Tux500 and Dell

Story: Open Letter to DELLTotal Replies: 34
Author Content
Aladdin_Sane

May 03, 2007
3:33 PM EDT
Very cool, NoDough. I actually thought of this the other night, but decided it was not worth posting about.

1) helios has "a problem" with Dell, which I have yet to fully comprehend.

2) Dell has a problem with giving money to Linux: Look at the LPI sponsors, the Linux Foundation sponsors, look at whose names are dropped in articles about Linux/FOSS. FOSS events (LinuxWorld, etc.) often list major OEM's as sponsors, but not Dell.

It is always IBM/HP, but never Dell.

I've pointed that out internally at Dell before; they don't see the problem.

You're absolutely right, Tux500 is the right sponsorship at the right time, for Dell. I doubt they'll accept, they see most of $350,000 that is still needed as an expense, not as an opportunity, I think.

Further, if they made a significant donation, they'd want Dell Linux advertised, not Linux per se, as is the plan I understand.

Dell has a history of destroying community projects, notably the once-free museum at https://www.austincomputerworks.org/museum/index.html is now not on the web as it once was, and limited to certain hours, when it once was not (I was the museum maintainer briefly in 1999 pre-Dell). Austinites have expressed their disgust at Dell's takeover of Goodwill's ad-hoc project.
jimf

May 03, 2007
3:37 PM EDT
> Dell has a history

I think that's a good enough reason for helios, or anyone else, to 'have a problem' with Dell.
henke54

May 03, 2007
3:45 PM EDT
at least they have a linux-forum ;-P : http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board?board.id=sw...
Libervis

May 03, 2007
3:46 PM EDT
Well, maybe Dell could regain some good karma in this respect by sponsoring Tux500. I really like the idea. If Dell gives enough to complete 350 000 needed then I'm sure their own ad can be displayed along side Tux on the vehicle. :)

I hope they consider this seriously.
devnet

May 03, 2007
4:22 PM EDT
I think it would be a good idea as well...would give them immediate credibility that they want to help out and do things right.
Scott_Ruecker

May 03, 2007
5:47 PM EDT
The gentleman I met at the Dell booth at SCaLE 5x I have repeatedly e-mailed asking for an opportunity to interview someone, anyone at Dell concerning Open Source and Linux.

I have yet to get that opportunity.

I would think that participating in an interview with me and it being posted here at LXer would go at the very least, a little way towards getting some credibility for Dell in that regard.
flufferbeer

May 03, 2007
7:10 PM EDT
One would think that the "encouragement" required for Dell to help sponsor the Tux500 would necessarily have to happen *VERY SOON*, say, within the next 2 1/2 weeks!!!? Sponsorship of the Tux500 currently stands at about $11K toward the $350K goal with 2 1/2 weeks to go :|
VincentCorleone

May 04, 2007
12:44 AM EDT
Thx for this business Blog Post from Acceleration Marketing
helios

May 04, 2007
2:09 AM EDT
Is there a direct link to that?
henke54

May 04, 2007
2:18 AM EDT
>Is there a direct link to that?

maybe you'll find it here : http://penguinpetes.com/b2evo/index.php?title=tux500_news_hi...
helios

May 04, 2007
4:16 AM EDT
Forbidden You don't have permission to access /b2evo/index.php on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Apache/1.3.37 Server at penguinpetes.com Port 80
Sander_Marechal

May 04, 2007
4:44 AM EDT
Try http://penguinpetes.com/b2evo/index.php?p=290&more=1&c=1&tb=...
NoDough

May 04, 2007
5:20 AM EDT
Apparently, PP has blocked referrals from this site. Copy the link location into the clipboard, open a new browser tab, paste the link in, and click go. It pops right up.

(edit)

By the way, the post by VincentCorleone is a fake. Vincent Corleone was one of the Don's in the Godfather movies. This is just my opinion, but I would guess that PP created the username to snipe this thread.
jdixon

May 04, 2007
5:42 AM EDT
> Apparently, PP has blocked referrals from this site.

I think that's a perfect example of Penguin Pete's credibility for you. He takes advantage of LXer's open policies to post here, but won't let LXer link to him. That pretty much says everything you need to know.
henke54

May 04, 2007
5:59 AM EDT
> Apparently, PP has blocked referrals from this site.

maybe because of this quote from him :
Quoting:UPDATE: OK, I'm closing comments because of devnet, I'm getting spam faster than I can delete it.
http://penguinpetes.com
devnet

May 04, 2007
6:30 AM EDT
Yep...evidently I was spamming him from my government websense blocked job that I work 45 hours a week at...see, I have nothing better to do than that. I don't have any projects at all with open source like getting http://www.pclinuxos.com back up and running and redesigning their website. I have no projects like technical writing for http://www.pclinuxos.com. None like http://mag.mypclinuxos.com PCLinuxOS Magazine. Nothing like all those active projects on http://mypclinuxos.com. None. Hell, I don't even need to mess around with my 9 year old son...afterall, he doesn't need me. Spamming and obsessing on everything Penguin Pete does strikes me as the best use of my time...forget the family, to hell with the job, and be damned all ye projects!

