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216 Comments
- bherring, on 01/15/2008, -5/+51This is just natural. As more manufacturers try a linux model and find it profitable, the more of these machines you will see. Low cost computers are probably slim on margin. Even an extra $2.00 per unit would cut into profits considerably. Unless MS gives away their software, there is no way to compete at the low end price point.
- nsummy, on 01/15/2008, -17/+61They sold out because they were $199 computers. If they sold them without an os they probably still would have sold out.
- lordtyros, on 01/15/2008, -31/+72Vista is struggling? Man, digg and the real world sure are different.
- schroeder, on 01/15/2008, -11/+41Well, business won't upgrade to Vista, many people are holding on to XP and older machines until Vista issues are resolved and many people who have Vista on new machines are reinstalling XP. Popular demand even caused Microsoft to allow XP to be sold on new machines longer than planned as an option. If Vista wasn't forced on everyone buying a new PC it would be a total failure, instead it is struggling.
- funkyflipper, on 01/15/2008, -7/+31I have used Microsoft for pretty much all of my life. I tried Linux .... it took about 6 months to absorb all of the nuances .... I am a Windows user that has converted. You need to try Linux for a while to fully appreciate the massive amount of advantages. I also dismissed what I didn't understand ... at one time.
- chingy1788, on 01/15/2008, -7/+27well diggers live in a world surrounded by 4 walls and some one coming in to deliver food and beverages with one connection to another world called the "interweb" or more specifically digg.com
yes its a sad life... - moocow1452, on 01/15/2008, -3/+23Linux is up by 50%? Wow.
- rolosworld, on 01/15/2008, -1/+17and also there would be people calling support because the PC doesn't boot!
- RaiKitsune, on 01/15/2008, -6/+21Once again, open source succeeds where closed source fails.
- zeebo, on 01/15/2008, -1/+16Commodity operating systems are driving the market that way. It won't be long till motherboards come with a gig of flash and linux as standard features. I wouldn't be surprised if five years from now Windows is a premium option. For anyone who wants to do very basic things with their machines Linux is great, those types of customers don't need or want $1500 machines. I think this is a glimpse of the future, I think in five years these low power consumption, low power machines will be a significant factor in what today is still the PC market along side other non-traditional computing devices like cell phones.
- charlesray, on 01/15/2008, -4/+19Not really, it's more like cheap succeeds where expensive fails. I wouldn't hold up gOS as the best example of open-source software. It has low system requirements and is cheap as *****. It's not better than Windows, it's just adequate and costs a lot less.
- RaiKitsune, on 01/15/2008, -1/+15No, because it would be cheaper to buy a PC pre-loaded with Windows than to buy one and install Windows on it later, this is assuming someone who would buy a $200 PC would not posses the skill to pirate Windows. Because anyone with even a small bit of intelligence would know that Windows would run sluggishly on these PCs. I doubt any OS besides Linux would be used on it.
- inactive, on 01/15/2008, -21/+35It comes pre-installed on ***** computers and laptops for the masses, what do you expect. Do you think the retail boxed copies are flying from the shelves? I can count the layers of dust on them in inches.
- RoboRay, on 01/15/2008, -7/+20If you consider that 10-20% of all computers can be expected to require replacement each year, and Microsoft expected almost all of the new ones to ship with Vista, your statement doesn't say a lot.
- Purin, on 01/15/2008, -3/+16gOS is based off of Ubuntu.
- inactive, on 01/15/2008, -6/+18I still feel linux is better, its far more stable. Maybe if vista could take up less resources, and not make the whole screen go black with UAC it would be better. Why is it, in linux, or on a mac, it only asks for your root passwords a few times. Where as vista asks every few seconds, i don't get it.
Also i can run compizfusion, with less resources than vistas glass feature, why is that ? - frontporsche, on 01/15/2008, -1/+11Condensed version of above market-share statistics:
Microsoft OS: 91.51% - 90.75%: ↓0.76 (increased mkt share by -0.8%)
Apple OS: 6.38% - 7.30%: ↑0.92 (increased mkt share by +14.4%)
Linux OS: 0.42% - 0.63%: ↑0.21 (increased mkt share by +50.0%) - shrewduser, on 01/15/2008, -0/+10can you really be sure that a non functional device would have still sold out? i don't think you know the average consumer out there.... only tech savvy people would have bought it otherwise.
- fkr3, on 01/15/2008, -5/+15Businesses almost always skip at least one generation of software versions.
