WizaPC: "It's Not Just a Company, It's a Movement!"

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Okay, first off here are my domain names already registered:

• WizaPC.com (Company Name and Main Website)
• AlternativeComputing.info (A Wiki Information Site Devoted to Computing Outside of the Wintel World; i.e. Unix, Linux, MacOS, etc.)
• FreeThePC.org (A Community-Based [Forums, Chatroom, Blog, etc.] Website Focused Primarily on Marketing and Supporting the Company's Mission Statement)
• PComatic.org (An Open-Source Software Project Aimed at Helping PC-Building Enthusiasts and PC Technicians to Build the Perfect PC or Upgrade/Repair a PC; Not Sure Exactly How This Will Fit Into the Company's Mission for Right Now)
• PCBuildersClub.net (Another Community Site Devoted to Helping PC Enthusiasts to Build, Upgrade, Buy, Sell and Trade Computer Components and Accessories; Not Sure Exactly How This Will Fit Into the Company's Mission for Right Now)

The "company", WizaPC, believes that Microsoft and Intel have basically become "too BIG for their britches" so to speak! So BIG in fact, that WizaPC's founder, me, is betting that MS will once again dissapoint billions of their customers come October 22, 2009, with it's release of yet another lame duck operating system called Windows 7, which by the way is suppose to be a close cousin of Windows Vista, being compatible with all programs and hardware that work with Vista. A lot of people hate Vista already! They say it's buggy, bloated, slow and consumes too much of your computer's memory. I'm saying here that I believe MS will repeat history all over again with the release of Windows 7 and once again billions of customers will be very dissapointed with the company. Not to mention the fact that MS and Intel overcharge for their products and services when you compare them with companies like AMD and operating systems like Linux. Intel continues to innovate at a much faster rate than even MS, but it still way overcharges for it's "luxury" CPUs, with some chips costing well over $1,000 when first released. AMD makes very fast, very efficient CPUs for much less cost than Intel, usually costing no more than a few hundred dollars for a high-end chip. This, I feel, gives AMD a strategic advantage over Intel, especially in light of the shape of the economy right now. People just simply don't want to pay too much for anything right now (including gasoline, LoL! ).

So, the idea and the movement behind WizaPC is not to knock MS and Intel out of the water, smashing their monopolies forever! The idea here is for WizaPC to try and level the playing field somewhat and create fair and balanced competition, so that the PC can truly be FREE! It will do so by supporting companies that create products and services that undermine MS and Intel by making strategic business deals with them that will benefit both WizaPC and the other company. Companies like Sun Microsystems, Apple Computer, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), and Novell and IBM (just to name a few), would be great companies for WizaPC to partner with or form strategic alliances with. WizaPC can then focus on providing a distribution channel through which companies that support our 'Alternative Computing' movement can rely on us to market and resell their products and services to the masses, and doing so as cheaply as possible and as efficiently as possible. This way WizaPC can make money through reseller/retail markup and companies that distribute their products and services through us can make money as well.

Only when it comes to niche markets such as video gaming and using CAD software will WizaPC recommend a Wintel solution to it's customers. Niche is the keyword here, everything else can be done more efficiently and even more cheaply using 'Alternative Computing' solutions, but with one exception. Apple Macintosh products and services are not cheap, but they are more reliable and more innovative than anything Wintel related. WizaPC will only recommend Apple products when our customers are on a higher income, having extra money to spend. Otherwise, a viable Linux solution should work better for them.

WizaPC plans it's success by first creating strong communities of support at it's FreeThePC.og and PCBuildersClub.net websites, of which their is already a very large community of open-source developers and 'Alternative Computing' customers in the world to reach out to. It will also provide useful and helpful information to it's customers through it's very own Wiki encyclopedia on the topic of 'Alternative Computing' at AlternativeComputing.info. And by pushing along, developing and supporting open-source software projects such as PComatic, we can enable our own company and the 'Alternative Computing' community at large to ease the process of developing viable and reasonable alternatives for our customers as well as their customers. Finally, by supporting the use of open-source software and renouncing proprietary solutions more often, WizaPC can succeed in it's mission to undermine MS and Intel and level the playing field in a tough hi-tech industry.

So all in all, Microsoft and Intel and all of their friends and allies (anyone that supports them in any way) is my enemy. Unix, Linux, MacOS X, BSD, Solaris, AMD CPUs and anything that powers itself on these alternative technologies is set to be a clear winner in my honest opinion!

Alright, now you can feel free to flame me! J/K mods!

Have at it!

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Okay, I have now posted a new poll for this thread. Please vote on the poll and comment on the idea. Thank you!

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I don't get it. Why doesn't anyone seem to be interested in this thread? I am starting to feel quite lonely.

[PsiPro]

OKay where to start....

