System76 Linux Computer Maker Offers a Sneak Peek Into Its New Factory (betanews.com) 110
BrianFagioli shares a report from BetaNews: System76 has long been a Linux computer seller, but recently, it has transitioned into a Linux computer maker. What's the difference, you ask? Well, currently, the company doesn't really make its own computers. System76's laptops, for instance, are made by other manufacturers, which it re-brands as its own. No, System76 doesn't just slap its name on other company's laptops and ship them out the door. Actually, it works closely with the manufacturers, tweaks firmware, and verifies that both Ubuntu and its Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS will work well on the hardware. System76 then offers top-notch support too. In other words, the company isn't just selling a computer, but an experience too. Unfortunately, when you rely on other computer manufacturers, you don't fully control the experience. Ultimately, System76 cannot achieve its true vision without building its own laptops. And so, that is exactly what it is going to do! Yes, System76 will be building and selling the computers right here in the USA (Denver, Colorado to be exact). I mean, when your company supports open source ideology and takes pride in being "Made in America," how can you go wrong?
Many folks in the Linux community are excited to see the fruits of System76's labor, and today, we get a small peek. No, the company isn't sharing any of its computer designs, but it is showing off its new manufacturing facility. In a new blog post by System76 customer service all-star Emma, she shares several photos of the new factory. [T]he space is absolutely massive! It seems System76 has very lofty goals. Exactly when these new computers both designed and manufactured by System76 will become available for purchase is anyone's guess. Quite frankly, based on the System76's blog post, it seems they are still at very early stages. With that said, it will be interesting to see what is born inside that factory in Colorado. The Linux community is anxiously awaiting something special.
Many folks in the Linux community are excited to see the fruits of System76's labor, and today, we get a small peek. No, the company isn't sharing any of its computer designs, but it is showing off its new manufacturing facility. In a new blog post by System76 customer service all-star Emma, she shares several photos of the new factory. [T]he space is absolutely massive! It seems System76 has very lofty goals. Exactly when these new computers both designed and manufactured by System76 will become available for purchase is anyone's guess. Quite frankly, based on the System76's blog post, it seems they are still at very early stages. With that said, it will be interesting to see what is born inside that factory in Colorado. The Linux community is anxiously awaiting something special.
Pop!_OS? (Score:2, Flamebait)
Seriously, "Pop!_OS"? That's the dumbest name I've heard in a while. I suppose the underscore is supposed to look "modern", because random punctuation is what the kids use -- oh wait, that was maybe 20 years ago.
Good fucking grief.
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Seriously, "Pop!_OS"? That's the dumbest name I've heard in a while...
Given how long the *NIX community been embarrassing themselves with build names, this is par for the course, and actually an improvement. At least the name doesn't immediately conjure visions of a development team consisting of 40-year old Bronies running around in Pokemon pajamas speaking Klingon all day.
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Just the name makes me think of advertising rhetoric or some guy in marketing talking about edgy, or throwing buzzwords at something.
Realistically, they should have made a name for the OS that is simple and understandable. Even something like 76OS would be useful.
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Ok, do we have any reason to assume that this is in fact supposed to be pronounced in the Xhosa language?
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Nice ad, comrade.
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This would be six-eight years ago and I'm passing on anecdote rather than having hard proof, but yeah - badge-engineering has long been a thing. Car industry is notorious for it.
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Bang & Olufsen used to have a reputation for simply rebadging Philips TVs. Sure, they used Philips tubes, but that was because Philips was one of the best CRT makers in the business. Everything else was B&O designed and built.
However when it came to plasma TVs in particular, in some cases they literally took a Panasonic plasma display (meant for use with an external control box), glued aluminum trim to the front and supplied their own control box. And charged 5-10x as much for it as the exact same p
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They were also very protective of their design, and refused to license it, or sell tubes to other TV manufacturers.
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I remember the day I was driving my shiny new 2001 Suzuki Vitara and pulled up alongside a Chevy Tracker at a red light. It was the same exact vehicle as mine but with a few different plastic trim pieces, different bumper covers and different wheels. I believe it had a different engine as well, they simply shared the same body and interior trims.
Made in America? (Score:1)
Most likely 'Assembled in an American factory'.
