Don't buy HP computers

[Dirk Freitag]

Markus Schönhaber wrote:
> Dotan Cohen:
> 
>>> 4. At best, people now know that Karl may have a specific problem with a
>>> specific HP machine in a specific dual-boot scenario with Vista. But
>>> they do *not* know whether this problem is caused by the machine, Karl,
>>> Vista or something else. Nor do they know if no-one can fix it or if
>>> just Karl is not able to.
>> They also know that HP has no interest in the subject of this mailing
>> list (Ubuntu Linux). Which was the point of this thread.
> 
> No.
> 1. That may be your point but not THE point of this thread as I see it.
> And even that is nothing new nor anything which make HP a special case
> among all computer manufacturers. Lack of Linux support is a very common
> phenomenon, and we all seem to agree on what can be done to change this.
> 2. It does *not* prove that HP has no interest in Linux. It simply shows
> that HP has no interest in *supporting* Linux (at least for this
> particular type of machine). Which is something very different.
> I guess, many people can live with the lack of Linux support as long as
> the machine simply works with Linux.
> 3. (and not least) having a problem with a specific machine of a
> manufacturer IMO doesn't justify an outcry like "Don't buy *any* machine
> from them!". I call that an invalid generalisation.
> Even more so since no-one really knows what the root cause of the
> problem is nor whether it is solvable or not.
> 
>>> BTW: Lenovo/IBM doesn't provide Linux *support* for my T60. Nevertheless
>>> it *works* like a charm running Linux.
>> As does my Dell (bought before they came with Linux). But that is not the point.
> 
> Maybe not yours, but mine.
> 
> Regards
>   mks
> 
> 

Personally I think that everyone who has answered this so far has missed 
the mark.  First, who cares if HP supports Linux or not?  They have to 
support the hardware regardless of what OS is on the computer, because 
the OS has absolutely nothing to do with the physical quality or 
reliability of the hardware.

Second, even if HP *did* have support options for Linux, they would pale 
in comparison to the online support communities located on message 
boards, user lists and IRC chat rooms.  Manufacturer support 
representatives don't give decent *Windows* support and people with 
Windows are found more and more to be going to local computer repair 
places, or getting their support off the same online communities that 
are available for Linux (although, IMO, the Windows online support 
communities seem to be full of self-righteous, arrogant, goody-two-shoe 
windows fanboy followers and tools).  Even with my opinion on the online 
windows support communities, they are still 1000% better than the 
support you will ever get from a manufacturer.

I agree that there needs to be more publicity about Linux and it needs 
to be introduced to people more and more.  And in that respect, I do 
think the manufacturers should be offering Linux as a secondary option. 
  Have them go as far as to offer it as the *primary* option in some 
platforms (such as netbooks).  But for God's sake, leave the support to 
the people who know what they are doing, care about it, and don't expect 
you to shell out a weeks worth of pay for 4 hours on the phone with 
"advanced" support.

So in this geeky freedom fighter's opinion, I say, let them not support 
Linux.  You get better support online anyways, and customers wont be 
fooled by some manufacturer that they aren't "allowed* to remove that 
Windows OEM sticker off the bottom of their notebook.  It's about 
freedom, and if you keep the support out of the manufacturer and in the 
hands of the people actually working with these platforms, where it's 
free to use, and information and truth is not held back because we "dont 
want you to know that" then the better the Linux community will be and 
ultimately, the better the computer industry will be.

/end rant

--
Dirk Freitag
Linux Registered User Number 487244          [http://counter.li.org/]

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