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AOL has already done this. They used to sell a webpad, powered by a Transmeta Crusoe processor, running Linux and AOL software. Here's an old link to it: http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT3155528116.html . It has since been discontinued, apparently because of lack of sales. Before it came out, I got my hands on an early beta of AOL under Linux. It didn't fully function, but it was definitely AOL. AOL hasn't completely snubbed Open Source. Their web server, AOLserver is Open Sourced, and in some cases is a good alternative to apache for some types of performance. See http://www.aolserver.com -Tim On Mon, 2002-01-21 at 08:34, John Hebert wrote: Thanks for the links, Jason, and welcome aboard! I really liked the newsforge article and agree with what Rob Limo stated. I disagree with earlier posts stating that new users would be lost in trying to use Linux. AOL has plenty of interface design resources to hide that complexity from the users. I imagine that AOL would make a Linux distro that more or less turns a PC into an information appliance. I'll bet the majority of AOL users only use their PCs for AOL oriented web and email anyway. What do you think? I think M$ would be a little ticked off. I'm very excited at the prospect, though I want to keep my enthusiasm in check until I see more info. BUT, if AOL did buy RedHat, AND made a desktop distro, think of the huge market for software and support! This would be a huge shift in the battle for the desktop. Not to mention a need for a counter to .NET: Mono? .GNU? The mind boggles. Ok, back to checking my enthusiasm... :) John Hebert > -----Original Message----- > From: Jason DeWitt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 7:56 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [brluglist] AOLinux? > > > I just saw this story this morning, it appears that it is > more than just a > rumor now. > > http://news.com.com/2100-1001-819243.html > > Also, here is a newsforge article telling why this is a good > thing, for > everybody except Microsoft. > http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/01/19/1848219 > > Oh yeah, Hi. I'm Jason DeWitt. I'm new here. =) > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 10:34 PM > Subject: Re: [brluglist] AOLinux? > > > > Why would AOL go to the trouble of making an entire > operating system? All > > they would have to do is to make their own Windows 'shell' > program and > > have it replace Explorer with itself. (Anyone here > remember Microsoft > > Bob?). AOL users don't need an entire operating system for AOL > > integration, all they need is a small Windows program that > provides a > > space for them to store their icons... It could even put > its skin over all > > Windows applications to give the computer that 'AOL feel'. > > > > I think the average AOLer has just enough intelligence to > find setup.exe > > in case the AutoRun doesn't work... But I may be too > generous here... > > There is no way in hell they would ever survive Linux, no > matter how user > > friendly it became. Heck, Windows stupifies many people! > (I have even > > heard people complain that Macintoshes are HARD to use!) > > > > > > Unless AOL is plannning to use its special version of Linux > in some kind > > of embedded computer or applicance (kinda like those souped > up phones that > > do email). Then a customized version of linux would be > approriate in a > > situation where a customer never even knows what it is.... > > > > With all of the advancements, there will occasionnally to > be the need to > > dip into the command prompt in linux, just as in Windows, > it is sometimes > > required to exit the registry or run diagnostics from a > 'system disk'. > > > > Operating systems will *NEVER* be 100% foolproof. There > will always be > > people that find ways to screw them up, there will always > be people that > > open attachments titled "ME_NUDE.EXE" without thinking.... > > > > -Alex > > > > > > ================================================ > > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > > your subscription information. > > ================================================ > > ================================================ > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change > your subscription information. > ================================================ > ================================================ BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change your subscription information. ================================================ --=-h37KoKYbXaCkqYRJyJbs Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 TRANSITIONAL//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=UTF-8"> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="GtkHTML/1.0.1"> </HEAD> <BODY> AOL has already done this. They used to sell a webpad, powered by a Transmeta Crusoe processor, running <BR> Linux and AOL software. Here's an old link to it: <A HREF="http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT3155528116.html";>http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT3155528116.html</A> . <BR> It has since been discontinued, apparently because of lack of sales. Before it came out, I got my hands on <BR> an early beta of AOL under Linux. It didn't fully function, but it was definitely AOL. <BR> <BR> AOL hasn't completely snubbed Open Source. Their web server, AOLserver is Open Sourced, and in some <BR> cases is a good alternative to apache for some types of performance. See <A HREF="http://www.aolserver.com";>http://www.aolserver.com</A> <BR> <BR> <BR> -Tim <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> On Mon, 2002-01-21 at 08:34, John Hebert wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> <PRE><FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>Thanks for the links, Jason, and welcome aboard! I really liked the</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>newsforge article and agree with what Rob Limo stated.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>I disagree with earlier posts stating that new users would be lost in trying</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>to use Linux. AOL has plenty of interface design resources to hide that</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>complexity from the users. I imagine that AOL would make a Linux distro that</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>more or less turns a PC into an information appliance. I'll bet the majority</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>of AOL users only use their PCs for AOL oriented web and email anyway. What</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>do you think? I think M$ would be a little ticked off.