“Linux software maker Lycoris is set to announce Wednesday that it will begin selling boxed software through retail giant Wal-Mart, another sign of growing mainstream acceptance of the open-source operating system.” Read more at ZDNet. Lycoris also runs a promotional deal for the… one you love.
This is great. A lot of you might say “Yeah but who will buy it?” and the answer is.. it’s not important that the linux community have a bunch of people buy it. What is important is that as many people as possible hear the word “linux” and the more of the masses that hear it, the better. The reason is, when they see a new program they will ask “what is this?”. That is the best way to spread the word. Get every one to know the name… more people will ask “what?” and more people will get informed.
Remember, FOX started as a small and lame TV network.. but more people started to hear about it… and more people started asking “What??” and look where it is now!
What will really increase ‘Mind Share’ of Linux with the general computing public will be seeing shrink-wrap applications on the shelves at a major retailer – and retailers don’t get much bigger then Wall-Mart.
I hope that a defacto desktop distro will emerge – I don’t care if its Licoris, mandrake, SuSE or whatever (the theme can be changed to something paletable at least) so long as it provides a baseline that all “Desktop” distros will base their core packages and libs off of.
I know that very few of “us” still consider shrinked wraped an essential distribution method and likely would and do download directly off the net but with “consumers” having boxes sitting on some market shelf is all that he understands. I know I’m generalizing – but in general this is true.
I am enthused as well. Wal-Mart is probably the only retailer with enough clout to take Microsoft on. Not that they want to, but I’ve seen them forsake certain brands in order to continue to keep prices down. Linux, with its lower price tag makes more sense to them as it becomes more suitable for the home user.
Dell might be able to do the same in the future if they continue to extend their lead in the PC market. They’re trying to keep costs down as well, branching out into PDA’s, splitting with HP, etc. Microsoft wants everyone but Microsoft to cut their prices, but that cannot last forever. This isn’t payback, but a star collapsing under its own weight.
I too have often wondered why more shrink-wrapped apps aren’t on the shelves. Of course, it might be kind of a pain in the ass for one app maker to include all binaries for every distro in the shrink wrap, so it’s very likely you’d see something like “Runs best on Redhat” or “Optimized for Mandrake.”
Even still, if they could find a way around the above problem, it would be cool to see shrink-wrapped versions of DVD player software, CrossOver Office, and other things that distro makers can’t include in their distro for free.
As for Lycoris on the shelves, since this isn’t part of a hardware solution (ie – bundled with new PC), is it possible that Linux (as a whole) by itself without being pre-installed might be a little immature yet for the average consumer? Would it not be best to wait another year or two until they can come up with solutions for some of Linux’s most nagging problems (not the least of which is the one listed above)? Perhaps if the ‘consumer’ buys it now, and has a bad experience with it … well, you know what they say .. once bitten, twice shy? So then in the future when Linux really is ready, well … some people might choose not to be bitten again.
This is good to see, but I am sure that I purchased my copy of Mandrake 7.2 at Wal-Mart.
I think, as more Linux options are available in shrink-wrap, we will probably see more Linux applications finding their way to the store shelves.
I purchased a boxed-set of RedHat Linux as well as a boxed-set of Mandrake 9.0. I think one was a Barnes & Noble and the other was in a Borders bookstore. However, both were hidden in with the computer books. I found them only by accident. If these distributions are sold in boxed-sets by a company as large as Wal-Mart, they will find a larger audience. The rest is simple market economics.
If Wal-Mart makes a profit, other retail stores will try the same thing, for the same profit. If Linux finds a larger customer base, those customers will want application software for their computers and will look to the same retail store. Most of those computer users will NOT want to download .ISO images or .rpm files.
Arent there well over 7000 applications for the Linux Operating System?
If someone will just package 10 applications per cd and sell it for $9.99…….
Too bad…of all the linux distros, Wal-Mart is choosing to sell the most out-of-date, immature one in existance. Who’d Joe Cheek have to blow to pull this one off?
