[Ubuntu-ch] Brand-name Laptops and PCs with Ubuntu preinstalled

[Ramon Cahenzli]

Hello ch-list

I hope this is not considered spamming, but I found the timing of Arthur van 
Dorp's request for an Ubuntu-preinstalled PC very extraordinary and it might 
bring my announcement into better context:

Starting today, I can offer a huge array of Fujitsu-Siemens computers (FSC) 
with Ubuntu preinstalled! No Windows tax involved either: No operating system 
other than Ubuntu has ever gotten anywhere near these machines. We're 
starting with just a few models and taking it from there.

Additionally, Fujitsu-Siemens has agreed to let us offer very special prices 
for students, faculty and staff of Swiss universities and other higher 
education institutions. The prices are extremely attractive with up to 20% 
off retail.

We are a certified Ubuntu OEM (cert in progress) and are selling our selection 
through two stores:

http://ubuntu.zhdk.ch (the store with extra-low student/educational prices)
http://ch.lincomp.eu (the store for everyone, under the Lincomp brand)

A desktop machine, as Arthur was interested in, will be added to our selection 
in the coming weeks. However: If you see anything in the Fujitsu-Siemens 
lineup that you would like to order with Ubuntu on it, please let me know and 
I'm sure I can arrange something. Also, if you're thinking about equipping an 
office with several new machines and want to install the OS yourself (no-OS 
option), I can help too.

Through Marcus Möller's Lincomp label and store, we're currently supplying 
machines and Ubuntu books to Switzerland and Germany, but all of Europe is 
the target in the end.

Our hardware warranty and support is handled directly through our hardware 
partner and they are totally clued-in about this Ubuntu business, so you 
won't get any "but we don't cover machines that had LUNIX on them!!!!!" 
nonsense when asking for hardware support.

The machines themselves are almost hand-built in Germany. FSC is one of the 
few manufacturers that still believe in Europe as a manufacturing location 
instead of outsourcing everything to Taiwan, and that's one of the reasons 
I've picked them. I was actually inside the FSC factory in Augsburg, Germany 
yesterday and watched people build individual mainboards and entire 
individually constructed PCs. It's quite impressive and worthy of supporting, 
IMHO. Additionally, they're getting very green right about now, with lines of 
power-saving computers and servers, a line of mainboards manufactured without 
some of the toxic components you find in others etc. They seem to have some 
sort of conscience.



Those of you who know me might remember how I've been talking about this store 
for several months already. Now things have been arranged, the right people 
have been talked to. It took longer than I thought, but now it's finally 
real, and I'm very happy and relieved!

As a last idea, if any of you would be interested in cooperating here, 
offering the same products through your own store or company, the groundwork 
is done now. It will now be much easier to do this, at least with 
Fujitsu-Siemens products. Just let me know.

Now: </spam> :)

Ramon