5 ms·

Why did this happen for them ? PC and laptop sales have been going through the roof after the onset of the pandemic. Look up any report.

ChuckNorris89 6y ago
Yes, by PCs you probably mean PCs with Windows have been through the roof. PCs with linux are a super niche market and people in that market usually have different preferred distros(not everyone likes ubuntu) which they know how to install themselves on hardware they can configure themselves so there's not much demand for pre built linux PCs. System 76 is doing OK, but not growing at any crazy rate though. Plus, WSL is now eating the market of linux on PCs.
- guenthert 6y ago
  All true, still I was glad to find that Ubuntu 'certified' compatibility with the Dell M6800, which gave me the confidence that I could install pretty much any 'desktop' Linux distribution. Likewise a local dealer (CentralComputers) offers servers with "Linux" pre-installed (used to be free, now they charge a modest fee for it) option. I dimly recall that to be RedHat (might have been CentOS), we put Debian on it. Still, it's better than the 'bare-bone' option, as it gives you the confidence that Linux (it's almost exclusively the kernel which matters here after all) will run and that the machine does boot (otherwise not guaranteed with such customized computers).
  - ChuckNorris89 6y ago
    >Ubuntu 'certified' compatibility That certification is edging on snakeoil(or dare I say bullshit) at this point. Pretty much any laptop with integrated graphics(no nvidia) and no fancy rare hardware parts will run most distros with a recent kernel perfectly.
    - rbanffy 6y ago
      > Pretty much any laptop with integrated graphics(no nvidia) and no fancy rare hardware parts will run most distros with a recent kernel perfectly. Indeed. You need to try really hard to screw yourself into Linux-incompatible hardware. And you'll end up paying more for it.
    - technion 6y ago
      I've had HP refuse to replace a blown power supply because the installed OS wasn't supported. The Ubuntu certification gives the value that you won't get stuck with .. that.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  And a lot of people who need a PC with Linux will get a Dell or a Lenovo and reinstall. As Linux hardware support improves, it gets easier to buy a computer that "just works" with it. 20 years ago it was hit-and-miss. Now you need to actively sabotage yourself to get a computer that doesn't work with Linux.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  > Plus, WSL is now eating the market of linux on PCs. I would like to see evidence for that. People don't track Linux installs on formerly Windows laptops. From my experience, Macs have done a lot more damage to Linux laptops than anything else just by being good laptops with a reasonable Unix on them.
rational_indian 6y ago
> ...sickness and parts shortage...
eythian 6y ago
My totally uninformed opinion is that they haven't, for whatever reason, had the marketing success that some other brands have. I'm aware of ZaReason because I have a laptop from them, but I've rarely seen them mentioned anywhere. The only reason I knew about them to buy one at the time (2012) was because the founder was visiting the company I used to work for (they were attempting to establish a real presence in New Zealand then) and a workmate mentioned it to me as I think I was looking for a new laptop at the time. Based on the statement on their website, it seems that their lineup has been shrinking and tech support has been slowing down. That doesn't suggest that they were in a healthy place, and so I guess it just took one more blow on top of that to knock them out.
- eumoria 6y ago
  Think you're likely correct I'm not directly in the market for a purpose built Linux machine yet I know the name System76. This closure notice is the first time I've heard of ZaReason.
severino 6y ago
Well, I'm a "Linux guy" and I never heard about this company before. It looks like I'm not the only one, so maybe they could have done something more about that.
- weare138 6y ago
  Same here. It's ashamed they're going out of business and I feel for them but at the same time I've been an avid Linux user for a little over 20 years now and unfortunately it's the first time I've heard of them.
stonogo 6y ago
There was never any good reason to buy from them unless you just felt like giving them money. All of their products were just whitelabeled machines from other vendors, available elsewhere cheaper. They did nothing to differentiate their products and almost exclusively targeted wealthy hobbyists (c.f. products like "Gamerbox"). System76 innovates (even if it's just via an Ubuntu respin) and Purism tries to differentiate themselves at the hardware level. EmperorLinux sources hardware from big-name vendors and focuses on software. I am still waiting for the "linux laptop company" to arrive that actually takes advantage of Linux, instead of shoveling consumer-grade products in one-off sales. Where is the company offering 'managed fleet' for business workstations? So far it's just Google doing it with Chromebooks, but with modern devops tools it should be a pretty easy business model.

