Comments on: Logic Supply is Now Offering Ubuntu on Select Systems. http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/ Logic Supply corporate weblog Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:44:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Kristina http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/comment-page-1/#comment-2915 Kristina Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:25:01 +0000 http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/02/25/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/#comment-2915 Hi Richard, Thanks for the response. Our goal is not to cast Ubuntu in a negative light. We value this product, and if we didn't, we wouldn't offer it. :) We find that hardware support issues are not limited to Ubuntu, nor are they exclusive to the hardware that we sell. These are common issues faced by Linux users in general, and they are widely known. We have customers that are interested in running Linux on the hardware platforms they purchase from us and we want to help them do that. It certainly would be ideal if all of the features of Ubuntu functioned perfectly on all hardware platforms. Because that currently isn't the case, we're doing our best to provide that next best thing: full disclosure of information regarding features that don't work as expected. Hi Richard,
Thanks for the response. Our goal is not to cast Ubuntu in a negative light. We value this product, and if we didn’t, we wouldn’t offer it. :)

We find that hardware support issues are not limited to Ubuntu, nor are they exclusive to the hardware that we sell. These are common issues faced by Linux users in general, and they are widely known. We have customers that are interested in running Linux on the hardware platforms they purchase from us and we want to help them do that.

It certainly would be ideal if all of the features of Ubuntu functioned perfectly on all hardware platforms. Because that currently isn’t the case, we’re doing our best to provide that next best thing: full disclosure of information regarding features that don’t work as expected.

]]> By: Kristina http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/comment-page-1/#comment-2914 Kristina Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:42:49 +0000 http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/02/25/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/#comment-2914 Thanks Dave for the kind words and input. When we sat down to decide which boards we wanted to "approve" we ran into some difficult questions and had to make decisions based on our knowledge and capabilities. When we say features that we believe to be critical to a functioning system, we try to keep the following in mind: 1. What features most of our customers would look for in one of our systems 2. What most of our customers tend to do with one of our systems Understandably so, some features that we consider not critical might very well be critical to another user. Our goal is not to turn people off from working with us or to compromise our position in the open-source market. But, we have to decide how often some of these features are used and if there is an alternate solution. Also, most of the boards that we tested did support 3D capabilities, so we could easily point customers toward another option if they were specifically looking for that feature. As for issues pertaining to specific boards, we documented all the quirks that we saw spring up with Ubuntu 7.10, and we made this information available to all our customers. We also included some of the "fixes" to these issues. You can find this information in our FAQ section. We plan on testing all the mainboards again when Ubuntu 8.04 is released and we will make our results available online. As for feedback to the manufacturers, we do discuss a lot of these issues with them; however, they can be a little bit more difficult to persuade. But, we will continue to move forward and we will try to make this process as transparent and open as possible. Thanks again for your feedback. It is always good to hear these things! Thanks Dave for the kind words and input.

When we sat down to decide which boards we wanted to “approve” we ran into some difficult questions and had to make decisions based on our knowledge and capabilities.

When we say features that we believe to be critical to a functioning system, we try to keep the following in mind:
1. What features most of our customers would look for in one of our systems
2. What most of our customers tend to do with one of our systems

Understandably so, some features that we consider not critical might very well be critical to another user. Our goal is not to turn people off from working with us or to compromise our position in the open-source market. But, we have to decide how often some of these features are used and if there is an alternate solution.

Also, most of the boards that we tested did support 3D capabilities, so we could easily point customers toward another option if they were specifically looking for that feature.

As for issues pertaining to specific boards, we documented all the quirks that we saw spring up with Ubuntu 7.10, and we made this information available to all our customers. We also included some of the “fixes” to these issues. You can find this information in our FAQ section.

We plan on testing all the mainboards again when Ubuntu 8.04 is released and we will make our results available online.

As for feedback to the manufacturers, we do discuss a lot of these issues with them; however, they can be a little bit more difficult to persuade. But, we will continue to move forward and we will try to make this process as transparent and open as possible.

Thanks again for your feedback. It is always good to hear these things!

