SOURCE: http://blogs.computerworld.com...t_of_linux_netbook_fud (6 hours ago also)

When Microsoft employee, Brandon LeBlanc announced that Microsoft ruled the netbook world, he was exaggerating, shall we say, just a wee bit. I was going to stomp on him but Chris Kenyon of Canonical, the business that stands behind Ubuntu, beat me to it...

Kenyon concludes, "We look forward to continuing to delivery great product to customers who value choice. We are not saying that all of the world should or will use Ubuntu, however the suggestion that customers don't like Linux is the sort of oversimplification that a great data-driven company like Microsoft might want to steer clear of."

If someone can help me find who was spreading MSFUD in this OS section, I would appreciate it!

 

[SilentRunning]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
Somebody made a comment about this in another (recent) thread, but I can't find it...

SOURCE: http://www.bmighty.com/blog/ma...4/lies_damned_lie.html (6 hours ago)

Some netbook retailers are slamming Linux for boosting their product-return rates. Here's why you should take their protests with a grain of salt.

Lately, quite a few netbook makers and resellers are saying that buyers return Linux machines far more often than identical models running Windows XP. Last year, for example, the director of U.S. sales for MSI told Laptop Magazine that customers return Linux netbooks four times as often as Windows netbooks.

As Computerworld.com contributor Eric Lai pointed out, however, such claims can be misleading.

According to Lai, MSI's numbers weren't based on the company's actual netbook return rates.

In fact, at the time, MSI wasn't even shipping a Linux-powered netbook model.

So, where did MSI get its information? From third-party market research...

Surprise... surprise!

Exactly! Do you think any large company is going to produce a product for sale without doing adequate market research first.

 

[lxskllr]

I got my Asus specifically because it would run with Linux. I probably wouldn't have gotten it if it were Windows only.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: SilentRunning
Do you think any large company is going to produce a product for sale without doing adequate market research first?

Yes, I do! But, the larger point is...

Somebody posted a reply to one of my posts recently, saying ppl with netbooks are 'running away from Linux in droves'.

I thought this was a curious comment - first I heard of ppl 'leaving Linux in droves' - so I did some research.

Turned out to be more MSFUD... This forum is rife with it!

Here's another one for you (3 hours old):

Canonical Strikes Back at Microsoft's Linux 'FUD'

SOURCE: http://www.osnews.com/story/21...Microsoft_s_Linux_FUD_ (OSNews.com article)

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has struck back at claims made by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc about Windows' success in netbooks compared to Linux. Most of the claims made by LeBlanc are refuted quite accurately by Canonical's Chris Kenyon in a blog post titled "Microsoft, FUD and the netbook market".

Of course, the infamous return rate element gets a thorough mention. In the original LeBlanc post, it is stated that Linux netbooks see much higher return rates than Windows netbooks. Kenyon doesn't actually refute that, but he does make a very snide comment towards OEMs shipping crappy implementations of Linux on their netbooks - one of the most-often heard complaints on OSNews. "The really big news for the industry is that well-engineered Linux netbooks have similar return rates to XP," he writes...

"What makes a real difference to return rates is not whether it's Linux or not, but the quality of the device's hardware and the ability to fully partake in web and media experiences." [see lxskllr's reply above]

Kenyon makes a very good point here. Many implementations of Linux on netbooks are downright awful, but that's not solely the fault of OEMs. Linux distributors and their parent companies will have to be more active in educating OEMs about Linux. In fact, I think at least the major Linux distributors should band together, and provide a central place for OEMs to get information and help regarding Linux.

Golden!!!

Microsoft would be wise to shut people like LeBlanc up. If you want to compete with Linux, then do so by improving your product (like they are doing with Windows 7), but don't resort to the FUD tactics of yore.

 

[SilentRunning]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: SilentRunning
Do you think any large company is going to produce a product for sale without doing adequate market research first?

Yes, I do! But, the larger point is...

Somebody posted a reply to one of my posts recently, saying ppl with netbooks are 'running away from Linux in droves'.

I thought this was a curious comment - first I heard of ppl 'leaving Linux in droves' - so I did some research.

Turned out to be more MSFUD... This forum is rife with it!

