Ubuntu on Alienware - Dell IdeaStorm

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Ubuntu on Alienware

170 points posted to Linux, Operating Systems, Software by acelin Apr 13

I am looking to buy an Alienware, and I think it would be awesome if Alienware products had the Ubuntu option.

stormrider451 Apr 13	Is ubuntu any good for gaming purposes? I mean, are most games supoprted by the Ubuntu platform? If not, then I think this wouldnt be a good idea since Alienware basically is a gaming line. But, if you can get most games on an ubuntu platform to work, then by all means this would be good.. I have never used ubuntu or any linux product so I dont really know. So, my vote will depend on this. Let me know! :) thanks
icarus75 Apr 13	Half of the argument for using Ubuntu is cost, and Alienware machines are not cheap computers. For computers starting in the $1800 range, and don't think an OEM Vista Premium license is much to think about. You can always put Ubuntu on when you get it. I agree with the nature of Stormrider's assessment - these are primarily gaming machines, and Ubuntu doesn't come anywhere close to the capability of Vista/XP for gaming.
stormrider451 Apr 13	Thanks icarus.. I had a slight feeling i had heard some other place that ubuntu wasnt the best for gaming.. so definetly not good for alienware.. HOWEVER.. Maybe alienware could implement ubuntu so that it can install it in like an extra HD the computer has for non-gaming purposes?
winoffice Apr 13	I have to demote. Alienware is a gaming line, and if I buy a $2,000+ gaming PC (Alienware, Dell or otherwise), then I definitely can afford a Windows operating system with it. And most games do not work with Ubuntu. There do exist Ubuntu-compatible games of course, but they are not popular or well-known, and they are much less in number than non-Ubuntu games.
aikiwolfie Apr 13	I know I'm stating the obvious but Alienware while owned by Dell still run their own business. This idea is in entirely the wrong place. You guys need to bring this to Alienwares attention.
winoffice Apr 13	aikiwolfie is right. While Dell owns it, Alienware still is its own brand. I think therefore that Alienware should be asked this, not Dell.
plaristote Apr 14	Winoffice, they ARE Ubuntu-compatible games... lot of the most popular games ever created are Linux-compatible : Unreal Tournamend 2004-2007, Doom 3, Quake and all the Quakes-like, all the games from ID Software (ID Software, on my made some of the best video games I ever played). BUT : Alienware is for Windows. When you want to play a game on Windows, you need much more resources than if you try tu run it Ubuntu (I play World of Warcraft with a worse videocard and less RAM than a friend using Windows Vista : well, on my computer it runs faster than on his one). So I have to demote this idea : Ubuntu's gamer clearly don't need to pay as Windows's gamer to play the same games, so this is absolutely useless.
jmxz Apr 14	@stormrider451: "Is ubuntu any good for gaming purposes?" Sure. With Cedega, Linux outperforms Vista by a wide margin and is competitive with XP.
acelin Apr 14	Who says all they would be used for is gaming? 1) with Cedega, they run games much faster. 2) Ubuntu is not just about cost. It is plainly a better operating system, and it is not like it would be forced. 3) I had seen several Alienware proposals on this site; could someone direct me to a more appropriate site?
zmjjmz Apr 15	I believe there was a survey for this on the Alienware site (I voted for it by the way :D), so it's already come to their attention. Here's the survey link: http://www.alienware.com/Surveys/AlienSurvey.aspx?Id=29607129825 Also, Linux gaming, while it may not be thought to be as popular as Windows gaming, is still viable and I would definitely appreciate a good gaming computer with Linux. Also, the hardware is useful for other intensive stuff, such as DVD transcoding/ripping or high power physics simulations.
stormrider451 Apr 16	Ill say it again.. I think a good way for Alienware to start implementing Linux is by allowing for buyers to install linux on a 2nd HD.. In other words, have a HD with windows and the other with linux. After all, gamers do other stuff other than gaming (usually :P) . So, whoever really likes linux a lot can have the freedom of switching to it whenever he isnt playing and then switch back to windows to play. Im just not so sure Alienware should sell any computer with ONLY linux OS.. It just doesnt go with the gaming theme. But allowing for an extra HD to be equiped with Linux makes them a whole lot versatile.
