Using Open Source to Make Money on Generic PCs

Published: Jun 8, 2006
Updated: Feb 2, 2021
1 minute read
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Say youre in the business of making PCs. And, you want to make money at this business.

Its not easy. There was a time in the 90s when you could slap some cards into a motherboard, put a generic gray case around the electronics, stick an ad in Computer Shopper, and start cashing the checks.

That was a long time ago.

Today, margins on “white boxes”—generic PCs from non-brand-name vendors—are razor-thin.

When everyone in the world bundles Windows XP with their PCs, why not try something different so you can stand out from the crowd? Do these companies want their PCs to be just another pink flamingo in a flock of flamingos?

Besides, with XP Home Edition OEM (original equipment manufacturer) version running around $80 per copy, Windows alone makes up a big part of the price of any PC. When customers take only ten seconds on the Web to find the best-price for a computer, every dime matters.

Now, the well-known Australian open-source business, Cybersource Pty., has an idea on how to stand out and increase reseller margins: the Cybersource Systembuilder Margin Doubler Toolkit.

/zimages/5/28571.gifRead the full story on Linux-Watch: Using Open Source to Make Money on Generic PCs

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

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