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Showing posts from January, 2008

Is Windows REALLY cheaper than Linux?

I have seen a lot of ads and opinion columns lately that talk about mainstream computer companies selling Linux powered systems. For instance, Dell sells Ubuntu and Lenovo sells SUSE. What is staggering to me is the price. The Dell laptop sells for $45 less than the same Dell laptop selling Vista. The Lenovo, according to this news article , sells for only $20 less. So the question is: Would the average Windows consumer want to save a few dollars and [perhaps] have a frustrating experience with Linux? Would the money saved be worth it if one had to learn a completely different OS (Operating System)? Obviously, the answer would be a definite, 'No'. But is this really the case? Is there really only a few dollars difference between these systems and user experiences? To answer that, let's look a little deeper and see if we can make an educated decision. I will focus on the Dell systems that sell Vista or Ubuntu.First, the hardware is exactly the same. I custom con