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Alienware Evaluating Customers' Interest in Linux
- goombastic 16y agoWould have been easier for them to allow people to say no to Windows when they buy the laptop, rather than do polls and other stuff. I would be interested in: a) easier windows refunds and b)GNU-Linux compatible specs.
- arespredator 16y agoAs much as I admire Alienware computers' design, craftsmanship, speed, etc., and as much as I appreciate the company's interest in linux, I hardly think there's any sense in Alienware linux-based computers, since they're designed for gaming and gaming only.
- asdfj843lkdjs 16y agoI wanted an off the shelf consumer RAID1 one desktop. Only Alienware offered something like that. It came with Win7, I am still trying to get Ubuntu to recognize the RAID.
- benologist 16y agoThe desktop I bought at BestBuy ~3 years ago came with raid, it's not an uncommon option anymore.
- duskwuff 16y agoChances are that both were (effectively) software RAID, though. Real hardware RAID is extremely rare on desktops.
- benologist 16y agoI don't actually know, it's some Intel stuff that can be configured to 0 or 1 pre-boot.
- amalcon 16y agoMost likely you have what's known as "fake" RAID. Really it's just software RAID, with a few things in BIOS to make it easier to implement.
- asdfj843lkdjs 16y agoI specifically wanted a hardware RAID and only Alienware had it. But I usually also do not scan Ebay for anything.
- biot 16y agoIt's not hard to put together your own system including a dedicated hardware RAID card. You should even be able to specify the components and have your local computer shop do the assembly.
- corin_ 16y agoHowever they are a part of Dell, so possibly feedback to Alienware will also be used by their colleagues in non-gaming areas.
- burgerbrain 16y agoAs much as I admire any manufacturers interest in linux, I hardly think there's any sense in anybody shipping with it. Few people who want to use linux are incapable of spending the 20 minutes to install it themselves, and no matter what distro you pick you'll never satisfy a large portion of your linux using customers. Just sell me a computer with a blank harddrive. That would be swell.
- Dobbs 16y agoI want hardware support. I want a set of open specs on a laptop. That way FreeBSD, Debian, Ubuntu, and Slackware could all possibly run on it. I don't want to purchase a system in which if you use their preinstalled version of Ubuntu it works but anything else your hosed. So when I look at a 'Linux' laptop that is what I'm looking at it for. Can I run FreeBSD with working sound/sleep/wireless?
- burgerbrain 16y agoHow common are laptops that don't work well with linux these days? With graphics you're golden: either it's AMD (uncommon) and it has working FOSS drivers out of the box, or it's Nvidia where you have working FOSS drivers sufficient for work needs, and proprietary drivers sufficient for whatever gaming you could possibly be doing on linux. With wifi, you're almost always golden these days. Most laptops seem to have intel or atheros chips, but even the traditionally hellish broadcom cards don't provide much of an issue from what I understand. If anything else in a laptop could cause you any real showstopping trouble I'd be very surprised. Note also that both of these potential hangups are something you can easily access beforehand. Every site I've used lets you pick your wifi chip from one of a few choices and will at least tell you what the GPU is.
- Dobbs 16y agoThis is wonderful in theory but I've purchased laptops pretty recently (Thinkpad x200e) which I didn't fully vet before I purchased. This laptop had lots of issues. Non Working Wifi, couldn't sleep correctly and had issues with sound. Having everything work out of the box is not guaranteed. Ubuntu is generally better about it but not all distros have the level of workarounds that Ubuntu does. As far as ACPI is concerned not even Ubuntu is decent.
- trotsky 16y agoGaming is one of the few things I still boot into windows for.
- chris11 16y agoI'd chose linux if it was cheaper. MSDNAA is free so there is no reason for me to pay any money for another copy of windows.
- corin_ 16y ago"Would you be willing to pay extra for a Linux-based Alienware system?"
- mironathetin 16y agoActually, Alienware would save money. Windows pre-installed does not come for free. A linux based system should be cheaper than a windows based computer. I never liked to pay for a windows licence by default although I install linux anyway.
- corin_ 16y agoThat was my point. If I buy a computer with linux on I expect it to be cheaper than Windows, so it was weird that Alienware are asking people that question.
- Dobbs 16y agoLinux computers sell in much smaller quantity. This causes increased costs of manufacturing.
- nickolai 16y agoHow exactly NOT installing windows is a manufacturing challenge?
- Dobbs 16y agoPacking, documents, install cds. There is also the cost of creating drivers for Linux. Testing the machines before production. You also need to do random sample tests after production. There are a lot of challenges. Those are simply the ones off the top of my head.
