Re: Does anyone know anything about Wheat Computers

[Rebecca Ore <rebecca.ore@op.net>]

On Thu, Jan 07, 1999 at 06:37:14PM -0500, Eric S. Raymond wrote:
> Rebecca Ore <rebecca.ore@op.net>:

> > support the side.  I know there's a place in New Hampshire, DCG, that offers
> > installed Linux on Intel, Alphas, and Sun.
> 
> I know nothing about Wheat.  But the top guns in the custom-Linux-box
> business are generally conceded to be VA Research, www.varesearch.com.
> Linus Torvalds's personal machine is a VA Research workstation.

You think I could talk them into /bribing me to recommend/ donating a
box to me as a s.f. novelist whose next book will be about open source,
cancelling, and ideas as property?

I just looked at their prices; I think DCG may get
my business.  Acorn, however, does have the best web design of any of
these places, which, if reflected in their machine design, bodes well.

VA research web design is unreadable without putting Netscape up full
screen, by the way.  Um, just checked -- not even then.  How is it under
Lynx?

(I put 18 point type as an option in my Eterm, but generally run at 14).

> 
> I use a VAR box they gave me about six months ago and it has been
> nothing but a pleasure ..... 
> 
> (Someone else mentioned Penguin Computing; it was was founded by a
> former VAR employee, my friend Sam Ockman).

Um, so why do they pay people to recommend them?

I found it interesting that Intel is investing in RedHat since the
Gnomes are the only desktop workers who try to keep from being
Linux-centric.  KDE barely mentions other platforms, and then only a few
of them.  Obviously, Intel would never want to be mistaken for a
monopoly supplier like some companies we know.

One reason I've thought about the New Hampshire company is that I've
also thought about getting a dual booted Alpha, which would obviate
having to have this machine stay with me at all.  If anyone wants to know
why I think Wintel is better for graphics, I can spell it out, but even
PaintshopPro has features that Gimp does in regard to things useful to
four color separation work.  And the vector graphics programs -- the
open source programs in Linux are better than anything shareware or
freeware in Windows, but neither of the vector graphics programs I'm
familiar with come up to Illustrator or Expressions.

We won't go into the abandonment of Maxwell, the best Linux word
processor I've seen, but one who started life as a commerical product
and which got tied to Motif.  I use Maxwell until something better in
open source comes along, but the word is that this hasn't happened yet.

I recommend Maxwell highly, but confess to getting email from Tom Newton
one of the developers :).

-- 
Rebecca Ore
When software is open, hardware is harder than ever

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