Lenovo drops web sales of Linux machines
Built it and they didn't come
Lenovo has dropped Linux from the list of operating systems it will preload on desktops and notebooks sold via its website.
The Chinese vendor will continue to sell Linux-based client machines through its channel organisation, and this is where the majority of Linux orders were coming from anyway.
The operation has been shipping Linux on client PCs since 2000. A Lenovo spokesman told ComputerWorld that its commitment to Linux had not changed. It’s just its commitment to letting customers express their commitment to Linux that’s changed, presumably.
The spokesman said online sales of Linux-based machines were just not hitting the numbers. However, it will continue to certify Novell and Red Hat’s flavours on its kit, and plans to extend this to Ubuntu.
Lenovo’s move can be written off as simply a rejigging of sales channels.
However, it is still one in the eye for Linux on the desktop acolytes. In this instance though, Lenovo built it, and they didn’t come. Not over the web anyway. ®
COMMENTS
Linux too well hidden
for prospective buyers to find, according to what I have read.
Is there a cunning plan in there somewhere, or just more bureaucratic bungling.
Other motherboards will not support Linux
I was told that several manufactures have entered an agreement with Microsoft
and have designed their system to only boot on XP or higher.
I went thru 4 machines from Best Buy in the U.S. before I found one that didn't cause
problems trying to install Linux. They said to expect to see it get worse
with the new agreement with BIOS and motherboard manufacturers.
I actually *wanted* hardware raid
Here's the thing: I didn't want software raid. I wanted hardware raid. Work dropped quite a bit of dough on this box in part because it claimed it had hardware RAID and in part because it claimed it support Linux. And in part because it's barking fast.
Now, I find that it has RAID, but only if you install Windows, and that Lenovo doesn't mention that up front.
Also, the build quality on Lenovo has really dropped through the floor. One of the drives popped 3 weeks in (granted, that's actually a Seagate problem, but why buy drives from Seagate and not insist on top-end QC for the money they're charging?) One fo the SATA retainers pulled clean off the motherboard when I needed to pull the cable following the drive implosion. A workmate's X61 came in the door with a flaking display connector and the SD card reader failed out of the gate.
But, this is why we bring these things in with a three year onsite repair plan. Because at the end of the day, even for the spendy gear, anything that isn't fitted into racking rails (and a disappointing amount of what is) is ultimately designed to consumer whitebox spec. Anything but the laptops we're happy to fix ourselves, given parts. The laptops, we'll let them pay someone to drive out and sort.
Next workstation I buy, I'm likley to recommend HP. I've always liked their design. Weird proprietary parts - but designed to actually do things internally. Some of the old Vectras had some really clever p/s fan placement.
Whoops. I'm dating myself. Time to get a tissue.
Re: RAID without a hardware adapter
I think the reasoning behind the winraid rants are that you're supposedly paying for hardware RAID, but getting stuck with something that basically does what your OS can already do! BSD has SW RAID, Linux has it too, and hell, even Windows has it!
However, as expected; the Windows RAID solution requires using the "dynamic disk" option, which changes the partition table format and basically turns it into a "windows only" HDD.
They just don't get it
Linux users don't want laptops, or any other PCs, with Linux pre-installed. We all have our favorite distribution and disk partition schemes, so "one size fits all" doesn't, especially if we're paying for it. Installing Linux is quick and easy, since it's not encumbered with the DRM and other anti-copying schemes that Microsoft inflict on their users.
What we most want is a option to buy a system without paying the Windows tax - i.e. a "No Operating System" click-box giving £50 or so knocked off the price.
The next most important thing is avoiding hardware for which open-source drivers do not exist. If chip manufacturers find that the reason their chips do not sell is that someone else's competing chip DOES work with linux, they'll open up.
Any manufacturer that does these two things in perpetuity and has a decent track record for reliability will gain many orders from Linux users.
