Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 31st May 2009 10:44 UTC
Back when the whole netbook thing started, Asus was king of the hill with a focus on netbooks with Linux pre-installed. Since they were kind of popular, it didn't take Microsoft long to start working together with Asus to 'port' Windows XP to the Asus line of netbooks, and with that, to other netbooks as well. The result was that Linux netbooks are now harder to find for many people. While Dell committed itself to Linux on netbooks, Asus has decided to just skip the first date and jump right into bed with Microsoft.
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Member since:
2006-09-12
It was inevitable.
Asus did not initially adopt Linux out of love. It was pure business, and still is. Linux gave them a way to market that MS could not at the time- Vista was too resource hungry, and XP was being discontinued.
MS woke up when the netbook market started taking off; without an MS alternative, not too many people minded having Linux. Again, people did not adopt Linux out of love, there just wasn't an alternative. Things have changed now. MS have come to the party, and do business in a way business people understand.
There is no longer a business benefit for Asus to continue with Linux.
Technologists place way too much emphasis on "free". The business world does not understand that; they do not see how "free" can provide a sustainable business model, particularly with the potential threats; patent threats, copyright threats or threats of obsolescence.
They, the business world, do not see why it should be "free". They take umbrage at being prescribed to by technologists, who in their mind should NEVER be in the driving seat.
To the statement "Linux is technologically superior", business people reply "So what? Is it underwritten by a large monolithic organization who can protect me from intellectual property threats? Does it provide me with a ready-made market for my product?"
While technologists work for love, righteousness and the quest for perfection, no matter how long it takes, the business world are motivated by greed, and lust for the quick buck. Long term thinking and ethics are generally not part of their vocabulary.
Believe me, the only time you will ever see a business supporting "free", is when it means they do not have to pay the silly technologist a salary to get what would otherwise be worth billions of dollars.
- The louse