:)
dinotrac

May 04, 2007
7:14 AM EDT
devnet -

Glad to see you are setting aside work, family, outside interests, and, in all likelihood, sleep to spam PP. I hate to see the unimportant impede those things that truly matter.
VincentCorleone

May 04, 2007
7:28 AM EDT
Sorry Guys,

my Name is Vincent Carlos Corleone. Its a usual name where i come from. And i am not Pete. Just for info.

Greetings

Vince
NoDough

May 04, 2007
7:43 AM EDT
Thanks for clarifying, Vince.

Sorry to have doubted you.

Can you expound on what you meant by the following...

Quoting:Thx for this business Blog Post from Acceleration Marketing
tuxchick

May 04, 2007
8:37 AM EDT
"Thx for this business Blog Post from Acceleration Marketing"

wow, how could anyone mistake that for a spam?
dcparris

May 04, 2007
9:07 AM EDT
I'm curious about the reference myself.
tracyanne

May 04, 2007
2:23 PM EDT
I think PP is useless drongo, who rorts the system to suit himself. He's been trying to white ant the Tux500 project from the get go, and I think that to some extent he has succeeded, unfortunately.
jdixon

May 04, 2007
5:09 PM EDT
> ... white ant ...

That's a new one to me. Is that Oz speak or a general Britishism?
tracyanne

May 04, 2007
5:13 PM EDT
White ants tend to eat trees or house stumps from the inside out, until all that's left is a shell.
jimf

May 04, 2007
5:53 PM EDT
White ants = termites over here.
jdixon

May 04, 2007
6:44 PM EDT
> White ants = termites

Ah. That makes sense. Thanks.
tracyanne

May 04, 2007
11:41 PM EDT
Yeah but it sounds better when you accuse some one of "white anting"
Aladdin_Sane

May 05, 2007
4:08 PM EDT
> The gentleman I met at the Dell booth at SCaLE 5x I have repeatedly e-mailed asking for an opportunity to interview someone, anyone at Dell concerning Open Source and Linux.

Scott_Ruecker: I'm curious about this. I did not know that Dell had a booth there, but I figured that follow-ups would be forwarded to "appropriate department" for action.

It seems at LXer there is a way to get Dell to respond "officially" as DC has just shown.

Me, I'd try using the links at http://direct2dell.com/.

Sometimes it seems to me like job searching: Pestering and poking sticks into enough holes until a response comes.
hkwint

May 06, 2007
7:52 AM EDT
IMHO, Dell can't say anything about Linux because that would make Microsoft angry. It seems Microsoft tells Dell what they are allowed to answer and what not. That's why IBM and HP are sponsoring Linux, and Dell not: Sponsoring it will lose them more money from Microsoft than it will gain them from Linux-users, they gamble.
Scott_Ruecker

May 06, 2007
8:00 AM EDT
I have to agree hkwint.

I think that for all the noise they are making it is just that, Noise. Nothing real or substantial that they have to stand behind and they can still walk away from the whole thing without losing face with M$.
kozmcrae

May 06, 2007
9:19 AM EDT
Of course the final twist of the bayonet from Dell would be some kind of patent infringement deal with Microsoft. I really want to see Dell selling Linux computers to the general public, but until that's going along smoothly for a few months I'm holding my breath.

As far as Dell helping out with Tux500, I would rather not see any corporate support. I would rather not be beholden to any corporation for the success of Linux. That could only lead to trouble down the road. Having said that I know IBM and Red Hat have done a great deal toward helping Linux get a towhold in the public mind. But I think the community, in some fashion, needs to present themselves to the public as a united entity, sans corporate identity, so that they have something to latch onto when they hear to word Linux. The concept of Linux and Open Source is nearly impossible for the mind of John Q. to grasp.
Scott_Ruecker

May 06, 2007
9:32 AM EDT
Quoting:The concept of Linux and Open Source is nearly impossible for the mind of John Q. to grasp.


Unfortunately you are right. Members of my own family have a hard time understanding that "Linux" is not a company but that companies and individuals use it.

I have spent way too much time trying to explain that one..
helios

May 06, 2007
9:40 AM EDT
Darn. I don't want to start a new thread and this one is already so long. I hope it isn't buried. this is a good idea and if anyone besides me will take it and run with it, I would appreciate it. Dell has already notified us that they will not be participating in this effort. That's fine...they could change their mind but I doubt it. some mararkey about restrictive budgeting. BUT...

If you look to the right and half a page up, there is a comprehensive list of computer manufacturers that offer linux machines pre-loaded. Now, if those people were lobbied heavily...Know what I mean jelly bean.....

There's a bunch of em. You think they would all say no? I could use some help there. Email me if you have some time.

h
kozmcrae

May 06, 2007
8:36 PM EDT
Dell twists bayonet, and grins.

I hate it when I'm right, the DRBs.

Link: http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6476999&nav=menu484_2
helios

May 07, 2007
1:41 AM EDT
My Friend Rich Chapman sent me this in the wee hours. A scant 4 hours ago it seems and I have been pondering the ramifications since. None of them have a positive or good outcome for this community. I said it in the thread started on the LXer posted article itself. And yes kozmcrae, what a true case of prophetic posting. MS is not going to allow Dell to offer Linux without standing over them and watching every move. This is a move with any cooperation by dell I believe to be the result of back-room coercion. In fact...never mind. Not now.

If MS is going to follow their playbook, the next move they make will send ripples of outrage through this community with an intensity never before seen.

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