thelinuxlink.net

http://www.linspire.com/linspire_letter ... .php?id=44

For Dell to get to a market where they can see continued growth, they will need to get to the mainstream market. That market will need a very different kind of Linux.

This second market for Linux, will require a very different product from Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE. One that is 1) far easier to use (by the Linux enthusiasts market standards, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE ARE easy to use, but by the mainstream market standards, these distributions are not nearly polished or easy enough.)

By the time the Linux market Carmony is talking about is here Ubuntu and other distros will be just as polished and "mainstream" as Linspire. If he really recommended to Dell not to use Linspire it's crazy.

greggh wrote:By the time the Linux market Carmony is talking about is here Ubuntu and other distros will be just as polished and "mainstream" as Linspire. If he really recommended to Dell not to use Linspire it's crazy.

I don't see where he recommends not to use Linspire. He's saying Dell should use something DIFFERENT from Fedora, Ubuntu and OpenSUSE. I'm guessing the different, more easy to use Linux he's talking about is Linspire.

If that's the case, he's wrong. Linux on Dell will only work if people buy it. The current market for Linux is among Linux users, not Windows users.

To sum it up he said that using Linspire would be targetting the wrong crowd at this time -- now is the enthusiast crowd. The normal users are a year to three off, and to add Linspire to the mix at that point.

I agree with that. There are some rough spots and blatant software holes (good accounting software for one) that need to be filled either with FLOSS, or a good commercial app. Once that is there, I think linux will take off to some degree and offer a viable alternative for more than just surfing and email, and a simple game or two (which is what most of my converts wanted it for, not Photoshop, Quick Books or Pro Tools).

Gomer_X wrote:

greggh wrote:By the time the Linux market Carmony is talking about is here Ubuntu and other distros will be just as polished and "mainstream" as Linspire. If he really recommended to Dell not to use Linspire it's crazy.

I don't see where he recommends not to use Linspire. He's saying Dell should use something DIFFERENT from Fedora, Ubuntu and OpenSUSE. I'm guessing the different, more easy to use Linux he's talking about is Linspire.

From the article...

I recommend that Dell does NOT use Linspire or Freespire for their first Linux PCs. That may surprise many of you reading this. Why would the CEO of Linspire recommend Dell go with other Linux distributions instead of Linspire and Freespire? Let me explain why Linspire is NOT the right choice for Dell at this time.
...

...and he is not saying to use something DIFFERENT from Fedora, Ubuntu and OpenSuSe. He is specifically recommending those three distros to Dell...

For that market, there are three clear leaders: Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE, and these are the Linux distros I recommend to Dell today.

Strange. Somehow you got it all backwards. But hey, it happens to all of us from time to time.

greggh wrote: Strange. Somehow you got it all backwards. But hey, it happens to all of us from time to time.

I read what you quoted, and didn't read the whole article until later. Your quote doesn't support what you were saying, but the article does.

He's recommending Dell use Linspire, but not until Linux is well established. This makes sense.