Oh, and, of course, congratulations System76. I hate using computers from Hell – I mean ‘Dell’. I expect to see more exciting things from you guys in the near future, and if you try hard, you will beat Dell and HP and Microsoft, and maybe even Apple. You have the support of every single Linux user. Microsoft and Dell and HP have no one’s support. Good Luck!

The idea that the entire Linux world revolves around Ubuntu which seems to be rising prominently in the Ubuntu community is a frustration for a lot of non-Ubuntu people like myself. Ubuntu may be easy, but I can easily tell you as an Arch user Ubuntu is far from the *best* Linux distribution.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me go back to Canonical and WINE.

The nature of open source development is such that downstream folks have it well within their power to modify their software. In fact, both Cedega and Crossover are actually derivatives of WINE.

If Canonical seriously wanted someone to use Windows apps on Ubuntu, there’s really nothing stopping them from making a team meant specifically for WINE development in Canonical.

A great deal of open source development works that way, including the Linux kernel itself. So many companies that distribute Linux are also famous for contributing serious amounts of code back upstream. It could and probably does work this way with WINE.

Personally, though, I think a better investment would be to make sure there’s good alternatives to Windows software. And there already is for just about everything, except games. Office? OpenOffice. Photoshop? GIMP (I’ll get blasted by a lot of Photoshop users for that one, but pretty much the only features PS has that GIMP doesn’t are just used by pros.). And even a lot of apps getting increasingly popular on Windows are already there, full speed, on Linux, like Firefox.

I believe games to be quite minor, but I also think it would be nice if more of the mainstream game houses started to see Linux as a viable platform. Companies like id are long-time game developers who didn’t neglect Linux. BioWare used to develop a bit for Linux, but I think since EA bought them out I expect this trend to end. There’s been a rumor floating around Phoronix for some time now that Valve wants a piece of the Linux action. They already have Linux dedicated servers, but the rumors are around Steam and the Source engine getting ported. I wish them well.

Wine has come a long way, there are other emulation software that you can try Cedega, Cross Over Office etc. Yea they may not be FREE (as in Beer) but how many of your Windows programs are?

@Joe Panettieri

For the users that ask “where’s Microsoft Office” the answer to that is the Windows machine you purchased did not come with MS Office(Unless a Bloated Trial Version), in which case MS Office 2003 runs perfect under Wine with little to no configuration. Open Office comes bundled with most major distributions, and after trying it most users will not miss MS Office. While lacking in the Spreadsheet app, I feel it is better at Word Processing, Presentation software, and will meet most users need in spreadsheet software (If not Gnumeric is Rock solid!)

Ubuntu is not suppose to be Microsoft and should not try to be.

But I don’t think any Linux is ready to compete on traditional consumer PCs in retail stores. Consumers will ask “where’s Microsoft Office.” And most don’t understand the value of OpenOffice and related free apps.

What we really need is for major PC makers to offer OpenOffice standard on some Windows systems, and to market around OpenOffice for Windows… and oh by the way, it runs on Linux too. Over time, that paves the way for consumer Linux.

Hook them with the open source applications on Windows first, then switch them to Linux.

My next machine was going to be a macbook white with a japanese keyboard ’cause I figured if they keys aren’t going to do what they say, they may as well look cool.

http://system76.com/articles.php?tPath=5

Even now, when they are selling Canonical support services as part of server purchasing. That page lists Ubuntu community support…but not Canonical’s for-pay support. In fact, you can’t even purchase Canonical branded support on laptops nor desktops…just the servers. (Different from Dell, as Dell lets you buy Canonical support services for some of the Ubuntu consumer products)

Makes you wonder, does System76 have an OEM servicing contract with Canonical to provide expert support for laptop and desktop issues? Or is all of the technical support for laptop and desktop done in-house by system76 staff with no official support partnership with Canonical? Do OEMs like system76 need Canonical as a support partner or are they doing a reasonable job of it providing their own support with backup from the Ubuntu community?

-jef

People want choice other then Windows but Apple is pricy. If you had Ubuntu and it was as fun looking and safe seeming as the Mac OS but cheaper then Windows people will buy. They just need to hands on it first.

If you could get a couple of PC’s and Laptops in Best Buy etc and have some good marketing on why you should buy it over Windows, Ubuntu would sell like hot cakes!