Monthly News – January 2016

[clem]

http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2985

[all41]

This is one of the most informative news letters ever.
So much thanks to Clem and everyone involved.
The new Compulabs system sounds right on the mark.

[killer de bug]

The new Compulabs system sounds right on the mark.

I'm waiting for the official period where we will be able to order it. Let's see the price and the final spec. Sounds really good!

[Crewp]

+ 1 KDB

[Moem]

This is one of the most informative news letters ever.
So much thanks to Clem and everyone involved.

Yes indeed, this is great stuff.

[Fred Barclay]

Let's see the price and the final spec. Sounds really good!

Here are the specs:
http://airtop-pc.com/airtop/specificati ... M4000-FM4U
Some things (such as memory) I suppose they're still working on. At any rate, I couldn't see how much was installed.

No price so I guess they're free.

[Doug B]

The new Compulabs system sounds right on the mark.

I'm waiting for the official period where we will be able to order it. Let's see the price and the final spec. Sounds really good!

From http://www.laptopreleasedate.com/compulab-airtop/ :

"...the barebones model starts at $ 1,128, which reach up to $ 2,999 for the server version of high-end. Airtop-G, for example, dedicated to gamers with Core i7 and GeForce GTX 950 is on sale for $ 1,968 (base price). Essentially, Compulab Airtop is not cheap, but it is also one of the few computer (or server) gaming with dedicated graphics chip high power and completely passive cooling system for the lowest noise. "

Hope that helps.

Doug

[Joss]

Airtop-G, for example, dedicated to gamers with Core i7 and GeForce GTX 950 is on sale for $ 1,968 (base price).

I can build a desktop for two thirds of that price and superior graphics performance.

[MtnDewManiac]

Airtop? Meh... Sounds like an Apple computer. Priced like one, too . You aren't going to get snooty, paint everything in sight white, shave your head, and croak on us, are you?

Have you got a model for sale in third-world nations and to poor working stiffs? (This is a serious question - I'm not into Cinnamon, so I don't need the intercooled turbocharger. Neither do an estimated (by ME ) 80% of the population on the planet. But we could ALL use a computer that comes with a decent OS. If I could afford to drop four figures on a computer, I'd go buy a car and stop having to walk everywhere...)

Regards,
MDM

[killer de bug]

I agree that the price announced is high. But at the time, they have used high end processors and this is expensive.

[Crewp]

Very expensive, MDM is right, they are in Apple territory with those price's.

[Ark987]

I don't know if Airtop is dedicated to be barebones or Linux only. But this is one of the problems every time there is a new Linux beast machine begin announced for sale. It is always cheaper to buy a PC with Windows pre-installed or build it yourself, the Linux build counterpart for some bizarre reason has a 30% inflated price, Does free software has to pay some hidden taxes or something?

[killer de bug]

No price so I guess they're free.

Then I will take one. I will pay for the missing RAM. No worries

[killer de bug]

It is always cheaper to buy a PC with Windows pre-installed or build it yourself,

This is unfortunately often true. But there is still hope. In December, I made a comparison for a friend. LDLC.com, french vendor, is selling laptop with or without Windows.
For the same laptop, without Windows you could save from 130 to 150 euros depending on the Windows system being installed.

For this system, the price is in the design and in the fact that it is a passive cooling system.

[MtnDewManiac]

Lest my previous comments be taken as having meant to be insulting, that wasn't the case. If you have the money to burn and want to support Clem & Mint (one HOPES he gets a nice cut of those prices!), linux, and vendors who do not force their customers to purchase computers that have a Microsoft OS pre-installed, by all means feel free to do so.

It is always cheaper to buy a PC with Windows pre-installed

I thought about huge product numbers and/or deals/discounts involving Microsoft...

or build it yourself

But that part is true as well - and if you build your computer yourself, you're not buying 5,000 (or more) CPUs, lol. It doesn't take a long time to build a computer - I have done so - and it naturally takes even less time if a person does so eight hours per day, 40 hours per week (especially when the choices are reasonably small - these aren't "Ya, just let me know what you want and I'll build it for you" computers, there's a rather short list to choose from). Assuming a reasonable labor rate in even a "first-world" country... Even assume that basic initial testing is done and the OS is installed (OEM version, of course?) for the customer, that does not significantly add to the time burden, either - a person can have multiple computers going through this process at the same time. So, again, assuming a reasonable amount for labor, and even the company paying retail prices for components one at a time (which would, realistically, only be the case... if the person running that company is a complete moron ), and further assuming a reasonable markup, the prices seem to be rather high. Perhaps that last assumption I made was incorrect? Hmm...

But, be that as it may: I would still like to see some "bargain" computers at "bargain" prices. Cinnamon and KDE are thought (well... I think so) to be the most taxing DEs. How powerful does a computer have to be in order to support one of those and to perform the "usual basic computer tasks?" Why not try to get something like that produced? (There's probably a company in the PRC - if not dozens of them - who'd love to produce such a product for you ...) Most people don't need passive cooling. Even for a media-center type application, some degree of fan noise would probably be perfectly acceptable as long as it didn't sound like a jet taxiing for takeoff. When I was big into audio/video, I had a nice setup - nice enough that I didn't feel the need to sit 18" away from the equipment, at least. I got more annoyed at noise from other people than I ever did at fan noise (my computer of the time wasn't the only component that required cooling, you know - stereo equipment produces HEAT, enough to warm the room often enough). And one assumes that a lower-specification CPU is going to have a lower TDP than one fit for a mad scientist. I'm just saying...

Regards,
MDM

[sercxulo]

Is an idea already known of the applications that will be shared?

I see that the text editor and music player will be shared, but are there plans for others?