Did phone manufacturer finally decide to keep supporting their models after the first year/couple of years? Or did the “likely lifetime” of a smartphone dropped below that in the meantime?
If anything, my experience with “manufacturer support” on android isn’t particularly stellar, with the only outlier being my current Samsung XCover, which is kinda cheating due to the thing being a rugged phone targeting companies and not the average joe, so the thing is built to last, both hardware and software side.
On the other hand you do have a couple (maybe even three!) companies that offer linux pre-installed on their machines.
I mean, it doesn’t magically appear on the device. You pay for the installation, it’s just included in the price of the device (with Windows you also pay for the license key, by the way). There are companies that’ll install Linux for you. Hell, pay me $30 and cover shipping, I’ll gladly set you up with, I don’t know, Fedora and even add a timer with notifications that’ll nag you about package updates, just like Android does.
Outside of specialized B2B software, I never met a tech rep that would be helpful with an issue. Do you actually have experience where you’d call Google/Apple/Microslop and get help with their software? In Linux world, with many programs I can just go and nag the actual developer of the thing, which often works wonders.
I had a driver issue with my laptop which was causing the microphone to not work, not only was it fixed under warranty, but they sent a tech to where I was studying to fix it, rather than having to drop it off.
I don’t think nowadays windows is subsidized. Sure, some manufacturers may recoup part of, or all the cost by pre installing crap ware, but those that allow choosing your OS usually give you a discount for removing Windows.
Android comes pre-installed on my device, with automatic security updates and manufacturer support for the likely lifetime of the device.
I’d definitely use a Linux PC if it came out of the box ready to go like that.
Did phone manufacturer finally decide to keep supporting their models after the first year/couple of years? Or did the “likely lifetime” of a smartphone dropped below that in the meantime?
If anything, my experience with “manufacturer support” on android isn’t particularly stellar, with the only outlier being my current Samsung XCover, which is kinda cheating due to the thing being a rugged phone targeting companies and not the average joe, so the thing is built to last, both hardware and software side.
On the other hand you do have a couple (maybe even three!) companies that offer linux pre-installed on their machines.
I mean, it doesn’t magically appear on the device. You pay for the installation, it’s just included in the price of the device (with Windows you also pay for the license key, by the way). There are companies that’ll install Linux for you. Hell, pay me $30 and cover shipping, I’ll gladly set you up with, I don’t know, Fedora and even add a timer with notifications that’ll nag you about package updates, just like Android does.
Yeah, I know that, the manufacturer has already installed the OS etc.
What I want is a warranty and guaranteed manufacturer support, rather than me needing to figure out how to fix it.
Outside of specialized B2B software, I never met a tech rep that would be helpful with an issue. Do you actually have experience where you’d call Google/Apple/Microslop and get help with their software? In Linux world, with many programs I can just go and nag the actual developer of the thing, which often works wonders.
I had a driver issue with my laptop which was causing the microphone to not work, not only was it fixed under warranty, but they sent a tech to where I was studying to fix it, rather than having to drop it off.
Your computer’s price is often subsidized by the fact that the manufacturer has an agreement with Microslop to preinstall Windows on it.
Who is the goverment paying to install Windows?
It used to be Norton antivirus or whoever that would pay have their shit software preinstalled.
Excuse me, they do what now? Do you have a source on this? Because I know of this little article, but that was quite a long time ago.
I don’t think nowadays windows is subsidized. Sure, some manufacturers may recoup part of, or all the cost by pre installing crap ware, but those that allow choosing your OS usually give you a discount for removing Windows.