First, the arguments are a great battle cry to mobilize the masses to bring down the villainous 'wintel' as you called it. But there are inherent flaws in your arguments that any techy will likely notice.

newegg will be my source of prices unless otherwise stated.

First target: Intel vs. AMD vs. Misc...
Intel is an established corporation and AMD is having stock valuation issues. That gives some credence to a higher price but your right, they do have some of the most expensive cpus.

Their most expensive model is a Intel Core2 Extreme Quad core 3.2 Ghz. Its got 12MB of L2 cache (i mean... holy junk!). Priced at $1500

AMD's most expensive model is a 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor as well priced at $245 with 2MB L2 cache.

That is a HUGE difference, and for the performance junkies it will be well worth the price. Anyway most people don't need a 3.2Ghz Quad core. Moving on to a realistic example, the best <$100

Intel: 12 intel processors come up for less then 100
AMD: 23 AMD come up

AMD is definitely more bang for your buck, but they just don't have cutting edge technology and the company is struggling. When you get down to a realistic, individuals computer a CPU that is less then $100 is fine and there are plenty of good Intel chips to choose from. Those CPUS are typically so non-descript in their differences there are more important choices, namely the mother board.


You talk about Windows 7 being another flop of Vista. Ya it will have its problems just like every other windows release, but if the commentators at /. can give them credit for improving it and cutting the fat they have to have made some progress.

If you want to undermine Microsoft don't promote Apple, for the love of all things geeky don't promote Apple. Apple is just as anti-competitive as Microsoft they are just to small of a fish to get the wrath and scorn MS gets. Promote Linux (UNIX is propriety, Linux is Open Source), whatever distro you like but ubuntu seems to be the most newby friendly.

The problem is, people need applications which are currently ONLY windows, and sometimes mac as well. Until those change, windows will be the dominate operating system for the standard worker in the workplace. However you can start the change by promoting the use of OpenOffice instead of MS office, Firefox instead of IE, Thunderbird instead of MS Outlook, etc.

Your goals may be noble, but the linux community has had the hopes of taking down MS for years (they don't care about Intel AFAIK), and they have had limited success. Whats your plan? As someone who knows about the issues your talking about (I presume your trying to get people like me to back your site) I can tell you your post just seems like a rant, unfocused, and slightly mis-informed.

All that being said, I think your domains are good and have potential. However I would reconsider your approach as your cause is just

[bennihan]

Thread is way too long. shorten it any maybe more people will read it and respond. I think the domain name is very suitable tho

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Thread is way too long. shorten it any maybe more people will read it and respond. I think the domain name is very suitable tho

I strongly disagree with you there, for some strange reason.

I feel like since this thread has finally been buried beneath the first page, that's it high time it's been bumped up a bit.

[Neustance]

I read all through the post, and have to say that you have your hopes very high(which is a good thing) but your approach needs to be a bit more open minded. How will your "company" support companies like Apple and AMD? I didn't get that part very clear. You want to promote their products and sell them? You want to improve their mark in the market?

Obviously all of it sounds like a great idea if your a technical savy individual, and just love anything that isnt Microsoft. But right now where's the business in it? How do you plan on improving the images and perception of such companies mentioned above? What will make companies like Apple want to "partner with or form strategic alliances with" your company? How will you make a strategic alliance with them, what do you have to offer them?

Keep at it and best of luck.

Francisco

[BALLERMODE]

Thread is way too long. shorten it any maybe more people will read it and respond. I think the domain name is very suitable tho

I strongly disagree with you there, for some strange reason.

Actually, I didn't read it because of how long it was.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I read all through the post, and have to say that you have your hopes very high(which is a good thing) but your approach needs to be a bit more open minded. How will your "company" support companies like Apple and AMD? I didn't get that part very clear. You want to promote their products and sell them? You want to improve their mark in the market?

Obviously all of it sounds like a great idea if your a technical savy individual, and just love anything that isnt Microsoft. But right now where's the business in it? How do you plan on improving the images and perception of such companies mentioned above? What will make companies like Apple want to "partner with or form strategic alliances with" your company? How will you make a strategic alliance with them, what do you have to offer them?

Keep at it and best of luck.

Francisco

Thank you for your supportive post.

Yes, all those questions that you asked will need some answers, answers that I do not yet have. That's why I posted this thread in the first place.

What would you do if you were planning to start a sole proprietorship like the one I describe--one that you would be running all by yourself, at least for a little while? And let's say you were planning to start out with a very limited initial investment (no more than $5,000) and therefore you knew you would have a very limited capacity in what you could do just starting out. The vision I described in the OP are really more long term visions that need to start somewhere and start heading in the right direction. The real question is where to begin on such a limited budget. How can I start an effective company I can grow with in such a limited capacity? What kind of mission and vision statements should I write down? What does my business plan need to say? I already have a company slogan, by the way: "It's not just a company, it's a movement!" This is where I need ideas the most--where do I start exactly?

