Small PC Distributor to Stick with Ubuntu

[nu2rage]

Fellow Ubuntu users,

I am new to the Ubuntu forums and own a small IT firm and love the Ubuntu platform and philosophy. I like using it and it provides a logical solution for the licensing of OS's. I've seen companies try this in the past with older flavors of Linux, however I feel that Ubuntu is a new animal.

I just wanted to get some community input (pitfalls, encouragement) before proceeding. I know that many users that can move themselves over to Ubuntu can probably handle the hardware as well, so I figure my target would be your more basic PC user (internet, email, games, wordprocesser)

Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks,
www.netrage.org

[wandalalakers]

As far as the (internet, email, games, wordprocesser), I use Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice. I don't play any games with Ubuntu. I say go for it. You will save a lot of money, and not have to deal with viruses and spyware. It's also updated every six months. You can can also use Ubuntu as a windows emergency CD or DVD. Can Micro$oft say that? H no!

[tvtech]

pitfalls- user acceptance and learning curve. While most of the programs are similar and comparable they are not comparable to MS's newest releases. Open office 3.1 is a great office suite and definitely an equal to msoffice 2003 but it's at least 2-3 release cycles behind ms office 2007.

pros- most other common software is the same, you'll use pidgin or kopete instead of aim icq msn yahoo et al. Thunderbird works well, however I like either kmail or evolution better. Evolution is the closest to ms outlook IMO. fire fox is fully supported. NO virus's ever for any reason. seriously, even mac can't say that! but if your paranoid. There is free anti-virus software from AVG. You've got 4-5 major window managers you can choose from 3 fully supported by Ubuntu to add a POP that windows definitely doesn't have KDE/Gnome/XFCE the other being Enlightenment/fluxbox/blackbox

cons- you'll have to teach new non technical users how to use some of this alternative software. It's similar but it's not the same. It does the same things often but usually differently. I would compare it to bringing someone from windows to a mac without the price tag. You've got to be careful with what hardware your going to use, some of it really isn't supported well. Make sure you do your research on hardware configs before implementing! playing DVDs/CDS/MP3s needs to be licensed in the USA Ubuntu sells bulk rate licensing for this.

I would recommend adding it, as a low end net ready college desktop/laptop. Or for people that just want a dirt cheep computer you can cut at least a few hundred off the price by dumping the licensing costs. It's really easy to implement images once you've got a system fully configured. You can just move the disk image over to all your other systems. If your more technically savy you can even customize your kernel to the hardware you sell for lightning fast boot times and a little extra WOW factor. Best part ITS FREE!

around me - I've been trying to convince my 3-4 local computer stores that they need to sell low end Nix boxes. Just 1-2 for display To give people a cost comparison. At the very least they could advertise on their online stores and those "curious" near geeks would find them online and go check it out physically.

[nu2rage]

Thanks, I agree completely! I think in this economy that low cost alternative for students needs to be in place in retail shops. I appreciate the input and assistance as I do want to put my company's name behind this OS. We just need to get folks to put their hands on the machines I feel many of the lay users would hit facebook, yahoo, google, and print out an openoffice.org doc and be good to go! Does any one else have some input on this?

R.Smith
www.netrage.org
www.ubuntu-rage.blogspot.com
__________________________________________________ _____

AMD Duron 1.1 Ghz, 2GB Memory, NVidia Video - Up and running great!

[wandalalakers]

How about this?
Install Ubuntu on one pc and Kubuntu on the other one for your employees to test drive.
This way they can see what it's like.
Go ahead and install it on the hard drive.
Make sure you install all the good programs, including some gnome/kde games and some awesome screensavers.
If you use install kubuntu on one, make sure it has k3b and amarok.

[nu2rage]

I've heard a little bit about Kubuntu. That is the educational version of Ubuntu, right? What advantages does that offer for the student?

R.Smith
www.netrage.org (http://www.netrage.org/)
www.ubuntu-rage.blogspot.com (http://www.ubuntu-rage.blogspot.com/)
__________________________________________________ _____

AMD Duron 1.1 Ghz, 2GB Memory, NVidia Video - Up and running great!

[betrunkenaffe]

I think that's Edubuntu..

Kubuntu is the KDE graphical front end instead of Gnome.

[juancarlospaco]

If you some day start selling on Argentina, talk to me :)
Congratulations...

[disabledaccount01]

Message removed by author.

[monsterstack]

I only have obvious tidbits of advice. Take advantage of the lack of licensing costs. Make sure the hardware is sound. Don't dupe your customers into thinking Linux is just like Windows. Provide support. I wish you the best of luck. Linux needs more people like you. :)

[SunnyRabbiera]

Open office 3.1 is a great office suite and definitely an equal to msoffice 2003 but it's at least 2-3 release cycles behind ms office 2007.

Right, the ribbon is such a great technology :rolleyes:

[nu2rage]

Thanks for the support guys!

I've decided to start off with laptops (they seem to be easier to move). I'll be bringing in some prototypes. Are there any more commonly known issues with certain hardware vendors I should know about? Here is the prospective hardware scheme.


VIA C7-M 1.2 GHz Ultra Low Voltage Processor
VIA VX700 Northbridge / Southbridge chipset
512 MB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM (1 GB maximum supported)
30 GB hard drive
VIA UniChrome Pro IGP graphics
Built-in Webcam
VIA VT1708A Vinyl High-Definition Audio Codec with built-in speakers
Realtek 8100C 10/100 Base-TX Ethernet
Realtek 802.11b/g Wireless Network Adapter
TouchPad
7-inch WVGA Widescreen Display (800 x 480 native resolution)
Built-in 4-in-1 Card Reader

What do you guys think?

R. Smith
www.netrage.org
www.ubuntu-rage.blogspot.com