Hewlett-Packard, the world's Number 1 PC maker, will try selling pre-loaded Linux on PCs in several countries as it expands a test program - evaluating a market that some competitors have already entered - and moves its personal computer business into a new generation of form factors and functionality.
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Member since:2007-02-17
In fact for the desktop I think Ubuntu would be the better choice. they are more desktop oriented and that is the market the project is aiming for. Sure they have other side things for server and devices but Desktop is their primary audience. I'm not an Ubuntu fanboy or anything but I do like the distro and think that it is one of the better distros for desktop users out there. I haven't found a reason to switch yet and I used to love distro hopping. I really don't understand where that statement is coming from. Considering the size of the community you would think that it would be a good thing but sometimes these short little quips seem like envious rants to me. Oh well.
Member since:2005-07-13
Ubuntu doesn't really target the market they're looking for, they're targetting small to mid-sized businesses and they started the pilot project with RHEL.
HP has certifications and expertise in place with both Red Hat and Novell; both vendors are experienced with enterprise support requirements, and have sufficient resources to support their commercial products with any SLA the customer requires, as well as the technical capabilities to address hardware issues. Commercial software packages, those few that do run on linux, generally only support RH and SLED. Not sure about RH, but SLED comes out of the box ready to work within an ActiveDirectory based network. Both RH and SLED have management tools for deploying and maintaining multiple installations.
Certainly neither RH or Novell offer anything in their distros software/application-wise that Ubuntu can't offer either, but business requirements differ greatly from personal requirements, and the community is generally far more tolerant than paid commercial customers are when things go wrong.
That's not to say that there's anything with Ubuntu or that it is inherently flawed, but if you compare Dell's approach with Ubuntu consumer PC's ("post in the forums or mailing list and hope for an answer if you have any problems, but don't call us"), that just won't cut it for business customers.
Not sure of what HP's plans are for support, or the level to which they'll integrate their vendor support with Red Hat's (or Novell's if they go that route as well), but customers can be assured that they have an enterprise-level organization backing them up either way.
It's simply targeting a different product for a different market.
Member since:2007-02-26
you wrote: OK. Why is that? I'm all for SLED 10, but he makes it sound like ubuntu would be a bad choice?!
A couple reasons come to mind:
1. No need to add another distro into the support mix.
2. HP may be aware that not everyone loves Ubuntu, and they intend to provide alternatives.
Member since:2006-12-27
Granted that you do have a point, But the real question was why did he make it sound Like Ubuntu would be a bad choice. Really for the desktop Ubuntu is a great distro. I think it would be a fine option for them to look.
Now being that I use Ubuntu I would have no issues if they picked Sled,RHEL or any other distro under the sun as I already have a retailer to buy from.
Member since:2006-11-24
Why would you offer the same OS as your competitor?
Think man, think. Unless Canonical wanted to become the Microsoft of Linux/FOSS on the Desktop (and look how well that worked out for Microsoft), it wouldn't make sense for Dell and HP to offer the same OS and still go through the same hardware-compatibility changes as desktop computers which host WinXP or WinVista.
Member since:2005-08-11
Member since:2006-01-28
Because Ubuntu is very nice for home users, but lacks a lot of the software certifications provided by Novell and Redhat as well as the provisioning and management tools that make it a no-brainer in larger networks.
I am sure that Ubuntu will get there in time, but until I see something as thorough as the Yast management modules integrated into Ubuntu, Ubuntu will have a hard time winning enterprise deployments.
Which is ok. It takes a while to build an enterprise level distribution, but I am sure it will get there. The next LTS release from Ubuntu is the one to watch in order to see whether Ubuntu can be really taken seriously.
Member since:2006-08-18
Member since:2005-07-06
Because Conical does not have a world wide support network to the same level which Novell has - and no, Red Hat is just as bad as Conical in that regard - they can't even be bothered setting up an office in New Zealand.
Use SLED SP1 and then you'll see why it is a better than Ubuntu; one is a long term, well supported operating system whose parent company is injecting vast sums of money investing into improving Linux on the desktop the other is a distribution with very little distribution support for the long term, no local offices around the world and minimal support structures in place.
HP needs a long term partner, someone who has a global presence with a good reputation with customers both business/corporate and home users. Someone who is also able to work with Microsoft and other companies to bring across support without needing to descend into a cycle of anti-proprietary rantings - as with the case of Red Hat and their refusal to provide out of the box proprietary CODEC support.
Member since:
2005-07-26
"They already do it in a server environment," said Michael Worsham of MWE Computer Services, an Edgefield, S.C.-based solution provider and HP partner. "If they go to do the same thing with a PC environment, that would be a good thing, too - - as long as they don't take the Dell route and put Ubuntu on them."
OK. Why is that? I'm all for SLED 10, but he makes it sound like ubuntu would be a bad choice?!