Here's another one for you (3 hours old):

Canonical Strikes Back at Microsoft's Linux 'FUD'

SOURCE: http://www.osnews.com/story/21...Microsoft_s_Linux_FUD_ (OSNews.com article)

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has struck back at claims made by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc about Windows' success in netbooks compared to Linux. Most of the claims made by LeBlanc are refuted quite accurately by Canonical's Chris Kenyon in a blog post titled "Microsoft, FUD and the netbook market".

Of course, the infamous return rate element gets a thorough mention. In the original LeBlanc post, it is stated that Linux netbooks see much higher return rates than Windows netbooks. Kenyon doesn't actually refute that, but he does make a very snide comment towards OEMs shipping crappy implementations of Linux on their netbooks - one of the most-often heard complaints on OSNews. "The really big news for the industry is that well-engineered Linux netbooks have similar return rates to XP," he writes...

"What makes a real difference to return rates is not whether it's Linux or not, but the quality of the device's hardware and the ability to fully partake in web and media experiences." [see lxskllr's reply above]

Kenyon makes a very good point here. Many implementations of Linux on netbooks are downright awful, but that's not solely the fault of OEMs. Linux distributors and their parent companies will have to be more active in educating OEMs about Linux. In fact, I think at least the major Linux distributors should band together, and provide a central place for OEMs to get information and help regarding Linux.

Golden!!!

Is it FUD if it is true? He dismisses it as a result of crappy implementations of Linux (CANONICAL FUD ALERT - They didn't use our Ubuntu Linux - END CANONICAL FUD ALERT) being used, but doesn't refute it.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
If someone can help me find who was spreading MSFUD in this OS section, I would appreciate it!

I'm pretty sure it was me, as I remember saying those exact words. I hope I didnt hurt your feelings too much.

But I stand by it. Not because of anything I've read that anyone else has said about return rates, but from what I see.

Go on newegg, search for netbooks, and youll see 40 XP netbooks, 2 vista, and 4 linux.

Bestbuy or walmart dont even sell any non-windows netbooks anymore.

If linux really cuts costs, you'd think walmart would be all over it. But even the king of cost cutters isnt. So that should tell you something - that linux isnt what people want, so walmart or best buy isnt selling it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Linux is good, especially for some purposes (web server), but it's a usually a follower, not a leader. Virtually everything I've seen in linux is based either directly or indirectly off of something that windows or OSX has done first, and usually linux doesnt do it nearly as well. I still toy around with it every now and then, and its usually a good experience, but there's always something that gets in the way of wanting to use it permanently, usually hardware related.

 

[lxskllr]

"Kenyon doesn't actually refute that, but he does make a very snide comment towards OEMs shipping crappy implementations of Linux on their netbooks - one of the most-often heard complaints on OSNews. "The really big news for the industry is that well-engineered Linux netbooks have similar return rates to XP," he writes..."

That was my complaint about Xandros, which the Eee shipped with. I can't imagine why they thought that was a good idea, and I'm sure they had to pay for the Xandros licenses. The money would have been better spent modifying Ubuntu to have a smaller footprint. Ubuntu's more fully featured, absolutely free, and has a larger community. I would have maintained a noob repository on the Asus site for people who wanted the default apps/updates, and provided unsupported documentation that showed how to hook up with the official repositories, and Ubuntu forums.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
"Kenyon doesn't actually refute that, but he does make a very snide comment towards OEMs shipping crappy implementations of Linux on their netbooks - one of the most-often heard complaints on OSNews. "The really big news for the industry is that well-engineered Linux netbooks have similar return rates to XP," he writes..."

That was my complaint about Xandros, which the Eee shipped with. I can't imagine why they thought that was a good idea, and I'm sure they had to pay for the Xandros licenses. The money would have been better spent modifying Ubuntu to have a smaller footprint. Ubuntu's more fully featured, absolutely free, and has a larger community. I would have maintained a noob repository on the Asus site for people who wanted the default apps/updates, and provided unsupported documentation that showed how to hook up with the official repositories, and Ubuntu forums.

Yeah, ubuntu would have been a vast improvement - dell does it much better with the ubuntu minis.

But like it or not, windows is the gold standard. People want stuff to just work. Surfing the web, and only surfing the web on a linux netbook is fine. But as soon as youre forced to use anything but firefox, it starts to fall apart.

