cheap farm computer

[Jimmys3]

I was checking out frys today and saw a very cheap computer that doesn't have much a sempron 2200. I was talking with the salesman and he told me that you couldn't format and install any other os but Lindows? Does anyone have any experience with this machine and the upgradability of the OS?

For 180 bucks it would be an easy headless boxen for my growing farm. Just wondering if anyone has gotten another os to install to this machine.

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4199563?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

 

[caferace]

Believing a Frys salesdrones word is akin to licking stamps for nutrition.

-jim

 

[Jimmys3]

lol yeah i know so would you think that I would easily be able to reformat and install any os i want? He seemed to think there was a firmware that stopped people from doing that...i guess i can always take it back...

 

[keeleysam]

You can kiss your 30-day warranty goodbye if you install any other OS. I bought one a couple weeks ago when they were $99, and put XP on it.

 

[bluestrobe]

I've always liked motherboards and hard drives made by companies I can't even google. Last cheapo system I bought had a "tecnoix" hard drive in it. Lasted 2 months.

 

[Jimmys3]

well it has an ecs 741gx-m motherboard that has the ability to oc if you want to and a western digital 40gig hd...not bad for under $200 especially for something that is going to sit in my closet headless and crunch 24/7...if it dies then i buy another one.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

if it has an x86 processor in it you can install a microsoft OS, it's that simple. drivers on the other hand

 

[Dantoo]

I have a box here that is running Linspire 5.0 and I chose to put it on there, not remove it
I am in fact very impressed with the OS. I still need Win for a couple of applications but that is ever reducing.

Linspire is heavily interfaced with the ClicknRun warehouse. Linux has always been problematical for non-enthusiasts. (Kilowatt from here was very patient with me trying to help me learn from RH 6.00 and Mandrake 7.0. I couldn't even set the darn clock.) People buy computers to run applications not operating systems. Installing an application in Linux has always been the easy bit. Getting it to run is another thing altogether.

The Linspire crowd decided to tackle this by setting up specific servers for their OS's. You surf the server and just double click on the program you want and it in installs onto your computer. 99.9% it runs sweetly. They have a great online support for that odd problem. They charge an annual fee for access to the ClicknRun Server. It's how they stay in business. One aspect of the clicknrun thing that is pretty groovy is if you try open a document file, by way of example, and you don't have the right application? It just goes off and downloads the appropriate application.

Running DC clients should be no worry for these machines and why buy an XP licence? Post your preference for a client in their forums and the community there will craft one up for you.

 

[bluestrobe]

Doesn't sound like its "non-internet" friendly.