Free-PC, here it comes!

[Jacob Stetser]

Well, a few months ago, I signed up, like a million other people, at www.free-pc.com (http://www.free-pc.com) to see if I could get a free-pc. After all, I didn't really want to _spend_ money on a PC :)

Today I got my confirmation letter and I should have a PC in June- it will complement my iMac nicely and allow me to preview pages on a REAL Windows machine, rather than in Virtual PC.

So, terms say I can't install Linux on it, but 30 months after (sometime in 2003, I think), the computer is mine and I'm sure by then it'll be ripe for Linux.

So, I never thought I'd be happy to say this, but I'm happy to get a PC!

(One note that concerns me... you supply them with your credit card number as 'collateral', in case you stiff em. I'm still wary, but I've given them the benefit of the doubt, as USA Networks and idealab backs them, and if I get taken, I've got some pretty big fish to fry.)

The computer is a Compaq, I believe, since they're the ones who'll ship them.
* 333 MHz Processor for lightning-quick application execution.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]15-inch high-resolution (1024x768 pixel) color monitor.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]32 MB Memory.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]4 GB hard drive, of which 2GB of space is available to hold your programs and information.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]56 Kbps modem for fast Internet access.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]CD-ROM drive and 3.5-inch floppy disk drive for multimedia applications and data portability.
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]Microsoft Windows 98®
*[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]Free Internet access with local dial-up, and E-mail to keep you in touch.

I may have to add more RAM and get a bigger monitor, but other than that, it seems not too shabby.
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[Justin]

Wait - so they take half your screen and place ads on it?? I'd rather buy a PC any day than put up with ads all over my desktop to save a couple hundred bucks :(

Sorry I'm not as enthusiastic - but geez, that's a major privacy thing I think - I'm sure there's other software running there that tracks your every move... and it says (if I read correctly) that you can only use Microsoft products on it??

Justin

[Jacob Stetser]

Privacy shmivacy :)

Seriously, I only intend to use it for comparing designs to make sure things work in both browsers, and maybe a little dinking around on the web and stuff. And screen real estate is like 800x600 after the ads.

I know.. not a perfect setup, but money has been tight for me lately, between investing in this business and getting married.

I can't install Linux on it for a while, unless anyone knows of a product that would let me run Linux in a window.

But I'll get PHP and Apache and other stuff running and not have to annoy the wife with being online all the time to test scripts.

{edit} Before I do anything on it, I'll run through everything with a fine tooth comb to make sure they don't have software that tracks anything more than how long I've used the computer each month and what ads I click on. After all, those are the two things they say they want to know about. If there's anything that tracks which and what software I use when, etc., I'll send it back or sue :þ (Oooer, what if it's a PIII!!!!! :({/edit}



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[This message has been edited by Jacob Stetser (edited 05-18-99)]

[Daniel]

Try DragonLinux, I had a problem with it but the techs said I was the only person they ever saw with it, http://www.dragonlinux.nu/ its supposed to run in the same partition and run from dos or something, you might want to check that out as an option.