Open office is like an interface nightmare from the 90s, not to mention its dog slow. Compatibility is so-so, half of my lecture powerpoints wouldnt open with it. Open office kills it for students. And dont even get me started on the filesystem.

And I bet as soon as the "average user" is forced to go to the command prompt to fix something, the netbook is going right back to the store.

So yeah, I like linux, and I can deal with it, but I'd never, ever recommend one to anyone that isnt already familiar with it. Maybe in 5 years itll be ready....although I said that about linux 5 years ago, so who knows....

 

[mc866]

I just got my Mom a Dell mini 9 with Ubuntu 8.04 for $199. My mom is not computer savvy at all and has never seen Ubuntu a day in her life, but I wanted to get her something less expensive because the only function she plans on using it for was web and email. Ubuntu fits this bill perfectly, I don't have to worry about running an antivirus or going back to scan her system for malware, I just made sure to add addblock plus to firefox and gave her a bit of a tutorial on it. She picked it up right away and didn't have any issues. Personally for the way netbooks are positioned and for the amount of power they have I think it just makes more sense to run Linux on them, unless you really need something Windows can only provide, but I think it would be more of a hassle to have Windows on something like a netbook.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: mc866
I just got my Mom a Dell mini 9 with Ubuntu 8.04 for $199. My mom is not computer savvy at all and has never seen Ubuntu a day in her life, but I wanted to get her something less expensive because the only function she plans on using it for was web and email. Ubuntu fits this bill perfectly, I don't have to worry about running an antivirus or going back to scan her system for malware, I just made sure to add addblock plus to firefox and gave her a bit of a tutorial on it. She picked it up right away and didn't have any issues. Personally for the way netbooks are positioned and for the amount of power they have I think it just makes more sense to run Linux on them, unless you really need something Windows can only provide, but I think it would be more of a hassle to have Windows on something like a netbook.

Yeah, for web only, linux is a good choice. But dont underestimate the power of a netbook - theyre full blown PCs, an atom can do virtually anything most laptops are used for, and is as powerful as top of the line notebooks from not too far in the past. Theyre great for short spurts of office work, especially for students. With an ion or the upcoming intel chip, theyll become fantastic for movies, and even decent for low requirement gaming. Openoffice is garbage, multimedia is iffy on linux (forget about hardware support), and gaming is practically non existent unless KBackgammon is all you play.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: VinDSL
If someone can help me find who was spreading MSFUD in this OS section, I would appreciate it!

I'm pretty sure it was me, as I remember saying those exact words. I hope I didnt hurt your feelings too much.

But I stand by it. Not because of anything I've read that anyone else has said about return rates, but from what I see.

Go on newegg, search for netbooks, and youll see 40 XP netbooks, 2 vista, and 4 linux.

Bestbuy or walmart dont even sell any non-windows netbooks anymore.

If linux really cuts costs, you'd think walmart would be all over it. But even the king of cost cutters isnt. So that should tell you something - that linux isnt what people want, so walmart or best buy isnt selling it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Linux is good, especially for some purposes (web server), but it's a usually a follower, not a leader. Virtually everything I've seen in linux is based either directly or indirectly off of something that windows or OSX has done first, and usually linux doesnt do it nearly as well. I still toy around with it every now and then, and its usually a good experience, but there's always something that gets in the way of wanting to use it permanently, usually hardware related.

Going by those statistics Vista sucks twice as much as Linux, of course, it's useless statistic and you probably already know that.

Actually, if you look at the history of the OS's Windows isn't even based on Windows and X predates anything MS ever offered in the form of a window manager. The biggest flaw with Windows is that everything is locked together, if it crashes you're out, if X crashes, you restart just that part and you can revive all your processes too.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: mc866
I just got my Mom a Dell mini 9 with Ubuntu 8.04 for $199. My mom is not computer savvy at all and has never seen Ubuntu a day in her life, but I wanted to get her something less expensive because the only function she plans on using it for was web and email. Ubuntu fits this bill perfectly, I don't have to worry about running an antivirus or going back to scan her system for malware, I just made sure to add addblock plus to firefox and gave her a bit of a tutorial on it. She picked it up right away and didn't have any issues. Personally for the way netbooks are positioned and for the amount of power they have I think it just makes more sense to run Linux on them, unless you really need something Windows can only provide, but I think it would be more of a hassle to have Windows on something like a netbook.

