Re: [school-discuss] Knoppix vs. Freeduc vs. ???

[Massimiliano Mirra <mmirra@libero.it>]

ian <ian.lynch2@ntlworld.com> writes:

> We are not as big as Dell ;-) But we build PCs and I have been thinking
> of advertising pre-installed Linux. The difficulty is that advertising
> is expensive and for a small company like us I'm not sure its going to
> be cost-effective and a mistake in this line could put us out of
> business. 

How about offering the usual machine with an already partitioned hard
disk, and giving out a Knoppix CD with it?  Or dual boot machines with
Linux as the system which boots by default?  Even without advertising,
Linux would end up being booted more often than Windows, both because
it's default and because it features hundreds more programs than a
bare Windows installation.  And it might help you build the experience
about customers' response that you will need in an ad campaign.

> Maybe we should start offering low cost PCs to parents through the
> schools.  Anyone any thoughts on this?

Definitely a good idea.  When something is (or appears like) a
requirement from an external entity, most people seem to shut down any
judgement capability about whether it's good or it's bad, since it's
required anyway.  So they might as well be offered something good for
change!

Whatever your choice, I wish you the best luck.