Recently, an article appeared on OSWeekly titled “Everex: The Dell of the Linux World.” The article makes a good point that Everex could be what Dell should have been for Linux, but based on their products so far, I am skeptical that they will succeed.

Right now, what they seem to be is what Dell is now. Full of potential, but so far from meeting that potential. Dell’s big mistake, in my opinion, is mostly not publicizing their Linux computers enough on their site. Even if you are looking for Dell’s Linux PCs, it can be difficult to find them. Everex has not made this mistake in particular, but they have made other mistakes.

Their first Linux computer, that I am aware of, was the gPC. The gPC was an inexpensive desktop PC ($200). Unfortunatly, it had two major problems. First, the software (Everex’s gOS) seemed to have lots of issues. Second, and not the fault of the gPC really, many reviews criticized the minimal hardware.

Next, Everex introduced the Cloudbook. From what I can tell, it was a fine Eee PC competitor, but it never managed to get the hype around it that the Eee PC had and still has.

Most recently, Everex has introduced a Mac Mini-ish computer for MySpace users. I think the idea of targeting a small niche is a good idea, but making your computer look like a beige CD drive from 10 years ago is not a good idea. Also, including a DVI port (mostly used on fancy monitors) instead of a VGA port (used on almost all monitors) is not smart, especially in a low-end PC.

So basically, Everex has a lot of potential, but they keep messing small things up and never really meeting their potential. What can Everex do to fix this, though? Below are some of the things I would do to change Everex if I was in charge.

1. Leave gOS behind and use Ubuntu. There are a number of reasons for making this change. For one thing, it would generate a lot of good press and get Ubuntu fans excited. Another advantage is that Everex’s products would no longer be plagued by small bugs that seemed to be a lot of the downfall of the gPC.
2. Instead of taking a lesson from Apple’s software, take a lesson from Apple’s hardware. Recently, Everex has been modeling gOS after Apple’s OSX in many ways. Instead of doing this, since they would be using Ubuntu, learn from Apple’s hardware. Apple is, after all, very good at making a box look pretty and Everex is a hardware company.
3. Consider dropping Windows completely. Without seeing Everex’s sales figures, it is impossible to know if this is even realistic at all, but a well timed dropping of all Windows computers could really bring the attention back to Everex. Imagine that a few months after introducing some new Linux PCs, Everex dropped their Windows PCs completely. It would excite people and bring the hype back to Everex.
4. Don’t make small, but important, mistakes that could easily be prevented. For example, don’t put a DVI port on a low-end PC. It is like saying here is a low-end computer that only works with an expensive monitor. It makes no sense.

Whatever Everex does, I hope they correct some of the problems they have had in the past and start producing great Linux PCs.

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