Computers that run the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows didn’t attract enough attention from Wal-Mart customers, and the chain has stopped selling them in stores.
To test demand for systems with the open-source operating system, Wal-Mart stocked the $199 “Green gPC,” made by Everex of Taiwan, in about 600 stores starting late in October.
Walmart.com, the chain’s e-commerce site, had sold Linux-based computers before and will continue selling the gPC. This was the first time they appeared on retail shelves.
Different strokes for different demographics. Low price obviously didn’t overcome unfamiliarity at the walk-in level.
#28 Free? Wow! Shouldn’t take much to make it a howling success and replace MS in the consumer space… Given that it is such a well designed product that is…
this incident proves that Linux sucks and it has a long way to go before it can put a dent on windows and macs Os. I have tried many Linux distros and found each one of them worse than the other one. All of the Linux distros are windows and macs wanna Bes. No wonder no one falls for ” Linux will rule the world ” crap anymore.
Hey linux haterz did u read that in a magazine? If ur having trouble installing linux try a live CD like knoppix (<– know as the most compatable) if u like that look at Morphix (<– based on knopix but has 40 diffrent versions… well just check out the site) HELL YEA #31 hell yea!! me 2! And if MS float ur boat cool. I just dont dig it. hell yea #31! lets go shoot some old windowz boxes
Hey linux haterz did u read that in a magazine? If ur having trouble installing linux try a live CD like knoppix (<– know as the most compatable) if u like that look at Morphix (<– based on knopix but has 40 diffrent versions… well just check out the site) HELL YEA #31 hell yea!! me 2! And if MS float ur boat cool. I just dont dig it. hell yea #31! lets go shoot some old windowz boxes
(BTW John ppl almost figured out that u write all the comments when the “kind-a-capture” thing was broken..)
AS i said in #22..
THIs isnt a GREAt system.
This isnt even a Good system.
This would be a System to Crash and burn.
Wonder the net, dont worry about anything, and when it gets TO MESSED up, start over..
You wouldnt have it run HL or WOW server and 4 people. It couldnt handle it.
#34 lets go shoot some old windowz boxes
Okay, but I gotta stop by Walmart and pick up some double aught.
Has anyone who posted here actually at any point used Linux. By reading this, you would think that it requires a college education to install and run. WTF? Has anyone looked at the latest versions of Fedora, Ubuntu and Open SUSE. If you don’t like it for other reasons, that is fine. Personal taste is just that… personal, but please stop making stories up that make it sound like it requires a PhD in CS&EE in order to install.
As for the redneck comment, if you look over the podcasts that favor Linux, I think you will find that the majority of them are well… redneck like type individuals, i.e. beer drinking, football watching (either game), country music, and hunting (but educated). The two really are not mutually exclusive.
These computers probably aren’t that good.
I am a reluctant fan of Linux and specifically Ubuntu. I keep in on a machine for my wife and it works really great as long as you use the software bundled with it.
But — holy smokes — it’s a pain in arse if you want to modify or trouble-shoot anything. To make things worse — the “Linux community” is friendly but completely incapable of explaining anything in plain English.
# 39 Jeff said, … please stop making stories up that make it sound like it requires a PhD in CS&EE in order to install.
Not to install — buy it takes huge amounts of computing skills to modify or trouble-shoot in Linux.
I’m a fairly skilled computer hobbyist. I’ve been at it since the early 80s and mostly home-brew my own systems. I started with CP/M for goodness sake.
Even so, I have about a 20% success rate when it comes to trouble-shooting anything in Linux.
Apple is fantastically great when it comes to installing programs and fixing common problems. Windows is MUCH better than it used to be. Linux is just a mess that way.
Once set-up, Linux seems to be the most stable of the three PC OS’s I run on about seven or eight machines. But God-help you if anything goes wrong.
I agree with the comments about OSX. Apple has done a great job of making a product work out of the box… works just as well on white boxes too. I, however, don’t use Apple products all that often (mostly Windows and “true” open source nix boxes).
Two things I would like to see:
1). Good hibernation and standby support, of course this is more of a vendor issue, but…
2). A real alternative to shadow copy, rsync is great for copying files and so are “so-called” simple image solutions for quick and easy full backups, but it can really make network development a pain. It is almost better to run Linux under a terminal environment.
As for Vista, I actually like it, provided that it is not in a large environment… it really does not run that well with less that 2gigs of memory and a good video chipset. There are a number of improvements like the aforementioned shadow copy actually running as system restore. The UI is clean (though not as tricked out as other solutions). Finally, the search is not bad.
Now if Microsoft could only offer Power Shell with a port tree with various GNU like utilities so I would not have to use Cygwin when using a Windows box (a little slow at times).
