Acer to release Ubuntu Linux laptops

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Thu, 2007-08-02 at 10:13 -0400, Karlie Robinson wrote:
> I feel that the greater good is done by getting people to try Linux in 
> whatever form it may take.

People are getting out, or at least trying to get out, from under the
serious risk of abandonware/hostageware and what I like to call "vendor
lock-out" (not merely just "vendor lock-in" in the case of
Microsoft ;-).  That is always a Good Thing(TM).

Not to tangent, but there is a greater, sound concept going on here.
Let us not forget that some consumers, especially those tied to the
"superstore model" of "upgrade now, you must" try Linux only to go back
to Windows because of various issues, not due to Linux itself.  Because
of this, we should also recognize and promote Freedomware and, at a
minimum, Standardware, on Windows as well.  For when the user does
finally switch over to Linux, it will be far less painful because the
risk to their documents and their application requirements have now been
mitigated.

> While for some that may not be Fedora, the point is to get enough people 
> using Linux and let the people sort out which is their favorite. Without 
> a doubt a certain percentage will find their way to Fedora.

For any new user, I always say "their favorite" should be the distro
where they will receive the most support for what they are doing.

In a LUG or other community, I recommend finding someone who uses the
same applications to do the same things as they do, and run their
distro.  Not because it's the best distro, but because they will receive
the best support.

In the case of pre-installed Linux, whatever the vendor supports should
be their choice.

-- 
Bryan J. Smith         Professional, Technical Annoyance
mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org   http://thebs413.blogspot.com
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        Fission Power:  An Inconvenient Solution