Yeah, for web only, linux is a good choice. But dont underestimate the power of a netbook - theyre full blown PCs, an atom can do virtually anything most laptops are used for, and is as powerful as top of the line notebooks from not too far in the past. Theyre great for short spurts of office work, especially for students. With an ion or the upcoming intel chip, theyll become fantastic for movies, and even decent for low requirement gaming. Openoffice is garbage, multimedia is iffy on linux (forget about hardware support), and gaming is practically non existent unless KBackgammon is all you play.

First of all, there are several office packs to choose from, i prefer Koffice to anything else i've ever tried, especially in it's current form but i'd prefer Org to anything MS because that would mean i would have to run an OS that i really don't like.

Secondly, who in his right mind would play anything but board or card games on a netbook?

Besides, if i want another game, there are thousands of them sitting right in the repo.

The "multimedia is iffy on Linux" comment really takes the cake, how hard is it to type apt-get install vlc? Don't like vlc? Install Mplayer with it's various front ends, don't like Mplayer either? Install Totem with gstreamer, don't like that either then pick one of the other programs, there are at least 20 more to choose from.

It really sound like you read an article about Linux and that is all you know about it because you obviously don't have the faintest clue about a modern distro and the capabilities or options.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: VinDSL
If someone can help me find who was spreading MSFUD in this OS section, I would appreciate it!

I'm pretty sure it was me, as I remember saying those exact words. I hope I didnt hurt your feelings too much.

But I stand by it. Not because of anything I've read that anyone else has said about return rates, but from what I see.

Go on newegg, search for netbooks, and youll see 40 XP netbooks, 2 vista, and 4 linux.

Bestbuy or walmart dont even sell any non-windows netbooks anymore.

If linux really cuts costs, you'd think walmart would be all over it. But even the king of cost cutters isnt. So that should tell you something - that linux isnt what people want, so walmart or best buy isnt selling it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Linux is good, especially for some purposes (web server), but it's a usually a follower, not a leader. Virtually everything I've seen in linux is based either directly or indirectly off of something that windows or OSX has done first, and usually linux doesnt do it nearly as well. I still toy around with it every now and then, and its usually a good experience, but there's always something that gets in the way of wanting to use it permanently, usually hardware related.

Going by those statistics Vista sucks twice as much as Linux, of course, it's useless statistic and you probably already know that.

For netbooks, yeah, its pretty obvious Vista isnt anyone's first choice.

Actually, if you look at the history of the OS's Windows isn't even based on Windows and X predates anything MS ever offered in the form of a window manager. The biggest flaw with Windows is that everything is locked together, if it crashes you're out, if X crashes, you restart just that part and you can revive all your processes too.

I couldnt care less about distant past, or who did things first. From what I see, linux are the followers nowadays. And BSODs are so rare on windows nowadays that it's hardly the issue it used to be back in the 9x days.

On top of that, I couldnt care less for microsoft as a company. I just go with the superior product.

 

[JohnOfSheffield]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: VinDSL
If someone can help me find who was spreading MSFUD in this OS section, I would appreciate it!

I'm pretty sure it was me, as I remember saying those exact words. I hope I didnt hurt your feelings too much.

But I stand by it. Not because of anything I've read that anyone else has said about return rates, but from what I see.

Go on newegg, search for netbooks, and youll see 40 XP netbooks, 2 vista, and 4 linux.

Bestbuy or walmart dont even sell any non-windows netbooks anymore.

If linux really cuts costs, you'd think walmart would be all over it. But even the king of cost cutters isnt. So that should tell you something - that linux isnt what people want, so walmart or best buy isnt selling it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Linux is good, especially for some purposes (web server), but it's a usually a follower, not a leader. Virtually everything I've seen in linux is based either directly or indirectly off of something that windows or OSX has done first, and usually linux doesnt do it nearly as well. I still toy around with it every now and then, and its usually a good experience, but there's always something that gets in the way of wanting to use it permanently, usually hardware related.

