From...

December 2, 1999
Web posted at: 8:35 a.m. EST (1335 GMT)

by Alexandra Krasne

(IDG) -- Operating a for-profit business in an open-source community is a challenge at best. The trick is finding a way to make that profit.

Linux One's solution: selling a hard drive preloaded with a distribution of Linux. The company released its Ready Drive on Tuesday.

LinuxOne's preloaded drive comes in two sizes: a 13.5GB IBM Ultra-DMA66 7200-rpm drive with a 2MB buffer, priced at $169.95, or a 17.3GB Fujitsu Ultra-DMA66 5400-rpm drive priced at $199.95. LinuxOne charges shipping and handling for each. At the end of the year, the drive prices will increase.

Both drives also include a three-year factory warranty and the LinuxOne operating system CD-ROM disc.

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"The problem with Linux is how to make money with it," says Bill Claybrook, research director for Linux and Unix at Aberdeen. "[Open source] is restrictive, but this may be a new model."

Instead of having customers download the LinuxOne OS off the company's site or buy a CD, LinuxOne adds $20 to the price of the hard drive and makes a profit. The company is aiming primarily at first-time Linux users, says Stan Kawczynski, chief financial officer at LinuxOne. Once you've attached the hard drive to your PC, you can add Windows.

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"It's a way to make life easier," he says, "You don't have to partition your hard drive, which can take two to six hours. Some people have qualms about backing up their drives. This is a way to save time."

Although Kawczynski describes the partitioning process as a two- to six-hour task, recently released Linux distributions from Corel and Caldera can partition your hard drive in a matter of minutes.

Hard drive harmony

It would seem that those who are not comfortable installing Linux might not be too crazy about setting up a hard drive either.

While tinkering with your computer's guts might make you queasy, Kawczynski promises LinuxOne will help if you get stuck.

And Claybrook thinks the preloaded hard drive approach may prove easier than installing Linux yourself.

"If it is preloaded, it's easier," Claybrook says. "The alternative is Linux on a CD, which you'd need to copy onto a hard drive anyway. With this, you turn on your machine and it's up and running."