It is best to get a
computer built for Linux from the start. But why?
1. Save $ – If you
have ever built your own machine, you know that it does not always
work out the way it should. Things go wrong.
Even we (Cathy and
Earl, founders of ZaReason) made a mistake on this. Over the holidays
we had a craving to build a machine from scratch that was not part of
the ZaReason lineup. We love, love building machines. Even though we
did not have to, we did it anyway.
Christmas morning at
10:32 am: “Dad, what's that awful smell?”
Well, the SSD blew
up.
The SSD shorted
which fried the motherboard and RAM. Christmas Day was less fun that
it should have been. The stinky smell lasted for days.
Several times, “Why
didn't we just buy a ZaReason?” Sometimes the best solutions are
the most obvious answers.
2. Distro Freedom –
the hardware is built to run nearly any Linux distro. The R&D
aspect of building a machine is surprisingly important, as we were
reminded on the morning of 25 December.
 |
| co-founder Malmrose |
3. Your Future, Your
$ – Future versions of Linux will run better on hardware built
specifically for Linux distros. Plan for your own future comfort.
You will not need to
upgrade every 18 months to keep up with the latest operating system.
You save money in more ways than I can list in this short piece.
I say this as I look
under my desk and see a desktop that ZaReason built in 2009. It runs
like a champ. To be honest, I kind of forgot about it. That is what a
good machine should do – be forgettable like the heating or cooling
system in your house should be forgettable.
4. Easy Warranty,
Work with Real People – I do not know about other Linux builders,
but at ZaReason we connect the builder to the repair person: “Connect
action to consequence.”
We started this in
2007 when we got a machine back for an RMA and the person doing the
repair was not the same person who did the build. I watched the RMA
repair in progress and asked myself, “Why do computer companies
fail to connect the builder with the maintainer?” Economies of
scale, surely. Organizational standards, inertia. But, if you
structure the company right, then you can connect people to their
work.
5. Make it Normal –
You can always get a non-Linux machine, wipe it, and load your
favorite distro (and hope for the best) but there is something
wonderful that happens, both culturally and personally, when you
carry around a laptop that is a Linux brand name. People begin to see
Linux as more normal.
Nine years ago when
we started ZaReason we would get “Oohs” and “Aahs” when we
said we worked with Linux. It made me a little uncomfortable.
Now, I hear people
talk about ZaReason and other Linux computer hardware builders like
we are normal. Over the holidays, at a party, I asked the person
sitting next to me the #1 get-to-know-you question: “What kind of
computer do you use?'
When he said,
“ZaReason,” of course it made me smile, but the way he said it
made it sound so normal, so regular that I swear, my heart skipped a
beat.
