[Tfug] 2 weeks of Hackintosh fun..

[Claude Rubinson]

Whoa there!  Slow down Cowboy!  I reckon to get whiplash from watching
all your fancy dancing there!  Let's me try to get clear on all this:

On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 01:13:22PM -0800, Bexley Hall wrote:
> Don't be silly.  The argument hasn't changed.  Unlike folks here
> who might rescue older hardware, *most* people using computers
> are using machines that were purchased in the last three years.
> The average age probably being closer to 2 years or less.

So the problem is people using relatively-new hardware?

> Those folks aren't looking for drivers for an EXOS 205; instead,
> they want the *photo*-quality printer that they just bought to work
> correctly (and not show orange skin tones, etc.)

So the problem is people who aren't willing to take the time to learn
how to read a model number?

> (remember, we're talking about *most* people... those same types
> who replace their computer with each new MS cycle).

So the problem is people who are using out-of-date software?  (My
computer's software gets updated nearly every day).

> The hardware in those machines will tend to be less supported
> than hardware in older machines -- because the driver developers
> haven't even *seen* the hardware that's in them let alone had
> the time to reverse engineer it and develop a *reliable* driver for
> it.

So the problem is the Linux driver development process?

> And, given the commodity nature of this business, the only real
> edge vendors have over their competitors is if they can do something
> better/cheaper/different than others.  You obviously don't
> willingly disclose those "tricks" to your competitors else
> they'll be producing clones of your product and selling them
> for less than you can *make* them!
>
> E.g., for the longest time, QLogic wouldn't divulge any of the details
> of how their SCSI controllers worked.  Sure, they missed out on the
> FOSS OS market -- but, I don't think they lost any sleep over it!  :>

So the problem is the small profit margins on hardware sales?

> What percentage of the available laptops will distro X run on
> "out of the box" and *completely* support the available hardware
> on that laptop (why pay for hardware that you aren't using?)?
> Sure, given time, the drivers will (hopefully) catch up to the
> hardware.  But, then my hardware is out of date, etc.

So the problem is retailers selling Linux preloaded without ensuring
that all of the hardware is working?

> Great!  Now you just need to convince the kernel developers that
> they should start designing and manufacturing computers -- at
> competitive prices -- so you can buy the (state of the art) machine
> that everyone else can buy today!  :)

So the problem is that nobody's building machines designed for Linux?

> And exactly how many of those vendors have gone out of business
> *or* changed their policies to support Linux, for example, as a
> result of your actions?

So the problem is that the Linux-user community isn't large enough to
affect marketing decisions?

> Works *great* -- as long as they don't have anything that you
> can't get elsewhere (for the same competitive price/quality)!

So the problem is monopolies?

The problem must be me: I'm still confused!

C.