TurboLinux to Sell Wizpy Media Player Worldwide

MsManhattan writes "TurboLinux will attempt to lure Windows users over to the Linux operating system in baby steps this June when it starts selling its Wizpy media player worldwide. The pocket-sized device, which plays audio and video files, is really a Linux carrot of sorts, in that it also allows users to store a complete Linux desktop in its memory. You can plug the Wizpy into a PC's USB port and boot up the Linux system with all its user settings, passwords, bookmarks, etc. It originally launched in Japan, where TurboLinux marketed it to 'early adopters who are curious about using Linux but either don't want to or can't install the operating system.' The company will now target the same crowd around the globe, starting in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, India and Singapore."

Re:any system?

[timmarhy]

omg one isolated example - you totally proved me wrong!

Re:Not really

[ozmanjusri]

Linux doesn't have as complete hardware support as some of the other OSs out there.

Linux has far better hardware support than any other OS out there.

It's extremely rare that you need to install any drivers on any modern distro. Mac supports a very limited hardware set, while Windows needs half a dozen drivers post-install just to get everything working.

In the context of a media player capable of booting from any modern computer, Linux much better placed than other OSs.

Re:Not really

[timmarhy]

"Linux has far better hardware support than any other OS out there. "

bullshit, and you know it. wireless drivers, onboard drivers, 3d accerleration. they all SUCK to install on linux. not to mention specialised stuff like hdtv tuners.

Re:Not really

[sgc2000]

You should really be comparing Feisty with Vista as Feisty is reasonable new unlike XP. When I installed Vista (Intel board, P4) I didn't need to install any extra drivers to get it functioning. I had to install the nVidia drivers if I wanted 3D performance of course and I don't use RAID so I can't comment on that.

Re:I'm waiting for Apple to do this with iPods

[VE3OGG]

Cash cow for how much longer though? iPod/itunes/iPhone/iTV are expected to bring in the cash now.

Well iTunes still doesn't make Apple much money last I heard, the iPhone has yet to be released, so really there is no idea whether it will be a hit or not, only speculation, and the iTV has widely been seen with lackluster (probably one of the reasons Apple is trying to push the iPhone, to cover up for the iTV. The only solid cash Apple is seeing is from the iPod (which is, no doubt, considerable.

Because every schmuck has an iPod and it already has credibility as a quality product. If Apple can make a decent implementation people will buy Macs for the full experience.

I don't think that means what you think it means For Apple to have a qualified product, it would need a helluva lot of drivers written up. I would hazard a guess and say that Apple products (where the drivers are written by Apple and not a third party) have far fewer drivers available than Linux, and even Linux is problematic on hardware. Not to mention, most people are morons when it comes to technology -- if their iPod runs Mac OS X (and think of the sheer number of people that would run it), and it doesn't suck (which I am not convinced of, see: drivers) then there would be no incentive because it doesn't suck. If it did suck, then again there would be no desire to upgrade and it would sully the Apple brand.

Besides, if Apple was going to do something like this, it would be far more beneficial (although stupid, IMHO) to release it as a DVD-install like Windows. To compensate for a lack of Apple hardware, they would probably be charging $150 USD for it -- now figure that if it went the way you are proposing, that would be $150 USD on top of the iPod price, and there is still no guarantee that they'd switch. At least if they are buying the software (and let's face it, most people just take whatever is pre-installed on the system) they might consider buying hardware at the same time.

Two main points

[DrYak]

So the two main points to make wider Linux marketshare are :

- Have system builders that hand-pick components known to work with Linux distros. Both small Linux shops and initiatives from large manufacturers like Dell shipping Ubuntu on some computers will help. If they build machines on which Linux just installs(tm), that will be a nice step forward.

This will be much more creative than bitching whose OS is better for a clean install and throwing personal anecdotes at each other as arguments. (Yes, I know you can find WiFi cards that don't work on Linux out of the box. On the other hand you can also find server that are completely supported in Linux - Chipset, RAID controllers, etc. - whereas under Windows you need to pop several floppy disks just to get the install started. It's just a matter of who selected the hardware and for what purpose)

- Put pressure on the makers of chips used in WiFi, GFX Cards, etc... to release enough specs so the community will be able to write a decent opensource driver.

This is the only possible solution. Keeping a stable ABI or using shims/BLOBs is a fundamentally bad idea. Unless you want to bring Windows' "my printer drivers made the whole system crash" stability to Linux. And accompanying driver portability on anything but x86 architecture (Do I really need to bring the subject of driver availability under Windows XP 64bits edition ?). If the drivers aren't GPLed, drivers produced by manufacturer aren't that much useful.

Always FM, never DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting)

[deragon]

Ugh... Why is it so hard to find DAB devices? I want DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) on my radios along with FM... They still build radios with cassette players, but no DAB. Nobody cares about cassette players anymore but people would love DAB if it was available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_broadca sting [wikipedia.org]
http://www.cab-acr.ca/drri/index.shtm [cab-acr.ca]