Talk:White box (computer hardware)

Whitebook
add a paragraph about whitebook? recent trend in doing white box, but with notebooks. not commonplace yet.. but might deserve its own article, or at least a mention. 72.174.2.252 22:02, 25 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Support. IMO move [Whitebox computer] to [White box (computer hardware)]. sendai 09:31, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

POV in article
This basically seems to be one paragraph of descriptive text (which could very well be in the PC Compatible article which I got here from) followed by a general diatribe against proprietary software. Half in the mood for proposing this for deletion. Chris Cunningham 18:16, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Adding the word "some" would, I think, put it closer to NPOV. If you think this is inappropriate, go ahead and revert.

This article seems to have become a anti-Microsoft rant. However true pirated copies exist, "Microsoft" is repeatedly mentioned and the article leaves the impression all white box machines have a "windows tax" One paragraph warning about pirate software seems enough. "Aside from the cost of Microsoft Windows, some other companies add their own software to the machine, such as shareware, spyware[citation needed], adware[citation needed], and software for dial-up ISPs (e.g.: AOL.)" has nothing to do with white box computers and is actually very common with branded computers.

Made some changes to the article. I replaced "mainstream operating system" with Microsoft's Windows because it IS the mainstream system found at all computer repair shops. I removed a reference to Mac OS X, because it can't be used on white boxes, so it's basically irrelevant. I then reworded the phrase about avoiding pre-bundled software. One of the biggest reasons someone installs Windows from scratch on a white box is to avoid pre-loaded software like Norton, and AOL. 69.23.68.19 20:42, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

"Some white box machines built by small systems builders, and all homebuilt systems do not come with an operating system, so the user must install their own." seems incorrect as I understand "white box", many small shops install OS's for the user. Gerald Goodrich 01:20, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Cleaned up the unnecessary aspects of the article. The article was entirely POV, and most of the section on Operating Systems is covered (with far less POV) in the operating system topic. Jhall1468 20:14, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

The mention of "windows tax" still bothers me. I've never heard that term before so I was genuinely confused and thought, 'How can a business charge a tax? Isn't that reserved for government?' To boot, following the link leads to a section of an article who's first reference about this "common complaint" is a dead link. That's when I realized, this section was probably just written by an opinionated neck-beard, including the "supporting" link. I did not read any further. Thisisfutile (talk) 16:11, 23 December 2014 (UTC)thisisfutile

Trouble modding?
I've been using computers a long time and have worked as a software developer and this particular section makes little-to-no sense to me. I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just that if I'm an advanced user and don't understand this, I don't think many people will. What was meant by this? Could it be clarified? Because by my experience, I've never had an issue modifying parts inside my computer, big name or not.

66.240.35.207 01:26, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Overemphasis on DIY
White box machines account for 40 percent or so of the U.S. PC market. Few of those are DIY machines. Most are large volume runs to spec for corporate clients. This aspect is largely ignored here. I changed the lead a bit to improve on this. Also, a "white box" machine is distinguished by not being marketed under a widely recognized brand name (hence "white" box). The "made from off the shelf parts" definition doesn't work. For example, when you buy a Dell, they take standard parts off a shelf and put it together. Well they used to, anyway. Cc68 (talk) 05:12, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Sleeper Builds
Does this article deserve a mention of sleeper homebuilt computers? Maybe it belongs on one of those pages or on beige box, but the practice might be significant enough for a mention on Wikipedia, even if not on its own page.

MakeUseOf | How-To Geek | PCGamesN | Hypebeast | PC Gamer Zetagaming (talk) 17:28, 24 February 2024 (UTC)