Red Hat plans low cost Linux "Global Desktop" OS

What with the OLPC project and Intel planning to make cheap computing for the masses, we've got to wonder what the world was playing at up until now. As the horribly termed "emerging markets" start to emerge, Red Hat is getting into the low cost computing game with the "Red Hat Global Desktop," a low requirement operating system and software package which was announced at the Red Hat Summit in San Diego. The system will include a range of productivity applications, management systems that work on a scale of 10 to 10,000, plus what the Red Hat guys call a "modern user experience": fingers crossed that means no command lines. The Global Desktop is part of Red Hat's involvement with the One Laptop Per Child project, but it'll also be supported on Intel's range of lower specification and cost computer line, if your wish is to replace Microsoft's little OS.

[Via The Inquirer]

[Nathan @ May 12th 2007 11:26PM]

Great, all we need.. another operating system.

[wellingj @ May 12th 2007 11:46PM]

It's Linux....it's not 'another operating system' It's just paired down and tuned to lighter hardware. I could do the same thing with Debian or Gentoo because they allow you to pick your packages and customize. But really unless they are running it on non x86 hardware, there's not going to be much difference underneath. I think what you meant to say is 'another distro'

[Pc_Madness @ May 12th 2007 11:51PM]

Wow, I thought DSL's job was for low end computers. :\

[Randavance @ May 13th 2007 12:49AM]

I predict it tanking horribly. RedHat I don't think is an inovative enough company enough to make an easy to use light weight OS and yet still expandable. It's the type of project best led by the youngest generation of developers, except they focus all there time on open source smaller projects.

As for the command line, what do you have against it? A command line system is super lightweight, super fast, easy to use, and can do just about anything a graphical on can do (minus graphics), heck, I've posted comments on this website from a command line before.

[Josh @ May 13th 2007 5:16AM]

The command line is actually a very powerful tool; no, it doesn't necessarily need to be used for everything, but when troubleshooting someone else's issues it's easier to say 'copy and paste this text into the terminal...' than 'go to this menu, select this, now click that, find the bit that says this, click it, go to advanced, uncheck this box and select ok'.

[Tim @ May 14th 2007 5:40AM]

To Linux users maybe, but it's an absolute nightmare for anyone who, God forbid, tries to switch to Linux. I respect the function it provides, but the command line is downright ancient. The Linux community may have memorized commands and finely tuned their systems, but us windows users are all the more left in the dark when we try to switch. I can't even get it (Ubuntu/Suse) working with my hardware without being mired in unfriendly command line instructions.

The more I try to get into Linux the more it seems the community is being incredibly lazy in designing for outsiders.

[Ismael @ May 13th 2007 8:41AM]

This is atrocious... What a waste of time

[Neebs @ May 13th 2007 10:22AM]

Too bad we already have tons of free Linux OSes that do everything...

[kennethdickson @ May 13th 2007 12:12PM]

I disagree. I dont' think it's a waste of time. There are indeed plenty of small linuxes around, but the truth is that the Linux hasn't really made it off the geek's workbench onto everyone's pc yet, and the developed world isn't any better. And M$ Vista is just a huge cost to most developing world countries. What is a waste of time? This is one of the keys that will truly level the world, low cost computing, tied with low-cost networking...

[frank grimes @ May 13th 2007 9:05PM]

ubuntu...err....centos...novell...beat them to the punch on anything on-critical-production-server + support, their new non long-term OS coming out soon. Even then, SLED and SLES are already there, releasing QUICK point upgrades NOW. People that needed it had Xen and SELinux when they needed it, while Redhat was waiting for a major release. They are FINALLY catching up, and that will be a struggle, since SUSE [NOVELL] already has so many clients but if anyone can do it, they can.

Redhat should focus on redhat and redhat live.
They have so many competitors as it is in every arena, and wasting resources under the guise of strategic expansion is futile.

hell, people are even using ubuntu for servers now...

[frank grimes @ May 13th 2007 9:08PM]

I meant " NON-critical-production-server + support,"