HP/Compaq Presario and Linux

[Jason Stephenson]

Jerry Feldman wrote:

> Most PC vendors today place a hidden partition from which you can
> reinstall or repair the OS. The reason for this is that they do not have
> to provide you with an installation CD. 

Right. I'm aware of that. It's another reason why I don't buy named 
brand PCs. They advertise an 80 GB disk, which they're measing in base 
10, so really it's only a 72 GB (or so) disk, then they put some 5 to 8 
GB partition on the disk with the install medaia, so really you're 
getting a 64 GB disk. It's all there if you bother to read the fine 
print. Personally, I'd rather have the install media on a bootable DVD 
and have the full use of my disk, thanks.

> In general, I would probably buy a Dell or HP/Compaq depending on the
> price and features, although I might also buy a system with Linux
> preinstalled. 

I don't think Dell does the above, at least not on the Optiplex and 
PowerEdge lines.

Frankly, if I were buying a PC from a name brand maker, and I was 
concerned about support, I would buy nothing but Dell or Apple. Where I 
work, we buy Dell and Sun hardware, and I have pretty much the final say 
on what we buy. Since my boss is concerned about support, we buy the 
Optiplex machines for the 3 year warranty, etc. If I had the time at my 
current job, I'd actually assemble our own workstations.--I'm busy 
enough as it is. :)

That said, I've not really had to deal with tech support at any company, 
much. I generally fix the problems myself before I get to the point of 
calling. So, we're wasting money on support, but it makes my boss happy 
to think we have it, in case we need it. ;)

I haven't dealt with Dell's tech support in over three years, and when I 
did I found it acceptable. Compaq, I've never called them. Gateway, I've 
heard is abysmal, but judging from the overall quality of their 
machines, it's not surprising. ;)

Now, I have dealt with tech support from a couple of motherboard 
manufacturers recently and got a satisfactory response every time.