The Linux Convert - moving from closed to Open Source

Compare the Systems

We have put together what we think is an all singing, all dancing Linux running system and it has cost less than £650. How does this compare to what you can buy in the street as Windows systems? To give a frame of reference for this project we will look at an example Windows PC system as advertised in the national news papers (27 Jan 05) and from a well known manufacturer.

The Windows System

This is from tiny.com and is available until 6pm on 2 Feb 05. The adverts have been run in most of the national newspapers (tabloids and broadsheets) although they do have lots of confusing jargon and some dubious offers like "limited time upgrades" and the like. System price is £499 (plus £39.99 delivery to a shop for you to collect it) so it is cheaper than our system by about £100. Is the Linux system worth the extra? Check out the Windows PC spec and decide for yourself.

Tiny.com Home Office 3300

• Intel Celeron D 320 Processor
• 256mb RAM, Doubled to 512mb - limited time offer....
• 80Gb hard disk
• DVD-rw, multi format (+ and -)
• 17" flat CRT SVGA monitor (17" TFT monitor for £99 extra)
• Windows XP Home
• Built in Ethernet
• 56k Dedicated Supanet Modem (this is a software modem that can only be used to connect to SupaNet ISP)
• Integrated Graphics (no further details)
• Lexmark All in One Printer system
• MS Office 2003 - 60 Day trial (i.e. in two months its useless and unless you buy it you cant access your docs)
• MS Works 7
• 10 "Top Games" (no further details)
• Education Suite (Dorling Kindersley education suite to "suit all ages")

Well, its not great but by Windows PCs its not too bad. The advertising says about how it has a CD Copier system AND a DVD burner system but in fact, these are the same device. Copying (legally of course) CDs and DVDs is not an easy matter when you only have one device. At 512mb the RAM is good and the 80 Gb hard disk is acceptable for most things. Windows XP home is a good choice for most users and the Lexmark printer is good enough. The 60 day trial of MS Office is pretty poor though, would have been better to not include it - but in fact, its used as a "selling point" on the advertisements. There are no details on the graphics but its likely to use 64mb of main system memory (therefore you only have 448mb RAM available to windows) and the 17" CRT monitor is the bare minimum. Upgrading to a TFT monitor puts it up to the same price as the Linux machine.....

The top games package is likely to be a collection of old driving games etc. Its an odd throw in for a product marketed as "Home Office" and probably shows Tiny arent really sure who their market segment for this is going to me. The SupaNet dedicated modem should be made illegal. If you wish to use this PC to connect to your own ISP you need to pay extra for the privilege and this alone offends me more than anything else in the advertisement.

All said and done though, this is a capable home PC with the ability to carry out some basic "home office" functions. Windows XP is capable of sharing files and supporting multple users, but the Home version doesnt make this easy. One other selling point is the first 800 sold also got a free Opus 4000 Digital Camera, after the free ones have gone you can buy the camera for £99 if you get the system.

The Linux System

Now we look at what we have managed to get to compete with this. Our budget was £650, and we got our system for £558.84 (note: this does NOT include P&P). This which makes it about twenty pounds more expensive than the Windows Machine (£538.99 when you include the compulsory delivery to shop charge, you still have to collect from the shop).

The Linux Convert Home Office Super Duper System 2000

• AMD Athlon XP 2800+
• 512 mb RAM (upgradeable to 1024 mb for £41 extra)
• two 80 Gb Hard Disks giving 160 Gb storage space.
• DVD Burner (+/- and RAM)
• DVD Drive (16 speed)
• 17" TFT Monitor
• ATI Radeon 9200 128Mb AGP 8x graphics card
• USB ADSL modem
• Lexmark X1150 All In One Printer
• Built in Ethernet and Sound
• Speakers
• Linux (any distro you choose)
• Open Office
• Apache Webserve
• NVU Web Design
• GIMP Image Processing software
• MySQL Relational Database Server
• PHP, Perl, Python, C++ etc programming language
• etc

I will leave it up to you which is better. One interesting point, both systems use the same Lexmark All in One printer, but Tiny mark it as being a £79 value....

On a side note, if this system appeals to you but you are unable or unsure about building and installing it on your own, The Linux Convert may be willing to provide a "build to order" service at minimal costs. Contact us for more details.