I remember back in “94” I brought home a shiny new IBM computor with OS2 on it. A few days later on my birthday I recieved some game software for my birthday. To my surprize it whould not load. That was when I learned about differant OSs. Long story short I took the machine back traded it in on a windows machine I have not had that incompatability problem since. Untill linex and macs can run windows software nativly they will not be dominate. Sorry about the misspellings I am at work and the IT people have disabled the spellcheck.
bilgo bad said…
“Sorry about the misspellings I am at work and the IT people have disabled the spellcheck.”
You have my respect for caring about spelling but the real issue is why America’s education system is such that we no longer coherently function sans a convenient digital crutch. Another equally interesting phenomenon is the number of people who can no longer assure accurate arithmetic without a calculator or software.
There is something to be admired in those who wrestle with Linux since they must be literate. That they take pride in speaking in tongues with like-minded colleagues recalls the quote one can have a language with a cat so long as no one else is required to comprehend it. And, of course, herding cats is an acquired taste that demands patience.
I tried Linux for a while. The reason I went back to Windows is the difficulty in finding then loading adequate photo editing and video editing software. GIMP is great, if you know how to wade through a difficult menu. I use PhotoShop and Roxio. When Linux can come out with something as easy to use I’ll try it again.
For what I did use Linux for though, it worked like a charm and I loved it. As my HDs filled, I had to switch the one back to NTFS to hold my work.
The one thing I do take exception to is knocking the “marketing” and build of Linux. There are very few people being paid to write Linux code. Almost all of it is written by amateurs doing it for fun. Since there is so little money to be made, there is also very little QA and polishing done.
Include FireFox, Thunderbird, and Open Office here, but I appreciate all the work people have donated to open source software. Those that demand the same degree of polish as commercial s/w just aren’t going to get it. At least not for FREE.
Linux will never be able to take over windows or mac osx. It will always be an os for windows and mac haters, jealous stricken and sadistic people. Linux is a perfect os if you live in the world of geek kingdom. But if you want to have full control over what you do, how you do then you’re out of luck with Linux.
Linux= losers
windows= winners
As simple as that.
#47 u will get it for free, just not yet. The hackers wouldn’t have it any other way.
As fas as OSX being better than windowz and linux. Sure, as long as u realize that OSX is linux. What makes it so good is that they got lots of dough to develop it… think of it as linux 2 come. Oh and linux haterz were glad u dont like linux cus we dont want ignoramuses on our forms anyways. Torvads basically said it when he made that paradoxical comment about how “anything different is perceived as bad” lol he was saying ppl are stupid and linux isnt for people its for computers 😉 yaknow?
#49 – Umm, no
It’s a version of Free BSD which is a version of Unix. Close but no cigar.
#50
No i maintain your wrong. back that up why dontcha?
OSX is not based off of Linux. It’s based off of Unix. I guess you forgot that Linux is also based off of Unix. There are a lot of differences but saying OSX is based off of Linux just proves the point that certain Linux users are just jealous cause it hasn’t caught on for most people.
# 39 – Why is it that when somebody questions something about Linux… it’s always the same response of “you never used it.” I imagine a lot of people who look at these ‘tech’ blogs probably have at least used some version of Linux over the years. This isn’t exactly espn or some fox news blog.. It’s more or less a a ‘Cranky Geeks’ blog where many users probably listen to or read various tech blogs and podcasts.
And why is it always the same story. “Oh my parents use it and they love it..” Yeah I’d imagine you are the one who set it up for them.
It gets old hearing the bull from linux fanboys or mac fanboys or windows fanboys.
I have Vista, XP, and 2000 on computers at home. I also have Leopard and Tiger. I also have Ubuntu. I also have Red Hat’s linux version from a few years back. I also have Mandrake. I also used Solaris. I’ve used Tandem Mainframes and IBM Mainframes. Heck I still have a commodore 64 someplace.
Every system has it’s problems and some have more strengths than others. But why is it everytime somebody mentions something negative about linux or even apple, the fanboys come out claiming “you don’t know what you’re talking about and you don’t even use it.” Sorry but the reality is you’re really not into technology as much as you seem to claim. You seem to be more of a fanboy trying to push your own agenda.
Every OS is just a tool. Use what you want. Accept that the masses don’t like Linux for whatever reason. One of which is that most normal computer users don’t like it and can’t get simple things to work. I could get my parents to use Ubuntu… but if they have a problem they are out of luck since I live 3000+ miles away from them and only visit once or twice a year. Telling them something on the phone won’t work cause it took forever for them to get firefox to work. Those are the normal users.
And you make claims about those who don’t use Linux and then you bash people who don’t know how to use it as red necks this and that. Maybe you should get out of your little cubicle and realize the world doesn’t revolve around you. Most computer users aren’t going to use Linux because in reality… it doesn’t just work. And half the programs don’t work on it.