Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 4th Jun 2008 22:08 UTC, submitted by TLZ_
Hardware, Embedded Systems Acer has stated that it will be pushing Linux aggressively on its laptops and netbooks. The company is already heavily promoting Linux for its low cost ultra-portable netbook range out later this year, but senior staff have said that Acer will also push Linux on its laptops. Acer has already started selling Linux in its Media PC business but this should now spread, according to Gianpiero Morbello, vice president of marketing and brand at Acer. "We have shifted towards Linux because of Microsoft," he said. "Microsoft has a lot of power and it is going to be difficult, but we will be working hard to develop the Linux market."
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Little More Information?
by TheIdiotThatIsMe on Wed 4th Jun 2008 22:53 UTC
TheIdiotThatIsMe
Member since:
2006-06-17

Its great that Acer wants to push Linux, and we know that they are currently going to offer it on their upcoming Eee competitor, but I would like to know what some of their other plans are for their lines?

What distribution?
- If it stays it's own (which I believe they use their own on Aspire One), will it remain cost effective instead of using another distribution as a base?
Will it be customized (like Dell including DVD playback)?
Will it be advertised?
Will it be pushed into retailer stores?

Just searching through their website, I couldn't find any of the media center PC's that are supposed to have Linux, and only saying that they will be aggressively pursuing Linux leaves a lot of questions.

RE: Little More Information?
by WereCatf on Wed 4th Jun 2008 23:19 in reply to "Little More Information?"
WereCatf Member since:
2006-02-15

I sure hope they do ship with DVD playback software enabled and all that. It's just too much of a hassle for some newbie to have to figure out how to add DVD playback to an OS he/she isn't even familiar with. Besides, there's only 1 legal DVD playback software out there: LinDVD.

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 3

RE[2]: Little More Information?
by melkor on Thu 5th Jun 2008 03:10 in reply to "RE: Little More Information?"
melkor Member since:
2006-12-16

LinDVD is the only legal option if you live in the US, or countries affiliated with the US 4th reich. The decss work around is perfectly legal, it's the DMCA that's horridly illegal.

Dave

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 8

RE: Little More Information?
by Johann Chua on Thu 5th Jun 2008 05:40 in reply to "Little More Information?"
Johann Chua Member since:
2005-07-22

The last two Acers I bought came with Linpus Linux. I installed Windows and Ubuntu on both. At least in the case of the laptop (last year), Linux was mentioned on promotional flyers and ads.

Reply Parent Bookmark Score: 3