- boredguy8 16y agoI thought one of Alienware's distinction was their support. Presumably they need to hire support reps for whatever flavor of Linux they support. Also presumably, this is more costly and intensive than hiring someone with an A+ certification. Obviously this is conjecture, but it would explain the 'charge more'.
- freyrs3 16y agoIf I have $3k to drop and need that much horsepower I'd rather build a small cluster for the price.
- asdfj843lkdjs 16y agoYou can do MUCH better building for yourself. Sadly, some of us don't have the time.
- iwwr 16y agoIf you're paying $2-3K for an Alienware machine, you might as well fork over $99 for a Windows OEM. Edit: A link to the actual survey http://www.alienware.com/Surveys/AlienSurvey.aspx?Id=29607129825 http://www.alienware.com/Surveys/AlienSurvey.aspx?Id=2960712...
- goombastic 16y agoGeeks optimize everything. 99$ extra for Win (esp. if you don't use it) is 99$ wasted. Many of us are also finicky about taking a stand. A thousand geeks saying no to 99$ extra is a lot of money and a community in itself.
- iwwr 16y agoWhat would you use an Alienware Linux machine for?
- __mlm__ 16y agoThere are many companies (and government agencies like NASA) that do a lot of high-end 3D visualization and processing on linux. Having one of these desktops would be nice in one of those environments.
- lanstein 16y agoThe dollar sign goes before the number.
- azim 16y agoInstalling Linux in favor of Windows won't make computers cheaper. Microsoft sells OEM distributors their Windows 7 Home license for around $50. Then, the reason off the shelf computers come bundled with so much bloatware from the likes of McAffee, Symantec, and 100 free hours of AOL is because those companies pay for it. In many cases, pc manufacturers actually return a net positive on installed software.
- drinian 16y agoIt's a tax paid to Microsoft. It's a matter of principle.
- polymind 16y agoI love alienware products very much. Their sheer no-compromise attitude to build the best gaming pc's is known through the world. I personally feel that they should enter linux market by manufacturing specific products, for ex something on the lines of google cr-48 chrome notebook. There is lot of scope in this area and personally as a hacker/programmer I know what kind of hunger we are in. Also a lot of customizations can be done on linux desktops & laptops which the traditional companies like sony,lenovo,ibm,apple don't offer. //(There is lot to talk, but i think i made all my important points)\\ So I hearty welcome their interest in knowing our interest, but will be seriously disappointed if they didn't enter this market. :)
- ZoFreX 16y ago> Their sheer no-compromise attitude to build the best gaming pc's is known through the world Sorry, but this is fluff. There are many companies that make specialist gaming PCs, and Alienware aren't number one. Don't get me wrong, they're good (and the vast majority of pre-made "gaming" PCs I've seen were absolutely terrible), but they're no Scan for example.
- polymind 16y ago>Sorry, but this is fluff. There are many companies that make specialist gaming PCs, and Alienware aren't number one. Don't get me wrong, they're good (and the vast majority of pre-made "gaming" PCs I've seen were absolutely terrible), but they're no Scan for example. If you got the idea from my post that Alienware are the best manufactures of 'gaming pc', then I am sorry. All I was claiming is that their 'attitude' 'in building' the best pc's in the world. And for the sake of debate, name any other company that is as consistent as alienware in offering similar products across a wide spectrum. Please don't say my 'backyard tony' builds a better one than them. One company that is accessible to all kind of people.
- ZoFreX 16y agoI would say they're a little hit and miss actually... their desktop PCs don't impress me. Oversized air-cooled behemoths with inch-thick plastic insulating the components... not a great design, thermodynamically, and aesthetically I find them rather primitive too. I mentioned Scan due to consistency - they repeatedly win awards, including a boatload for customer service. As far as the "attitude" toward building "the best pc's in the world" goes, I think Scan win hands down for experimenting with water-cooling, peltiers and other advanced tech in pre-made consumer machines.
- narrator 16y agoIf I want a high-powered computer to run desktop Linux I go for HP. They certify and rigorously test a subset of their desktop systems to fully support Linux: http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/cache/321143-0-0-0-121.html http://h20338.www2.hp.com/enterprise/cache/321143-0-0-0-121....
- sigzero 16y agoI had no idea HP did that.
- sgt 16y agoSigh, I can't read OSNews anymore. It's got ugly ads plastered all over it.
- wazoox 16y agoFunnily, it's one of the very few websites I white-listed in adblock, because they asked very nicely their readers to do so to support them.