ChuckNorris89 6y ago

Yes, by PCs you probably mean PCs with Windows have been through the roof. PCs with linux are a super niche market and people in that market usually have different preferred distros(not everyone likes ubuntu) which they know how to install themselves on hardware they can configure themselves so there's not much demand for pre built linux PCs. System 76 is doing OK, but not growing at any crazy rate though. Plus, WSL is now eating the market of linux on PCs.

guenthert 6y ago
All true, still I was glad to find that Ubuntu 'certified' compatibility with the Dell M6800, which gave me the confidence that I could install pretty much any 'desktop' Linux distribution. Likewise a local dealer (CentralComputers) offers servers with "Linux" pre-installed (used to be free, now they charge a modest fee for it) option. I dimly recall that to be RedHat (might have been CentOS), we put Debian on it. Still, it's better than the 'bare-bone' option, as it gives you the confidence that Linux (it's almost exclusively the kernel which matters here after all) will run and that the machine does boot (otherwise not guaranteed with such customized computers).
- ChuckNorris89 6y ago
  >Ubuntu 'certified' compatibility That certification is edging on snakeoil(or dare I say bullshit) at this point. Pretty much any laptop with integrated graphics(no nvidia) and no fancy rare hardware parts will run most distros with a recent kernel perfectly.
  - rbanffy 6y ago
    > Pretty much any laptop with integrated graphics(no nvidia) and no fancy rare hardware parts will run most distros with a recent kernel perfectly. Indeed. You need to try really hard to screw yourself into Linux-incompatible hardware. And you'll end up paying more for it.
  - technion 6y ago
    I've had HP refuse to replace a blown power supply because the installed OS wasn't supported. The Ubuntu certification gives the value that you won't get stuck with .. that.
rbanffy 6y ago
And a lot of people who need a PC with Linux will get a Dell or a Lenovo and reinstall. As Linux hardware support improves, it gets easier to buy a computer that "just works" with it. 20 years ago it was hit-and-miss. Now you need to actively sabotage yourself to get a computer that doesn't work with Linux.
rbanffy 6y ago
> Plus, WSL is now eating the market of linux on PCs. I would like to see evidence for that. People don't track Linux installs on formerly Windows laptops. From my experience, Macs have done a lot more damage to Linux laptops than anything else just by being good laptops with a reasonable Unix on them.

rational_indian 6y ago

> ...sickness and parts shortage...

eythian 6y ago

My totally uninformed opinion is that they haven't, for whatever reason, had the marketing success that some other brands have. I'm aware of ZaReason because I have a laptop from them, but I've rarely seen them mentioned anywhere. The only reason I knew about them to buy one at the time (2012) was because the founder was visiting the company I used to work for (they were attempting to establish a real presence in New Zealand then) and a workmate mentioned it to me as I think I was looking for a new laptop at the time. Based on the statement on their website, it seems that their lineup has been shrinking and tech support has been slowing down. That doesn't suggest that they were in a healthy place, and so I guess it just took one more blow on top of that to knock them out.

eumoria 6y ago
Think you're likely correct I'm not directly in the market for a purpose built Linux machine yet I know the name System76. This closure notice is the first time I've heard of ZaReason.

severino 6y ago

Well, I'm a "Linux guy" and I never heard about this company before. It looks like I'm not the only one, so maybe they could have done something more about that.

weare138 6y ago
Same here. It's ashamed they're going out of business and I feel for them but at the same time I've been an avid Linux user for a little over 20 years now and unfortunately it's the first time I've heard of them.

stonogo 6y ago

There was never any good reason to buy from them unless you just felt like giving them money. All of their products were just whitelabeled machines from other vendors, available elsewhere cheaper. They did nothing to differentiate their products and almost exclusively targeted wealthy hobbyists (c.f. products like "Gamerbox"). System76 innovates (even if it's just via an Ubuntu respin) and Purism tries to differentiate themselves at the hardware level. EmperorLinux sources hardware from big-name vendors and focuses on software. I am still waiting for the "linux laptop company" to arrive that actually takes advantage of Linux, instead of shoveling consumer-grade products in one-off sales. Where is the company offering 'managed fleet' for business workstations? So far it's just Google doing it with Chromebooks, but with modern devops tools it should be a pretty easy business model.