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>I'm very excited at the prospect, though I want to keep my enthusiasm in</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>check until I see more info. BUT, if AOL did buy RedHat, AND made a desktop</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>distro, think of the huge market for software and support! This would be a</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>huge shift in the battle for the desktop. Not to mention a need for a</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>counter to .NET: Mono? .GNU? The mind boggles.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>Ok, back to checking my enthusiasm... :)</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>John Hebert</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> -----Original Message-----</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> From: Jason DeWitt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Sent: Monday, January 21, 2002 7:56 AM</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Subject: Re: [brluglist] AOLinux?</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> I just saw this story this morning, it appears that it is </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> more than just a</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> rumor now.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> http://news.com.com/2100-1001-819243.html</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Also, here is a newsforge article telling why this is a good </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> thing, for</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> everybody except Microsoft.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/01/19/1848219</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Oh yeah, Hi. I'm Jason DeWitt. I'm new here. =)</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ----- Original Message -----</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2002 10:34 PM</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Subject: Re: [brluglist] AOLinux?</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Why would AOL go to the trouble of making an entire </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> operating system? All</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > they would have to do is to make their own Windows 'shell' </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> program and</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > have it replace Explorer with itself. (Anyone here </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> remember Microsoft</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Bob?). AOL users don't need an entire operating system for AOL</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > integration, all they need is a small Windows program that </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> provides a</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > space for them to store their icons... It could even put </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> its skin over all</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Windows applications to give the computer that 'AOL feel'.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > I think the average AOLer has just enough intelligence to </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> find setup.exe</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > in case the AutoRun doesn't work... But I may be too </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> generous here...</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > There is no way in hell they would ever survive Linux, no </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> matter how user</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > friendly it became. Heck, Windows stupifies many people! </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> (I have even</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > heard people complain that Macintoshes are HARD to use!)</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Unless AOL is plannning to use its special version of Linux </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> in some kind</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > of embedded computer or applicance (kinda like those souped </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> up phones that</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > do email). Then a customized version of linux would be </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> approriate in a</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > situation where a customer never even knows what it is....</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > With all of the advancements, there will occasionnally to </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> be the need to</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > dip into the command prompt in linux, just as in Windows, </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> it is sometimes</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > required to exit the registry or run diagnostics from a </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> 'system disk'.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Operating systems will *NEVER* be 100% foolproof. There </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> will always be</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > people that find ways to screw them up, there will always </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> be people that</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > open attachments titled "ME_NUDE.EXE" without thinking....</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > -Alex</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ></FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > ================================================</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > your subscription information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> > ================================================</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ================================================</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> your subscription information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> ================================================</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>> </FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>================================================</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>Send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to change</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>your subscription information.</FONT></FONT></I> <FONT COLOR="#737373"><FONT SIZE="3"><I>================================================</FONT></FONT></I> </PRE> </BLOCKQUOTE> </BODY> </HTML> --=-h37KoKYbXaCkqYRJyJbs-- ================================================ BRLUG - The Baton Rouge Linux User Group Visit http://www.brlug.net for more information. 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