01.29.14
Gemini version available ♊︎East Asia is Taking Over More Parts of the Computer Industry, Bringing GNU/Linux to the Top
Summary: The world’s biggest OEM is now supporting GNU/Linux, and the nation that it’s in does too
SOMETHING fantastic seems to be happening in the computing world. Android PCs are becoming a recognised trend [1], not one to be ridiculed, and the companies behind it are mostly OEMs from Asia. Given the low cost of some devices (especially those without x86), some people are now running proper GNU/Linux on Chromebooks [2,3] and a South Korean giant, an increasingly-Apple-like Samsung (world leader in smartphones and emerging power in other areas too), is replacing Nokia (Europe), Apple (USA), and to a lesser degree Microsoft (USA/NSA), taking Android to the top as the world’s most dominant operating system. This is great for Linux.
One blogger asks: “Could Samsung Focus Exclusively on Chromebooks?” [4]
It probably should. Dell, despite payments from Microsoft, continues to use Linux for networking [5,6] and continues to sell machines with GNU/Linux preinstalled. That says a lot because even Microsoft partners (with partial Microsoft ownership) cannot resist GNU/Linux. The “Decay Of Wintel” as Pogson called it [7] is very much real; evidence of it includes Intel layoffs and Microsoft losses.
North Korea is reportedly moving to GNU/Linux [8,9] — something which South Korea can hardly do because of Microsoft’s ActiveX (although the country is reportedly trying to move to Ubuntu). Assuming that a lot of the world’s technological leadership is moving to Asia (core parts of IBM head in this direction) the writings are very much on the wall. Samsung is even approaching total semiconductors autonomy/independence because it designs and makes its own chips now, and they improve over time. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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Android PCs and other Windows-alternative desktops are for real
For years, decades, you could put all of alternative desktops — Linux, Mac, whatever — together and Windows would still beat them by ten to one. That was then. This is now.
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SJVN Runs GNU/Linux on a Chromebook
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How to run Linux on a Chromebook
Want to run Debian or Ubuntu on your Chromebook? With Crouton, you can do that.
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Could Samsung Focus Exclusively on Chromebooks?
How focused has Samsung become on Chromebooks–portable computers that run Google’s cloud-centric Chrome OS? According to a report in DigiTimes, after cutting its targets for notebook computer sales, the company may have plans to “no longer launch conventional notebook models except Chromebooks in 2015, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.” While there is no official confirmation from Samsung, the move would represent a big shift for Samsung and one of the biggest votes of confidence yet for Chromebooks.
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Dell, Cumulus Partner on Open Source Networking OS
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Dell Embraces Cumulus Linux for Networking
Dell is no stranger to Linux, having supported it on its server portfolio as well as its own networking gear. Now Dell is expanding its Linux networking effort by enabling its customers to choose Linux, specifically the Cumulus Linux distribution, as a networking operating system on a pair of Dell switches.
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More Decay Of Wintel Seen In 2014
Further, Wintel cannot even compete on price/performance at the low end because M$ charges way too much for licensing and restricting the freedom of users to use the hardware they buy to fullest potential. That just won’t fly any longer. There are OEMs who want to compete selling small cheap computers of every kind and they will ship Android/Linux, Chrome OS/Linux and GNU/Linux in 2014. You can bet on that. Margins are too small in this segment to pay the Wintel tax.
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Even North Korea Loves Linux and Open Source
Just how popular is enterprise open source software? Popular enough, it seems, to power web servers in locations as unlikely as North Korea. That’s where Red Hat (RHT) Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and derivatives of it, are running the few public web servers that exist in the country. Who knew?
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North Korea embraces Linux and Open Source
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