Where do all those parts and software components come from?
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Made in USA, America, as well as Europe or Africa, are continents.
America is not a continent. North America is a continent. The Americas are continents.
As far as North America is concerned, our satellite nations to the north and south can suck this one up. We were the first independent nation in both Americas, Native American sovereignty notwithstanding, and our country is literally named for that fact.
Canada isn't called the Canadian Republic of America. Mexico isn't called the Mexican Republic of America.
It's well established, even over seas, that "America" refers to
Re:Made in America? (Score:4, Insightful)
Most likely 'Assembled in an American factory'.
Where do all those parts and software components come from?
Of course they're getting their active and passive components from the same places everyone else does who builds to that architecture. If they do it right, building the motherboards and assembling/testing the units in the US will make possible a much tighter quality control and inspection process and greater feature-flexibility.
Naturally, the 'holy grail' relating in large part to security, openness, and freedom in the manufacturing of personal computers is making your own CPUs/GPUs/etc etc, but that takes enormous capital and R&D, not to mention overcoming huge regulatory and legal hurdles and burdens.
In today's US economic/taxation/financial/environmental landscape and regulatory environment an Intel, AMD, or even a MS or Apple could not make a successful start. The big players use the government's powers to pull up the ladder after themselves through laws, Acts, and regulations. That's a danger anytime the government is allowed to broaden it powers & scope, and extend it's control into more markets and technologies.
Strat
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If I wanted a laptop from the ground up for Linux, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a few millimeters of thickness for some useful features:
1: A rugged aluminum chassis with hard anodizing so it doesn't scratch if looked it.
2: Everything replaceable as much as possible, RAM, SSD, HDD, etc.
3: USB-C charging ability in and out.
4: Five year warranty.
5: OPAL, or other hardware encrypting SSD.
6: More than USB-C ports. A SD card, regular USB-A port, and even a combination USB/e-SATA port would be highly useful.
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I would buy that laptop.
But you have to understand that the goal of capital today is not to provide what people want, it's to make them want what only you can provide.
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1: A rugged aluminum chassis with hard anodizing so it doesn't scratch if looked it.
2: Everything replaceable as much as possible, RAM, SSD, HDD, etc.
3: USB-C charging ability in and out.
4: Five year warranty.
5: OPAL, or other hardware encrypting SSD.
6: More than USB-C ports. A SD card, regular USB-A port, and even a combination USB/e-SATA port would be highly useful.
7: A Kensington lock slot, even if it done XJack style and slides out, or even better cleverly designed like the old Thinkpads to prevent the machine from being opened if it is in use.
8. All data ports, jacks, slots, and the like are disabled at the hardware level when the laptop is in sleep mode, logged out, placed into 'secure mode',etc, and cannot be enabled nor accessed unless the correct password is entered to unlock the machine (customizable to enable leaving the machine running closed and sending data,, audio/video, etc, if desired).
As long as we're making a list of important features that would be great to have on a laptop, there's the next item I thought belonged on that list.
St
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Most likely 'Assembled in an American factory'.
Where do all those parts and software components come from?
Of course they're getting their active and passive components from the same places everyone else does who builds to that architecture. If they do it right, building the motherboards and assembling/testing the units in the US will make possible a much tighter quality control and inspection process and greater feature-flexibility.
Naturally, the 'holy grail' relating in large part to security, openness, and freedom in the manufacturing of personal computers is making your own CPUs/GPUs/etc etc, but that takes enormous capital and R&D, not to mention overcoming huge regulatory and legal hurdles and burdens.
In today's US economic/taxation/financial/environmental landscape and regulatory environment an Intel, AMD, or even a MS or Apple could not make a successful start. The big players use the government's powers to pull up the ladder after themselves through laws, Acts, and regulations. That's a danger anytime the government is allowed to broaden it powers & scope, and extend it's control into more markets and technologies.
Strat
The benefit they have is in purchasing power. We pay retail to Amazon, Newegg, etc. They purchase items at the same prices as the mentioned resellers.
And it is always easy to beat BB's prices.
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I once toured an American factory for specialized communication equipment. They were proudly stating that all their products were made in America, but I couldn't take my eyes off the giant MADE IN CHINA emblazoned on the PCBs the workers were soldering things to.
