I think we can finally put a certain myth to rest that's been circling around the web for a while now. Microsoft often claimed that netbooks running Linux saw higher return rates than those running Windows, but according to Dell, this is utter nonsense.
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Member since:2009-02-17
Why would this be a surprise to users? I configured a Mini 10 on Dell's website and to get Linux pre-installed you have to click a "Customize with Ubuntu" button and then you have to review the OS choice again a couple of customization screens later. I mean, it should be pretty obvious what you're getting.
Go into a restaurant you have never been in and order something you have never had off of a menu. Ordering something is totally different from actually having used it and no most users have not used Linux and don't know what it is and might be expecting something else.
Member since:2006-09-07
Using your analogy, it's like walking into a restaurant, ordering something I've never had before, for example caviar, and then when the waiter brings it out, saying, "hey, what the hell, this isn't a steak!!"
It's not a matter of being intimately familiar with Linux or even having used/heard of it before, it's basic reading comprehension. If under the "Select My Operating System" screen, someone is to choose something other than Windows, don't expect to get Windows. As such it is my mistake for assuming consumers can do this properly!
Edited 2009-08-13 00:54 UTC
Member since:2005-12-02
Why would this be a surprise to users? I configured a Mini 10 on Dell's website and to get Linux pre-installed you have to click a "Customize with Ubuntu" button and then you have to review the OS choice again a couple of customization screens later. I mean, it should be pretty obvious what you're getting.
Probably due to they hype that claims "Ubuntu can do everything Windows can do". Then, when the consumer gets the machine and attempts to load their Windows software on it and it doesn't work, they send it back. The average consumer will not look for alternatives, they just want what they own to run on any machine they buy. People in general despise change.
Member since:2007-02-17
They should also then, by that logic, return Windows machines because they cannot run the software in Ubuntu's repositories nor can they run software downloaded from here:
http://www.getdeb.net/
or here
http://happypenguin.org/
or here
http://www.linuxgames.com/
or here
http://www.tuxgames.com/
or here
https://launchpad.net/
Edited 2009-08-13 05:55 UTC
Member since:2007-09-06
It should be pretty obvious that MS Office 2007 and Vista are two separate things but I can't tell you the number of times someone has mentioned that they got a machine with that new Vista with the new sliding menus at the top; meaning WindowsXP and Office 2007.
I'm still not seeing any information that really points away from poor product placement in stores (and websites) combined with poor sales staff miss-managing the customer's expectations so they can get another sale unit on there commission record.
Member since:2009-02-19
Many people don't understand what an operating system is or what it does. My parents thought Windows was an intrinsic part of the computer, they didn't realize that it was just software, like the applications they use, and that it could be replaced -- or that the thing that you replaced it with wouldn't do exactly the same thing. I don't know what kind of idiot-proofing and warning messages surround the OS choice menu, but I can easily believe that many people don't know what an OS is, don't realize that it will be different from Windows, and don't realize that their software is tied to their OS choice, and that software for one OS won't run on another, different one.
Member since:2007-06-29
Exactly. When I still was reading Windows manuals (long time ago) I was always astonished that they never used the term "operating system". It was always "Windows" instead. Their customers don't like to be confronted with unknown vocabulary and MS takes care of that.
Member since:
2006-09-07
"When consumers did return Linux-based machines, it wasn't because of technical issues. He says that the problem was that people expected Windows, and then were bummed out to see they had something else."
Why would this be a surprise to users? I configured a Mini 10 on Dell's website and to get Linux pre-installed you have to click a "Customize with Ubuntu" button and then you have to review the OS choice again a couple of customization screens later. I mean, it should be pretty obvious what you're getting.