Supposedly System76 has some extra bios and driver magic to fix some things. I am not sure how true it is. I am very curious though, not sure what to get for my next ubuntu laptop. (Done with macs, need 64GB ram in next laptop).
Not sure what this is, but the note "All financing prices are based on the advertised price at 10% APR paid over 12 months" makes one suspect it's not cheap.
They make preinstalled Linux systems. From a cursory glance, they look reasonably nice and the prices aren't crazy (although my perception of 'non-crazy price' may differ from that of a U.S.-ian.)
How big is the market for pre-installed Linux systems? I would buy one if they had decent distro selection. Being based in China I wonder if I should start an assembly shop for export. Custom-designed server business also appeals... but too high churn on parts to be possible as a now-and-then business.
I don't know - the fact that this is the only manufacturer I know of that specialises in them would indicate it's not huge, and the kind of people that run Linux are the kind of people that generally want to build their own computers.
If you're thinking of starting one, I would say absolutely avoid the desktop market. We can already build our own custom Linux boxes. What we can't build is a solid, reliable, well integrated high-end laptop. With the MacBook Pro continuing its fall from grace as the go-to developer machine, I'd expect you'd find a ready-made passionate (if niche) market.
Mainland Chinese RRP for bottom spec (1TB/8GB) Dell XPS15 = 9,999? = USD$1,445 = EUR1,368. Might get a volume discount. Add your preferred Linux distro, test and ship internationally, say USD$1600 or EUR$1500 (plus optional rush shipping), would anyone buy it? US prices are already at USD$1,450. Sounds like zero margin, bad business.
I'm not in the market for a laptop right now, but if I was, the kind of company that distributes Infocom-style feelies with their laptops definitely gets bonus points.
Especially because the feelies actually work.
Seriously, software/hardware companies, bring back Feelies! Even if they're only digital. Bonus if they actually have a purpose in-game (Zachtronics gets a gold star for their Shenzhen IO and TIS-100 manuals. Those things are works of art).
I hope this style of advertisement becomes the next generation of the age-old "I MUST BE CRAZY TO BE OFFERING THESE DEALS" that car salesmen have made popular.
"OUR ROBOTS ARE MALFUNCTIONING AND OFFERING CUHRAAAAZY DEALS"
I've got a recently purchased System 76 Gazelle. I'd like to say nice things about it. It has good system software, and not a bad display. That's about it. The case build quality is way below what it needs to be at the price point, and the touchpad is probably the flimsiest thing I've ever seen on a laptop. The keyboard is also horrible. I would not purchase another one. Instead I would go for a Thinkpad or a Dell and deal with the system setup myself. So while I appreciate the creativity of this campaign, I'd really rather they put their efforts into building a machine that can actually compete on quality.
I love what these guys are doing in general, and I really want to support them, but the industrial design of these machines is so almost literally 2005.
One of their guys was on the Linux Unplugged podcast this week talking about the 4K ORYX and getting canonical to tweak the 4K support (which was needed, in unity it was a bit wonky)
They seem to have good offerings if you want a big desktop replacement but their thin and light (eg lemur) look dreadful.
I hope they can manage to source something a little nicer on the portable end.
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