🚀 go-pugleaf

"7" <website_has_email@www.enemygadgets.com> wrote in message 
news:dOPak.19614$E41.10901@text.news.virginmedia.com...
> Should Motherboard makers bundle Linux CD with every shipment?
>
> They can use a DVD with DSL, Puppy Linux, System Rescue CD,
> GParted, Ubuntu and a few other distros that boot and run from LiveCD.
> The bigger distros should have bare minimum such as Open Office,
> Games like Torcs, Nexuiz etc, education stuff like xmaxima, Rasmol,
> CAD like QCad, K-3D, Gimp for photos, Seamonkey to create
> and maintain websites, GAMBAS2 and gcc for writing software,
> and K3b for burning CDs.
>
> Its all free and downloadable any way.
> http://www.livecdlist.com
> http://www.distrowatch.com
>
> At a cost of 10p, it not only boosts system builders to diagnose PCs
> but also helps all the punters avoid installing boot leg copies
> of proprietory software and reduce piracy.
>
> May be the small companies and system builders should bundle the
> CD themselves. It costs 10p or thereabouts, but bound to generate
> a lot of interest - especially helping students for example
> choose one motherboard over another, and from one vendor from
> another for the freebees that are enclosed.
>


Interesting idea.

Given the current climbate however including a Linux CD in the box is 
unlikely to happen given the
a) cost (yes 10p over thousands of motherboards is a lot of cash)
b) the environmental issues given that a significant portion of the disks 
will never be used.

On the otherhand including a bootable/installable Linux distro on the 
currently provided driver disk would add a clear 'value added' advantage to 
a makers spec.
1 It could be tweaked precisely for that motherboard
2 Test utilities could be included to help techs determine hardware faults.

I do note one direction that 'has' been taken by Asus is to embed Linux 
directly on the motherboard.
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/07/0614246
In fact this link 
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39418766,00.htm claims Asus is 
to embed Linux onto 'all' it's motherboards
Perhaps this will result in 'no' disks being included int the box, just a 
link to the website to download them using the onboard "Splashtop/Express 
Gate" OS.

Also one wonders if the 'instant on' aspect of such embeded OS is the 
'killer app' that will take Linux into the mainstream.
Talk to the average user of a PC whatever the OS and one of the most 
annoying aspects is the time it takes to start up your average PC.

Interesting times.

Paul.