Cathy and Earl Malmrose founded ZaReason several years ago. ZaReason is a Linux OEM that has long intrigued me for a number of reasons: they encourage customers to open their boxes and tinker, they specialize in OEM Linux boxes, and they demonstrate that there is still room for independent shops in the rough-and-tumble world of computer retailing. In many ways the independents out-perform the big businesses as they understand Linux and Linux users, and a Linux-only shop doesn’t have to contend with the pressures and restrictions that Microsoft puts on its partners.
Netbooks have been a bright spot in a rather dismal retail landscape, despite most of the bigtime vendors not “getting it” and releasing oddly-botched strangely-customized Linux installations on their netbooks. ZaReason just released their new netbook, the Terra A20. The Terra A20 packs a lot of goodies into a small box. Cathy Malmrose kindly answered my questions about netbooks and the Linux retail business, and shares some valuable insights into surviving in a tough business…
