Gateway, whose classic startup success story and moo-cow-fashioned packaging materials bolstered its position in the late 90's as a dominant computer manufacturer, just got bought by Taiwan-based Acer for $710 million. That means the third-largest PC maker is now Acer. Can't say that we would've ever predicted that back when Gateway was flying so high, making acquisitions of its own, and experimenting with its own retail distribution.

Not sure if the name Gateway will survive this one, but we suspect it will. Acer is just such a forgettable brand. Indeed, first reactions included, "They bought Gateway? I thought Acer made cheap laptops!" Add Gateway PCs to the list of things Acer makes, along with a marked increased in market share (and cheap laptops).

While we didn't really expect to hear that Acer would offer its Aspire 5710Z notebook running Ubuntu Linux outside of Singapore anytime soon, we can't say that it didn't sting a bit when we discovered that our pessimism was well-placed.

According to ZDNet, an Acer spokesperson says the company has no plans to sell PCs pre-loaded with Linux in the UK anytime soon. And DailyTech confirms that the same goes for the US.

The surprising thing is that Acer seems to be basing this decision on lack of demand for consumer PCs running Linux. But Dell reports that it's received quite a positive response to its PCs running Ubuntu. In fact, there's a rumor going around that Dell plans to offer several more computer models with Linux in the future.

We guess Acer's decision (and the decision by pretty much every other major computer maker) to stick with Windows is their loss and Dell's gain. You know, when it comes to selling computers to a select group of enthusiasts or bargain hunters.

Acer appears to be following Dell's lead and is installing Ubuntu Linux on at least one notebook PC. The Acer Aspire 5710Z with Ubuntu is only available in Singapore, where it's advertised for SG$999. That's about $660 US dollars.

This PC's specs would seem to indicate that it's targeted at budget-minded consumers, and the omission of Windows XP or Vista probably helps drive down the price. But while you could only run Windows Vista Home Basic on a computer with just 512MB of RAM, your money gets you a full version of Ubuntu Linux with all the bells and whistles.

Of course, you could just buy a laptop and load your own copy of the free operating system onto it. But we assume Acer have tested Ubuntu on the 5710Z and ensured that all the appropriate drivers are loaded. That alone makes these systems with Ubuntu preloaded worth their weight in gold for the new Linux user.

No word on whether Acer will be offering Linux laptops in the US anytime soon.

[via Engadget]

It's one thing when a blogger or a journalist harps on Microsoft for one thing or another - but it's something else entirely when the president of the world's 4th largest PC manufacturer claims "the whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista." In a statement to Financial Times Deutschland this week, Acer president Gianfranco Lanci bashed Microsoft and their latest OS, citing the fact that many home and business customers of Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo (formerly IBM) and Toshiba are so upset with Vista that they're demanding Windows XP be made available for order. It's a bold statement from a company on the up and up in the paper-thin margin, highly competitive PC industry.

Not surprisingly, the other companies joining Acer in the XP bucket haven't made any kind of statement, but they have to be feeling at least some of the same burn. With mainstream users getting confused by Vista's new features and a 3rd party industry dragging their feet to offer support for the new OS, Vista is stuck between a rock and a hard place, struggling to gain market share from adopters who are reluctant to make the leap until support for all their existing software and peripherals arrives. Frustration and hesitation is further compounded by the fact that Windows 7, or 'Vienna,' is right around the corner for 2009 or 2010, as it is reported to be a complete rewrite of the Windows code base from the ground up, requiring everyone to follow suit with complete rewrites of their software and drivers.

Aside from niche markets and power users, Lanci might have been half right with his statement. Though instead of being 'disappointed' with Vista, it seems like the industry might simply be 'disinterested' in the OS, at least for now.

[via 1 Microsoft Way]

Microsoft wasn't the smartest in the way they handled the blogger laptop give-away, but the debacle will turn out good in one way. One blogger, Scott Beale, is choosing to auction off the laptop he received on eBay and give the proceeds to the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). The auction will run through January 4th, when Scott will post the results on his blog, the Laughing Squid. If you can get over the ugliness of the Acer Ferrari-inspired laptop, then give it shot and bid on the thing. This just proves bloggers are smart, resourceful, and thinkers, which I think is just plain touching...sniff.

Acer, the world's fourth largest PC manufacturer, says Microsoft is effectively forcing consumers to pay for the pricier Vista Premium because Vista Home Basic isn't any good. "The new [Vista] experience you hear of, if you get Basic, you won't feel it at all," said Acer senior VP Jim Wong, "There's no [Aero] graphics, no Media Center, no remote control." Since PC buyers won't settle for Home Basic, Wong Says, they'll demand Premium, but won't want to pay extra for it. Premium costs manufacturers 10% more than Home Basic, which increases the cost to build a PC by to 1-2%, a significant amount in the low-margin OEM world.

What do you think? Will anybody want Vista Home Basic, or will PC manufacturers be stuck holding the bill? If nobody wants Home Basic, should Microsoft ditch it and lower the price for Premium?

In this issue of Googleholic we cover:

• The Church of Google
• The making of the Google Calendar
• Flava Flav likes Google
• Boston Transit maps mashup
• Google is fighting to use Gmail in Germany
• Yahoo battles Google with default computer search

Continue reading Friday's Googleholic...