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Linux in Trying Times: Growth Predictions Start to Materialize

ITPro is reporting that System76, a company specializing in building Linux desktop, server and notebook systems saw a 61% revenue increase over the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

The revenue breakdowns aren't readily available (System76 is privately held, so public earnings reports aren't required), but the figure's significance stretches beyond the bottom line. It obviously suggests impressive growth for the company, and it isn't an unreasonable leap to imagine that other OEMS focusing on Linux-powered machines are seeing some degree of growth as well. The recession undoubtedly plays a role in this growth. But how much does it factor in really?

In late January, I wrote about system builders who built Linux machines -- specifically notebooks -- though many companies offering notebooks carry servers and desktops as well. This was shortly after I had placed my order for a System76 notebook.

My notebook (a Pangolin Performance) came with Ubuntu 8.10 installed. The first boot prompted me to enter a name for my user account, choose an administrator password, and select my time zone. It was a speedy process, and one that would have been low-stress even for someone who had never used Linux. How to perform system updates and software installs (through Synaptic) were clearly -- and more important, concisely -- explained in the included cheat sheet. The use and maintenance of the notebook has been effortless -- especially when I think back to my last (non-Linux) laptop.

The notebook was a great deal, and it is worth every cent, but it wasn't what most would call cheap. There are a few reasons for this -- first being that smaller system builders aren't Dell, or HP, or Sony. The mass production factor works in the large manufacturers' favors -- producing identical laptops in bulk reduces costs, and frankly, they are going to sell. The Pangolin I purchased wasn't a $600 mass-produced laptop -- and that's obvious far beyond the installed operating system.

There are savings involved, nonetheless. I managed to configure a more powerful machine than I could have with a larger builder, and while that was reflected in the final price, the cost wasn't inflated. The advantage for me, the real advantage, was that I wanted a Linux notebook that was ready to go. I could have purchased a $600 mass-produced machine and put Linux on it myself. I would've had fun doing so, but at that point, it wasn't feasible. I ended up getting a better piece of hardware, with all the components tested and configured, driven by the operating system I prefer for what works out to a few hundred less than equivalent hardware running Windows.

Depending on extraneous factors, one or two hundred dollars might not be a substantial enough difference to opt for a Linux machine, especially if you've never used Linux before. Even if half of those sales that make up the 61% revenue increase are attributable solely to a lower price point, it means the other half were spurred by something else.

Personally, I paid for the convenience and powerful hardware. The fact that the software platform onboard was free and could do everything I needed reliably and quickly? That's not without value. This is where "cost-effective" steals the limelight from merely "inexpensive," and where open source has the real edge.

• open source
• hardware
• ubuntu
• linux
• notebook
• economy
• OEM
• System76

by Vivek Khurana on Apr. 17, 2009

Old saying goes "Hard times bring the best out" and same can be said for Linux. It is not surprising that we see a surge of FOSS in the market, in hard times people turn over to things that are worth every penny spent :)

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