Unpopularity of Elba

[Luke Davis]

That assumes that you even *can* do your own Linux install on it.  Do
its drivers for its proprietary hardware even have public source code?  I
would not think so, although admittedly I am not certain.

For that kind of hassle, a Thinkpad would be just as good, and several
times better, as the upgrade path is very much open.


On Sat, 3 May 2003, Janina Sajka wrote:

> Well, I did have the money, and decided not to get it. I'll tell you
> why, if you care ...
>
> The size is an annoyance, certainly, but I could have lived with that.
> What I can't live with is all the proprietary crap they put on the Elba,
> all those scripts and what not they put to get it look and act like a
> Windows machine. If I wanted Windows, I'd get Windows. I don't need a
> Linux machine that tries to act like a Windows machine.
>
> Another reason, their screen reader is proprietary. I want Speakup and
> Emacspeak, not their proprietary Linux screen reader that I've never
> played with and have no idea how it works.
>
> So, had I decided to get this unit, I would be blowing away all that
> stuff they put into it and doing my own Linux install. Heck, if I'm
> going to do that, I have lots of hardware to choose from.
>
>
> Saqib Shaikh writes:
> > From: "Saqib Shaikh" <sshaik at essex.ac.uk>
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > I talked to someone I know at Papenmeier UK.  He very much likes the
> > machines, but there are a few reasons he thinks noone else likes them.
> >
> > 1.  Size.  We're talking 2.something kg, or 5 pounds.  That's the weight of
> > a laptop.  In fact you can get laptops weighing 1.2 kg.  In terms of size
> > you're talking 12 inches by 8 inches, which is also not all that small.  It
> > is also made of aluminium and is "built like a brick".  This may be good in
> > terms of not breaking if you crash into a brick wall, but it has its
> > disadvantages too.
> >
> > 2.  Inconsistency of Linux.  I think they should have done more to adapt
> > Linux for the Elba.  They maybe should have put a slightly nicer user
> > interface on the underlying apps.  He mentioned, for example, that new users
> > never understood why they should press ctrl+g for help in Pico, but ? in
> > Pine.  I don't use these programs so don't know.  But in general it doesn't
> > have the polish of the Keysoft suite of applications.
> >
> > 3.  Upgrading the system is a pain - you have to download the file, unzip it
> > onto a flash card, and then boot from the flash card.  Problems are that you
> > need to buy both a flash card, as well as a flash card reader for the PC.
> >
> > 4.  While a minor point, it boasts all this network functionality.  But
> > since they only have 16MB to play with you can only copy files to your PC,
> > but not from your PC (or maybe it was the other way around).  In any case,
> > it is only one way.
> >
> > So, I still think it is a nice machine, and I'd probably still get it if I
> > had the money, due to its open nature.  Many people on this list may also go
> > for it.  But at the end of the day it comes down to whether you want a
> > powerful tool that you can do a lot with, or a beautiful, elegant box which
> > takes inputs and produces neat, precise output.
> >
> > I'll be seeing a demo of it for myself in a weeks time, and I'll report my
> > findings.
> >
> > Saqib Shaikh
> > Email me at saqibshaikh.com
> > Web site www.saqibshaikh.com
> >
> >
> >
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>
>