[Marketing] Competition for the XO

[Sean DALY]

one of those happy (for me) occasions I can say I told y'all so:

Microsoft unwraps netbook Windows 7 upgrade tool
http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=8D089C46-1A64-6A71-CE5E2B4B5BE26477

"Microsoft has released a tool that lets netbook owners install
Windows 7 on their machines using a USB flash drive, sidestepping the
usual requirement of a DVD drive... The utility, Windows 7 USB/DVD
Download Tool, creates a bootable flash drive from a downloaded .iso
file, or disk image, of Windows 7, and can be purchased from
Microsoft's online store."

MS announcement:
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/10/22/windows-7-arrives-today-with-new-offers-new-pcs-and-more.aspx

"The Microsoft Store will be providing a tool called the Windows 7
USB/DVD Download Tool (rolls right off the tongue doesn’t it?) – or
WUDT for short. For netbook users without DVD drives, the WUDT will
take an ISO image and create a bootable USB device that can be used to
install Windows 7. The WUDT can also create a Windows 7 installation
DVD from the ISO file as well."

For my part, I think "LiveUSB Creator" sounds a lot more professional
than "WUDT" :D

This is fabulous news, because there is now incentive for every OEM,
tech site, blogger, etc. to describe how to set BIOS to boot from
USB!!

Such instructions will become easily googlable, lowering the barrier
for booting Sugar on a Stick (or indeed any liveUSB system)

Sean



On Sat, Oct 10, 2009 at 7:14 PM, David Farning <dfarning at sugarlabs.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Oct 10, 2009 at 5:18 AM, Sean DALY <sdaly.be at gmail.com> wrote:
>> This list from early 2008 is way out of date... for OLPC, they are off
>> by a million machines or so :D
>>
>> Nevertheless, it is useful, thanks Tim
>>
>> I agree that any OEM deal will raise Sugar's profile immensely.
>> However, seeing OEMs is time and travel intensive, difficult with our
>> limited resources. I should add that as we are dependent on an
>> underlying distro, all of which have encountered difficulties inking
>> OEM deals.
>>
>> It's my belief that the most promising OEM deals with GNU/Linux
>> distros and "Sugar on top" will happen over non-x86 processor
>> architectures such as ARM - in other words, on machines which can't
>> run Windows. This is how EeePC started the retail netbook craze;
>> Windows couldn't run on the lowest-end netbooks, and even where they
>> could, they didn't wish to be price-squeezed at the bottom of the
>> market. Their response has been to pressure OEMs to beef up netbook
>> specs and drop GNU/Linux distros, to rename netbooks as "ULCPCs" (a
>> total failure), and to insure that Windows 7 will be technically able
>> to run on netbooks. They are claiming this for the launch later this
>> month, but what's missing is how they intend to ease the upgrade path
>> from Windows XP (wipe and install necessary) on machines with no
>> optical drives. Is online update of the whole OS an option? Or
>> requiring price-conscious netbook owners to buy an external optical
>> drive just for the upgrade? I myself believe the rumors that there
>> will be a Windows USB stick SKU, possibly with a tool for saving and
>> reinstalling WinXP data. None of the major tech journalists following
>> Microsoft are talking about this problem which leads me to believe
>> they have been briefed on Microsoft's plans under embargo.
>>
>> Our approach up to now has been to establish our identity parallel to
>> but separate from OLPC, in order to minimize the impact of their bad
>> press, while at the same time supporting OLPC as our primary installed
>> base. OEM deciders need to know about us - Mike Lee mentioned how at
>> NECC in Washington DC a few months back, he showed Sugar on a Stick
>> running on an EeePC to a surprised Asus executive - so we work on
>> raising our public profile and building a meme that "Sugar runs on
>> everything". Press launches raise buzz and the news reaches NGOs too.
>> We are also planning promotional work to NGOs with the FSF.
>>
>> Concretely, what this means is I try to add the names of OEM execs to
>> our press mailing list, and we are making efforts to be present at
>> education tech shows and conferences where OEMs can see us.
>>
>> How do you think we could better reach OEMs? There is of course
>> working the phones, which David and Walter do a lot of.
>>
>> Finally, there is the community aspect. OEMs will take risks choosing
>> any GNU/Linux distro and for a Sugar-branded machine in particular.
>> They want to know that our community is vibrant, growing, active in
>> the distro ecosystem, and well-governed.
>
> Sean is spot on with this assessment.  OEMs are not particularly
> concerned with the sugar product.  They are interested in the Sugar
> Labs project.  If they just want Sugar, they can fork it.  The value
> for an OEM comes from being able to build a competitive product on top
> of the 'output' from Sugar Labs.
>
> As an example, 10 years ago there were dozens of kernels and operating
> systems for embedded devices. Now we are down to a handful.  The
> quality of the remaining kernels and operating systems is good enough
> that it is seldom worthwhile for a embedded device manufacture to roll
> their own.
>
> Embedded device manufactures collaboratively develop Linux while
> competing by selling devices which run Linux.
>
>  The relationship between Sugar Labs and OLPC is a case study in the
> nature of a relationship between sugar Labs and any other OEM.  OLPC
> (or other OEMs) must:
> 1. Build the hardware.
> 2. Pick sugar over (or in addition to) other learning platforms.
> 3. Pick a Linux distribution.
> 4. Combine Sugar with a standard Linux distribution to run on their hardware.
> 5. Optimize the standard Sugar/distribution for their hardware.
> 6. Sell the hardware/distribution/sugar 'product.'
> 7. Support the hardware/distribution/sugar 'product.'
> 8. Generate enough Return On Investment to make it cost effective to
> repeat steps 1-7.
>
> An interesting note is that from an operations point of view, SoaS is
> very similar to a 'normal' OEM relationship.  But in this case the
> hardware is a USB memory stick which runs on other systems.
>
> david
>