BT bundles MS Office with Linux laptop This week's award for the Most Astutely Selected Software Bundle goes to BT after the teleco tried to hook potential purchasers of Asus' Linux-running Eee PC 900 by offering to ship it with a copy of Microsoft Office. BT is offering the 20GB 900 for £335.99, but if anyone out there is willing to buy it for £422.34, the telco …
To be fair to Dabs, the Pinnacle USB DVB-T devices work under linux as well, so it's not really as stupid as it sounds. They just can't claim linux compatibility because the manufacturer doesn't claim it either (linux drivers were created without their help.)
Why shipping a DVB-T tuner with an Eee is possibly a little stupid is the lack of storage space on the thing, you might get away with running MythTV on it's low spec but you'd not be able to record very much. DVB-T runs at 1-2Gb+ per hour of video.
So, disregarding the fact they're shipping software that won't even work on the machine it's bundled with (no doubt a ploy to get millions of calls to their premium rate helpline), they're charging £86.35 for MS H&S Office. Yet you can get it on eBuyer for £84.79 inc free delivery. Even Nerd World is only charging a couple of quid more for it.
Nice one, Beattie.
I thought the same, but as far as I know Crossover Office doesn't work too well with .Net applications, including more recent versions of Office. Microsoft Office 2007, which is what is shown in the picture, is "known not to work" according to Codeweaver's compatibility chart.
Back in the mid-90's I worked at a place I will only refer to as "Chinaman Joe's PC Emporium" to protect the guilty. The jelly-brained owner decided to make a CD of the "best" OS/2 shareware and called it "OS/2 Fever". The CD cover also said "Forget about Windows, use OS/2!" This would have been fine if it wasn't for the Windows compatible logo on the cover and the fact that it depended on running a DOS batch file to start a 16 bit Windows installation/menu program to install the OS/2 software.
Paris, because she's 3 times smarter than my old boss. And better looking.
"To be fair to Dabs, the Pinnacle USB DVB-T devices work under linux as well, so it's not really as stupid as it sounds. They just can't claim linux compatibility because the manufacturer doesn't claim it either (linux drivers were created without their help.)"
Since the drivers end up forming part of the kernel, they have to be released under the GPL, so the manufacturers and vendors certainly *can* claim Linux compatibility (since they have permission to supply the drivers).
OTOH, I would not put it past Microsoft to be dissuading hardware manufacturers from admitting to their products working with Linux. That isn't hard to do, if you have a driver approval program which to all intents and purposes can make or break people's ability to sell hardware .....
A key beauty of the eee is its price.
So in one go Bt have managed to create a eeepc that now costs more than some full sized laptops! all of them can run openoffice so the question has to be WHY???
At last we see the size of microsoft tax
Basic rate = 8Gb 'hard disk' (20-12Gb) - say £36
higher rate = £86 (422-336)
total - £122
That's about 25% of unnecessary expense!
Don't bother with msft - keep the cash for beer!
spegru
PS. Dropped my eee onto hard pavement the other day. No damage!
C'mon, make the chick the official mascot of the eee. Eeeven better, make 'er the mascot of all notebooks under 1 kg. She must 'ave 1 kg per airbag...
I wonder whether she will ever come bundled with the eee... I promise I will buy one.
In other news, brown-shovelers at BT are l33t members of EEDIOTS UNITED. Big deal!
You might want to re-read what I said. I said Dabs can't claim linux support if the manufacturers don't, reasons for this include the support/liability resting with Dabs if doesn't actually work, they won't take that risk.
Of course the manufacturers are free to make the claim but they don't. I'd guess they would be hesitant to do so unless they were sure that it worked well enough and that they wouldn't have to train support staff in linux. Many companies are happy to cooperate with development of linux drivers, but few of them advertise linux support since they would then be obligated to offer technical support to customers. This is an additional cost they can avoid by letting the linux community support users instead.
http://wine-review.blogspot.com/2008/03/office-2007-on-linux-with-wine-install.html
http://wine-review.blogspot.com/2008/03/microsoft-office-2007-update.html
Well, its not 100% out of the boxable, but it does work...
So this implies BT are offering commercial support for wine :)
(especially for you phil)
/sarcasm
It took me a while but I think I understand why this BT offer is attracting such ridicule.
1. Most people who might buy an Eee PC will already have at least one other computer but very few of these will be Windows boxes.
2. Nobody who's tried OpenOffice on an Eee could possibly think that that other Office had anything useful to offer, could they?
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