I understand what they mean by Made in America, but China was pretty brilliant to get that stamp on the largest internal piece of hardware.
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Exactly.
And it's not their entire lineup, either. It's just the desktops that are being "made in America". The laptops are, and still will be, OEM designs that System76 buys from companies like Quanta and such and simply put their badge on it.
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I'm fine with my laptop screen being whatever aspect ratio that my keyboard happens to be. I'd rather have a compact laptop that opens up in an airline seat or on a train than an ultra thin laptop that doesn't fit into a small bag.
Made in America (Score:4, Insightful)
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I can think of one thing: They can sell the info they gather. The Chinese may not use the info, but it can be sold to those who would, and those people could be crazy ex-es, or anyone. Even terrorist groups looking for the best places to cause destruction.
Of course, industrial espionage is a thing too.
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What does the license of of the software have to do with what the software does?
Heck if I wanted to spy on somewhere a Linux System that comes preinstalled would be a good spot for this.
I have the source code, I can embed the spyware in a vital process (perhaps directly in the kernel itself) compile it and give the executable to be part of the base install. Sure GNU says that you should release the source for all your changes, but if you are going to spy on someone illegally, would the GPL really stop you?
Re: Please do it right!! (Score:2)
Kind of difficult. A lot of what you want is dependent on the motherboard which is linked to the CPU. So basically Intel.
It's not a technical issue. You could always drop in an extra chip as middleware or get a custom motherboard. But the problem is that you are now the deviation. Your materials, assembly, and support costs will reflect that.
The laptop is a commodities market. So any cost deviation from market is a no starter.
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How many of these ports do you really use? If you are using all of them why don't you save some money and get a desktop?
You can get laptops with all this stuff, but they are big and bulky, and for the most part are not currently popular enough for most mainstream company to sell.
These ports take up space, and they use power even if not being used. Many of these buttons and switches are not hard cutoff items, but asks the OS if it ok to turn this off now. Relying on extra divers to support it.
Re: Please do it right!! (Score:2)
Yes and no. A decade ago now I had the idea that you can for example detect if a cable is plugged in to the ethernet port with a microswitch at the back of the socket that is closed when you physically plug the cable in. No physical cable plugged in, power down the ethernet. You could do something similar for other sockets too, certainly USB both type A and C, as well as SD cards. What other ports do you actually need?
Durability (Score:2)
Re:Durability (Score:5, Informative)
Delivery:
Arrived about 2 weeks after purchase.
Boxed fine.
SW:
It got stuck during installation, I had to hard reset.
Other than that it is typical Ubuntu. (I didn't get pop os)
HW:
Looks stylish
Plastic is flimsy, feels cheap and light.
I did my duty to Linux community and donated money to the cause. I will not buy again, I do not recommend either. I'd rather but another gaming laptop and install ubuntu myself.
I wouldn't write this comment but I am seeing so many ads and "good things" about System76, I had to get it out of me.
Re:Durability (Score:5, Informative)
I bought a Gazelle some 4-5 years ago - it has a 4000 series i7 inside and no dedicated graphics card.
I've installed Fedora and Ubuntu on it, I've run virtual machines, I've developed code, built stuff in Unity 3D, played a handful of games (on lower settings). Overall it has been a very solid laptop and I've not had any problems with it. The battery doesn't live like it used to, but that's always the case over years of use and abuse.
The plastic of the Clevo-built laptop does feel a bit flimsy, but I've never had anything break or crack. The screen still looks crisp and sharp. I've had HP, Toshiba and Dell laptops that basically self-destruct after 2-3 years. Overall, I'd buy System76 again, though next time around I'd get a dedicated graphics card built-in. Intel just doesn't have their act together when it comes to pushing polygons.
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The problem with System76's systems are not that some parts get manufactured by Clevo as Clevo manufacturers for EVERYONE. People who are saying System76 is just re-branding are mentally challenged, but the truth is System76 isn't competent to do what needs to be done to put out a line-up of systems that can be properly supported. System76 doesn't need to design a case- which is all this is actually amounting to from what I've heard. They're not actually doing anything of significance here. With Clevo you c
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I'd rather but another gaming laptop and install ubuntu myself.