Going by those statistics Vista sucks twice as much as Linux, of course, it's useless statistic and you probably already know that.

For netbooks, yeah, its pretty obvious Vista isnt anyone's first choice.

Actually, if you look at the history of the OS's Windows isn't even based on Windows and X predates anything MS ever offered in the form of a window manager. The biggest flaw with Windows is that everything is locked together, if it crashes you're out, if X crashes, you restart just that part and you can revive all your processes too.

I couldnt care less about distant past, or who did things first. From what I see, linux are the followers nowadays. And BSODs are so rare on windows nowadays that it's hardly the issue it used to be back in the 9x days.

On top of that, I couldnt care less for microsoft as a company. I just go with the superior product.

1. the point isn't that Vista sucks or anything like that, it's an improvement over XP in all areas as far as i'm concerned, the point is that those statistics are completely useless and you SHOULD know that.

2. If you don't care then why did you even bother to bring it up in the first place? Linux are the followers? You mean like how Vista emulated the desktop effects invented by Novell, the community offshoot of that was even available long before a beta of Vista, or do you mean file systems? Where's WFS? They ran into trouble because JFS (IBM) and XFS (Sun) had patents, patents that are decades old, i guess they'll just have to wait for them to expire? How about shedulers and memory management, Vista seems more like a Windows emulation of Linux standard kernel than anything else.

I really don't care what OS it is as long as it does it's job and quite frankly, Windows can't do that for us.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
1. the point isn't that Vista sucks or anything like that, it's an improvement over XP in all areas as far as i'm concerned, the point is that those statistics are completely useless and you SHOULD know that.

2. If you don't care then why did you even bother to bring it up in the first place? Linux are the followers? You mean like how Vista emulated the desktop effects invented by Novell, the community offshoot of that was even available long before a beta of Vista, or do you mean file systems? Where's WFS? They ran into trouble because JFS (IBM) and XFS (Sun) had patents, patents that are decades old, i guess they'll just have to wait for them to expire? How about shedulers and memory management, Vista seems more like a Windows emulation of Linux standard kernel than anything else.

I really don't care what OS it is as long as it does it's job and quite frankly, Windows can't do that for us.

OMG!!! Someone gets it!

You're my hero (no, I'm not gay)... :heart:

Look, I still run W2K Pro - and XP - and Vista - and W7 beta now. Got nothing against any of them, but that %$@#^ Microsoft...

Somebody needs to clean their clock!

MSFUD and patent disputes are soooo last century...

They need to put up or shut up - let their products stand on their own merit - and stop with the dishonest tactics!

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
They need to put up or shut up - let their products stand on their own merit - and stop with the dishonest tactics!

So MS putting down linux is FUD. But canonical putting down every other linux but their own isnt FUD?

The point is - there's nothing nice about marketing. In a wonderful world, where everyone sings around a campfire, there would be no need to put others down. This isnt that world - this is business, and there's a ton of money at stake.

Its a nice thought that everyone should just stand on their own merits, but thats not how the real world works.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
2. If you don't care then why did you even bother to bring it up in the first place?

If you recall, I was called out on it by the OP. I gave my opinion, different people have different needs, discussions happen, people post things. Whats the problem with that?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: BD2003
If you recall, I was called out on it by the OP. I gave my opinion... Whats the problem with that?

Nothing is wrong with opining - we all do it - all the time!

Microsoft (ahem) declared that ppl are running away from Linux in droves, which is a damned lie!

Linux, on the other hand, is set for their biggest year ever, in 2009 - and that's not an opinion...

See the difference?!?!?

Here's more MSFUD for you:

Vista/7 more secure than Linux and Mac OS X

SOURCE: http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4146 (ZDNet article)

Operating system security is always a hotly contended subject, and last week Microsoft amped up the hype by claiming that Windows Vista and the soon-to-be-released 7 is the world?s most secure OS, beating both Linux and Mac OS X.

