Writing that last story reminded me of a conversation I had with LinearB a few days ago, so I figured I’d post the question here to see what the wider array of public opinion was. The main question: do you think that a computer shop specializing in alternative operating systems would be a viable enterprise here in Austin?
Like many other people who dig non-Redmond OSes, I’m used to making my computers from spare parts and generally being a DIYer (do-it-yourself-er, from the home improvement crowd). However, there have been times where I wished I could go to a store and buy a ready-to-rock system with (linux | *BSd | BeOS | Solaris x86) installed. Also, I can see the store offering individual parts, with the “value-add” of having extra information about whether the parts work with OSes other than those listed on the box, and the steps neccessary to to get them to work (e.g. “Hi, I’d like a SCSI card for my BeOS system at home.” “Here, take a look at this Adaptec card, or if you’d like a somewhat less expensive solution, this Tekram card. Check (some sites) for drivers.”).
I can see the hazard of trying to support too many things, so perhaps some concentration on a subclass of the above mentioned OSes would be needed. Still, I think that there are enough people in Austin using things besides win32 that the client base could support such a shop.
What do y’all think?