Which gaming laptop?
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I'll stick up for System76 on this one. You say Gazelle, which is only slightly beefier than the ultra portable Galago. You can't complain about 'flimsy cheap and light' on what is essentially a low end laptop with crappy CPU run integrated video. I've had their other laptops and they are fantastic build quality.
You then complain about getting a gaming laptop and doing it all yourself - here is an idea - don't compare a 1700 gaming laptop to an ultra portable. Even the Oryx isn't the mightiest gaming lap
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Consequently, I'm hoping for great things from this factory. I'll keep an eye on it, but
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They are re-branded Clevo systems - so Sager, Eurocom, Xotic, MALIBAL, ProStar are all clevo resellers.
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I had that feeling when I got this all-plastic Toshiba Satellite. It replaced an old Sony Vaio that had a metal case. The Toshiba feels "soft", I'll grant, but it has been very reliable. Knock on ... plastic.
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Survivorship bias. The Macbooks may have dented edges, but the plastic laptops have cracked and have been taken out of circulation. You see the dented MBPs because they survived being dropped on the concrete floor by clumsy TSA agents ( /me examines dent on current MBP...).
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: Doesn't jump between network settings as easily as the MBP and only has about two hours of battery life.
Woah.
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Nice. (Score:1)
Custom built hardware for a thankful niche audience. I like it. System76 has been doing some neat stuff in the Linux Hardware Camp and I wish them well with their new endeavor.
Slashvertisement (Score:1)
Wow, this story seems like nothing more than an ad, especially the writing style. It's like one of those infomercials that pretends to be a news broadcast with a skeptical reporter. How unprofessional.
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Ad, not news (Score:4, Insightful)
"In other words, the company isn't just selling a computer, but an experience too." ...seriously?
"how can you go wrong"
"customer service all-star"
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Thanks for explaining that to us. We are all enlightened by your analysis. :P
More to the point, somebody has been buying computers from System76. They've been in business for years, and they only seem to keep getting bigger.
Not worth it (Score:1)
I don't use Linux exclusively I tend to stick with Windows. But seriously, the custom Linux PC's seem really over priced when you factor in the OS is free and there is no licensing fee. Most people I know buy a inexpensive Windows PC that is spec'd out to run a Linux desktop OS and simply goes that route. That System 76 Pop OS is the dumbest ideal yet in Linux desktops. Its a knee jerk reaction to Ubuntu going back to Gnome 3 from Unity and Pop OS is so not what most want in a Linux desktop.
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I looked at their models and comparing their Oryx Pro with the Dell XPS
You can configure a much more powerful system with the System 76 (Faster SSD) and way more storage options. And still be in the same Price range with the Dell. Windows License cost for most of these systems are often the least of the concerns.
In general if I find a system that is well supported by Linux distributions, they also run very well on Windows Systems. Mostly due to hardware makers making drivers for windows first then for linu
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Depends on how much research you're willing to do / capable of doing and how much you value the research time at, and how willing you are to still end up making a mistake. I run Linux exclusively but have always bought cheap Windows PCs to do so. Several times that's come back to bite me with hardware that has no driver, or for which the driver disappears after a time. For example I got a netbook with an Intel graphics chip because I read Intel was the only company with open source 3D drivers at the time...
A long way to go (Score:2)
What I saw was open floor space and some tables- small for a "computer factory" tiny if it is also to include warehouse space. A factory requires a massive amount of infrastructure and capital investment. If they are also taking more development on, the amount of test space is significant as well. Commercial rent is not cheap in Denver, nor is the cost of living- I live in Austin, TX- relatively expensive for Texas, and Denver is about 10% higher than here. This is the type of move they need to grow, I'm su
Customer Service All-Star (Score:2)
Yes, another Linux custom distro! (Score:3)
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If they had gone with Fedora and/or CentOS they could have nabbed a slice of the business market. I have nothing against Ubuntu at all, but TPTB in IT shops will go with RedHat based distros more often than not when purposely ordering something for Linux use.
Not that the OS that comes on it has much bearing. It was quite satisfying the other day taking a brand new server the other day and wiping out the preinstalled Server 2016 to install RHEL 7.
ubuntu (Score:2)
pity it's ubuntu and not debian