An article at cnet.com talks about an intriguing way of packaging software, that is instead of just a cardboard box, also include all the hardware.  Actually, its nothing really new, however the perspective is refreshing, that is to think of hardware as packaging. 

It's interesting, that Bill Gates once to referred to pc manufactures like Dell and Compaq as Value Added Reseller (VARs).  That is all they did was add value to Microsoft's software by bundling their hardware with it.  Another interesting perspective I heard was from Matt Welsh (the guy who introduced NIO to java), he said something like, if you treat Java as the operating system, then you can treat Windows as a just a device driver. 

Well so much for that digression, here's a quick summary of the points:

• Lower Development Complexity and Quality Assurance
• More Performance Tuning Options
• Tighter Control of Security
• Easier Provisioning
• More Tangible Pricing
• More Difficult Distribution

The most intriguing point that was brought up, is that this may be a viable way of selling open source software.  In my opinion, selling software is all about packaging.  Most software is bought because its packaging brings convenience to customers, its not because its got whiz bang technology.  I'm not talking about marketing here, I'm talking more about ease of use, that is usability.  For example, the spreadsheet, not rocket science, however presented in a way that's appealing to users, presto, a killer app! 

Hardware is already a commodity, sofware is more and more becoming a commodity, it's ironic that the way to differentiate ones product may be to package commodity hardware with commodity software. Anyone interested in "Tomcat in a Box"?