By the way, I live in Tennessee, a great place to start a business, by the way, especially in light of the fact that there is no state income tax in Tennessee, other taxes are relatively low compared to most other states (except sales tax), and the quality of education here is among the highest in the nation, resulting in highly skilled employees. There is a non-profit organization here called the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (Tennessee Small Business Development Centers), which helps aspiring entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground running into a real startup company, and they do it for free, even though they have many paid seminars. They also help existing companies to expand their horizons and grow, so that they can better serve their customers. I plan on turning to TSBDC for help getting started when I feel ready to startup my business. TSBDC does tell their clients if their business ideas will work in the marketplace and how much of a market there is in the market(s) they are getting in to. But if I tell TSBDC all the wrong things about where I plan to start, I am afraid they may think that I am too incompetent to run such a company. These ideas, by the way, could turn into my first business, one that would be the culmination of a dream I have had since I was about 13, just 2 years after I got my hands on my very first computer! Today, I am 29.

So what comes first? I am ready to take your suggestions into consideration.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

The following is the mission statement that I just came up with for WizaPC in the last few hours or so. This took quite a bit of thinking and reflection to make it just the way I want it to be. Still, it is quite new and I am open to any suggestions for changes; I consider this statement a rough draft just as it is. This mission statement is quite ambitious, by the way, but of course other companies like Microsoft had very ambitious mission statements when they started out small. Microsoft's statement said something to the effect of, "a computer in every home and on every desk." That is statement that they have, for the most part, fulfilled and have already moved on to something else.

Well, the actual mission statement for WizaPC includes only the letters in bold below. The rest of it is just an elaboration of what the mission statement entails. Please read it, analyze it, and post your opinions, comments and suggestions on it.

Thank you for your time and attention:



The mission of WizaPC is to create revolutionary change within the IT industry for the mutual benefit of every IT company and every customer.

We will accomplish this monumental task in three distinctive ways:

1.We will please our customers by offering the most freedom of choice, furnishing the highest quality goods and services, and affording the highest standards of market value in the industry.

2.We will work towards influencing the adoption of less proprietary products and services as industry standards for the benefit of our customers.

3.We will work in accord with other IT companies towards achieving common goals and ideas that mutually benefit each other and our customers.



Have at it!

[Troxed]

I am new here, so I probably shouldn't be making my first post on this topic, but I will anyways.

Windows 7 is quite amazing. I have been running it since pre-beta and the only problems I have had with it are driver related due to companies not supporting Windows 7 yet. Windows Vista is garbage, everyone knows that. Windows 7 however is probably one of the best Microsoft operating systems ever made. I am not a huge Windows fan either, so it pains me to say this. I think people will be fairly happy when they move to Windows 7 from Vista. As Psi said above, the issue is not what people WANT to run, its what people CAN run. Your average computer user (and I use the average because you are bringing up the AMD vs. Intel subject and anyone that would even have to think about that is nowhere near a power user) will not be able to figure out and effectively run any open source OS. The problem isn't the "ease of use", it has more to do with the compatibility of drivers and software. Most people are not going to want to try to figure out how to run Outlook on Ubuntu in their free time after work. Explain to them how to run an emulator and you really lose them.

As for AMD vs. Intel...
I agree, the average user should not be buying top end EE Intel CPUs. However, bottom line, in 99% of buying situations you will find yourself in, you get what you pay for. AMD chips are fine for the average user, but Intel has budget chips as well and I would like to think that they are a little better quality and the support is much better from what I have experienced.

The domain names are great, they get the point across. Just wanted to throw out my $.02.

[PsiPro]

Windows 7 is quite amazing.

Woah woah woah woah woah you lost me there

Until windows removes the ingrained DRM c#$p I'm not going back. I'll keep my old box around with XP on it for games, and a VM for Vista & 7 compatibility testing... but I'm sure as heck not buying a computer that owns me, instead of me owning it.

I moved fully from XP to linux about a year ago and have never had to deal with anything windows based since. If it wont run on wine i probably don't need it

[Troxed]

Until windows removes the ingrained DRM c#$p I'm not going back.

DRM is a small hurdle, I was talking more about how amazing Windows 7 is compared to Vista in regards to things such as the known memory leak, the compatibility issues with the 64 bit version and the over all bloated nature of Vista. Windows 7 is much cleaner, smoother and has the feeling of a "lite" OS. I haven't gotten a chance to run it on an average user machine, but my water cooled I7 with 12 gigs of DDR3 peaks at 20% usage under non synthetic loads and idles at 0% CPU and 8% ram usage. Nowhere near the same results with Vista.

[PsiPro]

Very true. Even /. sometimes approves of Windows 7 so far.... Now that is quite a feat.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Have any of you guys been listening/reading the tech news lately?:

Google Chrome OS