overloaduk Apr 18	i perosnaly dont think linux on a gaming pc is a good idea what you goin to play that silly snake game thing??
aikiwolfie Apr 19	What are you going to play? You mean other than the Windows titles supported by Cedega that run better in Linux than they do in Windows? How about some native Linux titles. Like Savage 2 for example. Maybe you'd like to play Alien Arena? How about Americas Army. Or perhaps Cube/Sauerbraten. You could also play Enemy Territory. Perhaps your looking for something else? Personally I still like a quick blast of Doom 3. What is it exactly that makes you think Linux would be bad for games? As an OS Linux manages hardware and software far more efficiently than Windows. Linux also happens to be a more secure and stable OS than Windows. Which means there's less need for security software. Which leaves more hardware grunt available to actually run the game and give you, the gamer, a better gaming experience. If that isn't enough then consider this. There are many free games titles and mods available for Linux. Many of which are every bit as polished and well put together as commercial titles. Linux games have a longer shelf life than Windows titles and there's much more variety in gaming style. You can have your pick of every genre from puzzle games all the way to first person shooters and MMORPGs. What more do you want?
jmxz Apr 19	Personally I'd play Chess or Go, but our Microsoft rep was implying that they might own the IP underlying those games and might only license them with Vista with Aero and WinFS both enabled.
aikiwolfie Apr 19	Microsoft owns the IP for Chess?
zmjjmz Apr 21	Not really, but they want everyone to need DX9 to play chess and solitaire.
aikiwolfie Apr 21	DX9 to play chess and solitaire? You are kidding right? 3D Chess on Windows. Perhaps. Solitaire though?
jmxz Apr 21	aikiwolfie: These guys claim patents on conjugating verbs and double clicking and reading RSS feedsand pairing pictures with words and 5000 other things. Surely they have patents that cover both Chess and Tic-Tac-Toe. Now obviously such patents could never hold up - but there's no way you could afford to fight them in the courts against Microsoft. Consider that SCO's still going after and they only had $86 million of money from Microsoft. So it's easiest to just license it from them - and the easiest way to get a license is through the EULA where they bundle it with Internet Explorer and DX10 and other stuff you didn't really want. And even if you don't believe it, oh so many corporate CIOs and CFOs make all their software purchasing decisions using that exact same logic. And drifting back on topic, oh-so-many OEMs seem to use logic like that choosing what to offer customers on their systems.
aikiwolfie Apr 21	I have a suspicion that the double clicks patent will soon fall foul of prior art claims by phone companies and PDA manufacturers should Microsoft try to enforce such a patent. The conjugation verbs thing is just abviouse blind desperation. Everybody else has the patents to everything else and Microsoft needs to buy up another company before it can be "innovative" again. So they're just registering patents for everything and anything. Did they get the RSS patents? I'm assuming they didn't. How can a company file a patent for a technology they didn't even invent. That should be a illegal and there should be massive fines for that sort of patent trolling. Say 60% of the companies turnover and profits for 5 years should be a nice deterrent. It's a sad reflection on the US patent system that such a patents are granted in the first place. It's also a sad reflection of where Microsoft has got to in it's business plan. It's just becoming a huge patent troll.
zmjjmz Apr 21	I read a ComputerWorld article in which a journalist defended/promoted their own favorite OS (Linux, Mac OSX, Vista, XP). It was either the Vista or XP guy who said that even though you can virtualize Windows, you can't even play the basic games like FreeCell and Solitaire because Parallels doesn't have DX9 support. So yeah, it's messed up. Now they're trying to hold on to the grandparents who only play Solitaire or Freecell.
aikiwolfie Apr 21	I have VMware. I think I'll test that out. I'm guessing Freecell is going to work. But this is Windows we're talking about. Now where did I throw that disk?
zmjjmz Apr 21	It'll work in WINE or Darwine. Just need to extract that app...

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