- Purin, on 01/15/2008, -4/+13Shipped does not equal sold.
- TheSabre, on 01/15/2008, -1/+9No way. Win98SE was the best pre-XP home version of Windows.
- inactive, on 01/15/2008, -4/+12Buy a new computer and tell me what is pre-installed on it.
Then go to the PC shop and inhale the dust from a retail copy when you pick it up. - zeebo, on 01/15/2008, -2/+10Used a motorola phone recently? Or a linksys router? How about a TiVo? Odds are that by 2010 a third of all people in the US will have at least one device that runs linux, and they won't even think about it because the user interface is streamlined to do what it needs to do and then get out of your way so you can do what you want with it.
Small cheap devices that do one thing, or a small number of things, and do them exceptionally well seems to be the path the market is going. Its the UNIX philosophy applied to the real world. I don't think it will be the death of the PC, but certainly that market isn't going to grow nearly as quickly. Linux and the BSDs are ideally suited for this new environment. - kazamx, on 01/15/2008, -0/+8In the first year after XP came out 65% of all computers came with XP.
In the first year after Vista came out 35% of all PCs came with Vista. - buckrogers1965, on 01/15/2008, -1/+92007 was the year of the Linux desktop. There were several wildly successful computer models that sold out with Linux pre-installed. Vista boxes sat on the shelf gathering dust, because nobody wanted it.
With the OLPC initiative selling tens of millions of Linux based laptops in the coming year that alone will more than double the number of Linux desktops.
The Eee product line will florish in the coming year, all with Linux desktops. Other laptop makers will emulate them. Look for the prices for these devices to drop to below $200 within a couple of years, but the battery lives and features to expand.
There will be dozens of more low price, low power Linux desktop boxes to compete, all hundreds of dollars less than the same power Windows boxes.
Low power computers with Linux are great for the majority of people who don't game, that just want to do document creation, browse the web, run Skype, and check their email. This includes most non development positions in companies.
OEM companies are free to craft the users UI experience however the company wants, instead of all the stupid restrictions that Windows forces on OEM's. Users get computers that just work without security concerns or constant crashing, tweekings and reinstalls. This means that user satisfaction will be very high. - Tenoq, on 01/15/2008, -6/+13Vista is struggling here. The only people buying it are the ones buying new computers from Harvey Norman - and don't know any better. Of the hundreds of desktop PCs we've sold over the last year only ONE has shipped with Vista. And it came back half a dozen times with teething issues relating to programs and devices the client wanted to install. :p
- ha1f, on 01/15/2008, -0/+7Jesus Christ you just failed hard.
- andycr512, on 01/15/2008, -3/+10""Also i can run compizfusion, with less resources than vistas glass feature, why is that ?" Because compizfusion is actually a buggy piece of *****."
You seem to imply that the higher the amount of bugs, the faster it will go.
Eloquent choice of words, but no, it isn't. It has all the stability of Aero with an infinitely higher amount of flexibility and a much higher degree of speed. I say this as someone who used Vista for 6 months. - zeebo, on 01/15/2008, -3/+10Because they were (and still are) items under high demand. People have been buying them to try to scalp them just like the Wii.
- din100, on 01/15/2008, -0/+62008 is the year of the Linux :D
- glue, on 01/15/2008, -3/+9What could you possibly get for your $199? I'm looking a building a new system and I think the power supply costs more than $199. My first PC cost $2150 in 1997. Imagine what I could build for that much money today.
- epiffffany, on 01/15/2008, -1/+7hmm... actually it does if that's your reference point. :)
- inactive, on 01/15/2008, -8/+14I don't see why you are getting dugg down (apart from the fanboy mentality here) Vista is useless as far as business goes. No valid reason to upgrade anyway.
- epiffffany, on 01/15/2008, -2/+8I went the opposite path. I was a hardcore Unix user with a deep distrust of MS. I was even slow to trust Linux.
If you stick to one OS flavor and claim it's the best, you're probably not basing your opinions on *extensive* experience. Windows really is good at some things. So is Linux. And Unix. Mac OS certainly shines in its own areas too.
In the end, they're just tools and you should use the right tool for the job. - Tenoq, on 01/15/2008, -5/+11Fine is very subjective. It's certainly not doing fine when compared to their other OS releases.
- frontporsche, on 01/15/2008, -1/+7It seems that few people read the misleadingly named article. The author suggests that vista is struggling because "In 2007, only about 39% of new computers shipped with Vista on board, compared with the 67% of the new computer market captured by Windows XP in its first full year of availability in 2002, based on data from Microsoft and Gartner."