]]> By: richard kim http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/comment-page-1/#comment-2913 richard kim Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:34:58 +0000 http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/02/25/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/#comment-2913 Friendly feedback. The tone of this post seems to say that "ubuntu is very unreliable, but we are making up for its deficiencies." I realize that is not the intent, but you may want to reread it to see if you get that impression too. It is always important to say how valuable your services are, but not at the expense of putting down your product -- a common mistake done with retail warranties. "Our product is great, but now that you already purchased it, it really sucks, so you should buy an extra warranty to cover its suckiness. The section "Here are the features that we require to be functioning correctly in approved systems" seems silly, as that is an unwritten expectation of ANY computer system. If that is needed to be mentioned here, Ubuntu must REALLY suck (an impression, not necessarily reality). Sorta like if a car dealer went out of the way to say that their car starts every single time without stalls, customers would normally be suspicious of why they need to make that claim. Again, just friendly feedback. I have no experience in marketing, and this is free advice, so take it for what it is worth. I am only trying to be helpful, and if you think I'm completely wrong, I'll apologize ahead of time. Thanks and good luck. Friendly feedback. The tone of this post seems to say that “ubuntu is very unreliable, but we are making up for its deficiencies.” I realize that is not the intent, but you may want to reread it to see if you get that impression too. It is always important to say how valuable your services are, but not at the expense of putting down your product — a common mistake done with retail warranties. “Our product is great, but now that you already purchased it, it really sucks, so you should buy an extra warranty to cover its suckiness.

The section “Here are the features that we require to be functioning correctly in approved systems” seems silly, as that is an unwritten expectation of ANY computer system. If that is needed to be mentioned here, Ubuntu must REALLY suck (an impression, not necessarily reality). Sorta like if a car dealer went out of the way to say that their car starts every single time without stalls, customers would normally be suspicious of why they need to make that claim.

Again, just friendly feedback. I have no experience in marketing, and this is free advice, so take it for what it is worth. I am only trying to be helpful, and if you think I’m completely wrong, I’ll apologize ahead of time. Thanks and good luck.

]]> By: Dave Cole http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/comment-page-1/#comment-2912 Dave Cole Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:19:54 +0000 http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/02/25/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/#comment-2912 3D acceleration, though is not an absolute requirement, can be a make or break point for Mini-ITX systems in certain environments, such as automotive systems. This great difficulty in addressing 3D support for your embedded video in Linux can harm your efforts to maintain your position in this niche market. For the most part, I'm a satisfied customer, having purchased the Intel 201GLY mainboard. However, its embedded SiS video is problematic in Linux. Any attempt to use 3D accelerated drivers result in the chipset overheating and artifacts on my Desktop. To avoid permanent damage to the onboard video, I'm using generic VESA drivers. I do not necessarily blame Logic Supply for the issue, for it is mostly out of your control, however there are steps that can be taken. As a licensed reseller, you can put pressure on the manufacturers of your boards to release better Linux drivers. Since Mini-ITX and similar small formfactors are a niche market, even a few resellers can make a difference, because companies will be forced to either release the drivers, or stop manufacturing the boards. Anyway, aside from this one minor issue, your products are top notch, your site is a dream to navigate, and I salute you for actively pursuing Linux solutions for your systems. I'm eager to see what comes in the days ahead, and even more eager to continue purchasing your products. God bless! 3D acceleration, though is not an absolute requirement, can be a make or break point for Mini-ITX systems in certain environments, such as automotive systems. This great difficulty in addressing 3D support for your embedded video in Linux can harm your efforts to maintain your position in this niche market. For the most part, I’m a satisfied customer, having purchased the Intel 201GLY mainboard. However, its embedded SiS video is problematic in Linux. Any attempt to use 3D accelerated drivers result in the chipset overheating and artifacts on my Desktop. To avoid permanent damage to the onboard video, I’m using generic VESA drivers. I do not necessarily blame Logic Supply for the issue, for it is mostly out of your control, however there are steps that can be taken. As a licensed reseller, you can put pressure on the manufacturers of your boards to release better Linux drivers. Since Mini-ITX and similar small formfactors are a niche market, even a few resellers can make a difference, because companies will be forced to either release the drivers, or stop manufacturing the boards.

Anyway, aside from this one minor issue, your products are top notch, your site is a dream to navigate, and I salute you for actively pursuing Linux solutions for your systems. I’m eager to see what comes in the days ahead, and even more eager to continue purchasing your products.
God bless!

]]> By: Kristina http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/03/28/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/comment-page-1/#comment-2870 Kristina Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:13:38 +0000 http://www.logicsupply.com/blog/2008/02/25/logic-supply-is-now-offering-ubuntu-on-select-systems/#comment-2870 Hi Sal, Again, many thanks for your feedback. These systems are not 8.04 ready...yet. We plan on doing testing in order to eventually make these systems 8.04 ready. We don't anticipate that we will see too many issues with the latest Ubuntu release on our already-tested systems. We hope that, if anything, we will see some improvements. We will make the upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04 as soon as we can. Hi Sal,
Again, many thanks for your feedback. These systems are not 8.04 ready…yet. We plan on doing testing in order to eventually make these systems 8.04 ready. We don’t anticipate that we will see too many issues with the latest Ubuntu release on our already-tested systems. We hope that, if anything, we will see some improvements.
We will make the upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04 as soon as we can.

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