Here?s what Microsoft?s chief operating officer Kevin Turner had to say at the MidMarket CIO Summit last week:

Vista today, post-Service Pack 2, which is now in the marketplace, is the safest, most reliable OS we?ve ever built. It?s also the most secure OS on the planet, including Linux and open source and Apple Leopard. It?s the safest and most secure OS on the planet today. Everything that we?ve learned in Vista will be leveraged in Windows 7, but certainly when we broke a lot of the compatibility issues to lock down user account controls, to lock down the ability to manipulate states and all the things, that was a very painful process for us to grow through, but we had to do it. And the reason that Windows 7 will be successful is because of the pain we took on Vista. Because from a compatibility standpoint, if it works on Vista, it will work on Windows 7. If it doesn?t work on Vista, it won?t work on Windows 7.

[D]espite being primarily a Windows user, I can?t help but feel that Microsoft?s ?most secure OS on the planet? statement is rooted more in hyperbole than fact. If Turner had said ?most secure Windows OS on the planet? I might have been happy to buy that. But to say that it?s more secure than Mac OS X or Linux, gimme a break. All my Windows machines are beefed up with additional body armor in the form of firewalls and antivirus applications, additions that are unnecessary on my Linux or Mac systems.

While I know how to keep my Windows boxes safe from the bad guys, I?m not sure if I could hand my Mac or Linux systems over to bad guys if I wanted to...

Sooo... there they go again!

According to Microsoft, Vista SP2 is the safest, most reliable OS on the planet...

What a bunch of liars - damned liars!

Hell, I'm running W7 beta...

The first thing you're presented with, every time you boot up, is a relentless nag screen warning you to install anti-virus software!

Everything that we?ve learned in Vista will be leveraged in Windows 7...

And, that's a fact... including the bullsh!t!

 

[BD2003]

In all honesty, I think you're taking the marketing a little too seriously. What company wouldnt call their product the best? BS is BS, clearly, but thats to be expected from any for-profit company. Linux can take the high ground because it's essentially non-profit at it's core.

I'd hardly call windows the most secure, but you and I know that a large part of linux and OSX's security is through obscurity, and as much as you can protect a system it more often than not comes down to the user allows in. Linux has quite a bit of protection just from having a huge portion of their userbase extremely computer literate.

I'll never understand the crusader mentality you seem to have though.

 

[Genx87]

Vista is pretty damned secure. Ironically some AV suites are hooks for malware because the OS's security model is pretty damned good.

As for MS lying about people running from Linux in droves? I agree they are lying. Has Linux hit 1% marketshare for quarterly sales yet? About a year ago they were sitting at .56%. Hard to have people running away in droves when there arent droves of people is using it.

 

[frostedflakes]

So where did all the Linux netbooks go anyways? I was looking into maybe picking up a Linux EEE PC, but seems like they're nowhere to be found. Pretty disappointing IMO. I'm sure there's a market for them, I can't help but think Microsoft is doing a lot behind the scenes to shut Linux out of the netbook market. Is Dell the only netbook manufacturer that still offers Linux?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
So where did all the Linux netbooks go anyways? I was looking into maybe picking up a Linux EEE PC, but seems like they're nowhere to be found. Pretty disappointing IMO. I'm sure there's a market for them, I can't help but think Microsoft is doing a lot behind the scenes to shut Linux out of the netbook market. Is Dell the only netbook manufacturer that still offers Linux?

It doesn't look like there's too many of them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...StoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[mc866]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
So where did all the Linux netbooks go anyways? I was looking into maybe picking up a Linux EEE PC, but seems like they're nowhere to be found. Pretty disappointing IMO. I'm sure there's a market for them, I can't help but think Microsoft is doing a lot behind the scenes to shut Linux out of the netbook market. Is Dell the only netbook manufacturer that still offers Linux?

If I recall correctly Amazon had a few different ones, though unfortunately they are getting more difficult to find. You could always just get the one you want and dual boot or install the distro you want over XP but it sucks cause you end up paying for the XP license in some way.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
So where did all the Linux netbooks go anyways? I was looking into maybe picking up a Linux EEE PC, but seems like they're nowhere to be found. Pretty disappointing IMO. I'm sure there's a market for them, I can't help but think Microsoft is doing a lot behind the scenes to shut Linux out of the netbook market. Is Dell the only netbook manufacturer that still offers Linux?

Stop spreading FUD. :roll:

 

[frostedflakes]

My legitimate concerns are FUD? :roll:

The higher return rate been proven false. What other reason would there be to *not* offer Linux on netbooks?