- crownedgriffin, on 01/15/2008, -4/+10Just because they don't run as fast as a top of the line gaming machine doesn't mean they are slow.
- DiggLive, on 01/15/2008, -33/+38Marketshare statistics according to Hitslink from February 2007 to December 2007:
XP 84.33% - 76.91%
Vista 0.93% - 10.48%
Intel Macs 2.09% - 4.02%
PPC Macs 4.29 - 3.28%
Win2K 4.75% - 2.66%
Win98 1.50% - 0.70%
Linux 0.42% - 0.63%
Yep, Vista sure is struggling with over 10% gain in the first year. - skaldicpoet9, on 01/15/2008, -7/+12Linux is an awesome little OS and it is good to see that it is gaining steam. Now hopefully it'll start to get better gaming support with more exposure.
- oobuntu, on 01/15/2008, -1/+6Hitslink is included in adblock filter list. The results probably say more about how many linux users 1) use adblock 2) browse tacky websites that contain a hitslink script.
- kazamx, on 01/15/2008, -0/+4Thats what I noticed too. While the numbers are tiny, that is still pretty god dam cool. Remember that the eeePC etc are only really getting going. Something like 350,000 sold by the end of 2007. But they expect to sell 5-8 MILLION in 2008. Even if a few million have XP installed its still alot more Linux users.
- AngryChris, on 01/15/2008, -0/+4I agree and disagree. I feel that every operating system is a dog for the average user to use. While most people posting here are "fluent" in their chosen platform (be it Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc), the "average user" seems to have trouble figuring out most of those things we take for granted.
Imagine yourself a Windows user and you're sitting in front of a Mac. I tell you to reconfigure your IP address. You may be able to figure it out, but initially you're going to be a little lost. This is the same situation for your "average user" regardless of the operating system they are sat down in front of. The "average user" has a hard time using Windows, Macs, *and* Linux. - andycr512, on 01/15/2008, -3/+7Really? A search on Ebay reveals 25088 items found when searching for computer, most of which are Windows PCs. By your logic, tons of people must be doing the same with Windows.
- barl0w, on 01/15/2008, -1/+5Systems like a UMPC or ultraportable with Linux on it will only pick up from here, in my opinion. Asus's Eee PC, Intel's whatever for kids, and OLPC XO is just the tip of the iceberg. Well, until there's another earthquake or natural disaster in Taiwan and all of the factories producing our techno stuff crap out for a month or two. Then we'll really be screwed.
Here's a photo of the Asus Eee PC next to a Dell XPS M1330 for size comparison. The keyboard and screen diff is huge!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barl0w/2180093376/ - ha1f, on 01/15/2008, -12/+16Okay, lets get on thing straight people. Those $199 are UNUSABLE as desktop machines. They're slow as balls, and even the software it ships with doesn't work that well on it. I should know, I have one. It's a server running FreeBSD now, and thats all I ever expect(ed) it to be.
- buckrogers1965, on 01/15/2008, -1/+5You point, you click, you drag, you drop. Intuitive.
- sensia3, on 01/15/2008, -7/+11Vista is so much confusing that I better use Ubuntu. And I swear, I will not recommend anybody to switch to Vista. In my office, all new PCs still coming loaded with XP or they are religiously swaped by XP. I do not think 99% PC we use at work can barely run Vista minus teh Aero crap.
- Haohmaru, on 01/15/2008, -1/+5Vista isn't gaining acceptance as quickly as it should and we all know the main reasons: XP, no "killer apps" and those steep hardware requirements. But that's fine, hardware will catch up and someone will finally take advantage of Aero.
I've been using Vista for over a year on my main computer. My whole non-tech family uses it and I've had no issues except a few buggy drivers at the very beginning. Yeah, UAC is a hassle, so shut it off, it's like a few clicks, wooo. - kazamx, on 01/15/2008, -0/+4Depends what you mean by masses. My mum and dads Ubuntu box is fine for them. I installed Ubuntu and put Firefox VLC and a music player (rythmbox?) on the desktop and they are happy.
I showed them how to install/uninstall using the built in utility. What more could they really need? - skaldicpoet9, on 01/15/2008, -0/+4I HAVE used Vista and, yes, it is *****. No doubt about that one. At least with an open OS I don't have to shovel out a hundred bucks.
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