Isn’t Valentine’s Day over? Like last week?
Any old excuse will do. But it was announced on Valentine’s Day, anyway.
LOL. I think Mike Weltz (sales director) probably pulled a fast one on them.
This is great news!
LOL Stevie! But, really Lycoris is doing their own thing. True, they don’t have KDE 3.1, but they have made a very attractive and easy to use package.
Darius, I think Lycoris is just about ready, keeping in mind its orientation. The Productivity Pak has the same look and feel of Desktop/LX. They have achieved something that’s seemingly hard to do – create a very pleasing interface yet without lots of eye candy.
They already offered Lindows, Mandrake, and no OS. Now they offer Lycoris. Seems like a logical step to me. Were you expecting Gentoo? Xandros and SuSE are the only other two distros I would associate in that short list.
That was only on their online store. This is shrinkwrapped retail at the stores themselves.
Are you sure? It’s certainly available at their website:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=111335&path=…
Linux certainly fits well with Wal-Mart’s philosiphy of “stack em’ deep and sell em’ cheap”.
just wondering… any idea how lycoris is actually pronounced? is it like the candy (licorise) or is it lie-co-ris? I just like to get pronunciations right.
lie-cor-is
lycoris is named after the flower….just like roberto said.
lie kor iss
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2139056&cat=1…
The Lycoris GamePak? Are they kidding?
DungeonHack?
Racer?
FreeCiv?
Ok, they include WINEX .. but then they state you can run “awesome games” like Warcraft II ?
I have no issue with Lycoris … but geez … releasing a “gaming version” of their OS is like trying to sell a Ford to a Mercedes owner.
Yes, the Microtel computers with Lycoris/Lindows/Mandrake installed can only be had through Wal-Mart’s website.
The Game Pak is not a version of the OS, it’s an add-on you can install (when it comes out).
lots of people. they’re takijng some of the best open source games, and making sure they work perfect on Lycoris. they’re also bundling winex, and there’s a community support forum that will be used just for gamers.
it’s going to be a good product, and it will sell well.
oh cool. i never knew lycoris was a flower. never thought why the logo was a flowery thing.
hope lycoris does well and walmart sells lots of these. that way more users to find bugs for lycoris to iron out. it’s nothing but benefits for the entire community.
<quote>Lycoris will also sell ProductivityPak….other applications based on the OpenOffice offering developed by Sun Microsystems</qoute>
Oops….did I read it wrong, or did OpenOffice.org cease to exist?
If it is neither, then I think that the reporter needs to do a lil more research before ‘reporting’
…in my earlier post
Maybe I should do a little more ‘proofreading’ before ‘posting’ myself
Lycoris = lick her ass???
Lycoris = lie core iz???
dude…look up…7 posts up.
I have been waiting to try out this distro, but due to not having a credit card, or a T1 connection, I have been unable to do so. Now I can just go over to Wal-Mart and buy it. GNU GPL distros may be free, but they still need our support. I have boxed versions of Mandrake 8.2, Redhat 7.3 RedHat 8.0, and SuSE 8.0 Pro.
This is not a big deal, and it doesn’t mean Linux is “taking over”. Three years ago, I could go into Costco or Office Depot and pick from 5 flavors of Linux distros. I could even buy FreeBSD in CompUSA. Now you’d be lucky if your local Office Depot even has Redhat. So, just because some mainstream stores are selling boxed Linux doesn’t really mean anything. Things come and go. If this doesn’t sell, they won’t have it on the shelf a year from now.
At my local CompUSA you can find Suse 8.1 personal and pro editions, RedHat both versions, the latest version of Free BSD and Star Office 6.0. They are on the shelf prominently next to the Windows OS upgrade and full versions and the Windows office products. What is interesting about the CompUSA shelf layouts is the Mac software is by itself way in the back, while the Linux and Windows software is in the front. At least they still have a choice between Windows and Mac, something no ohher retailer in our area does. Even at BestBuy, which is very MS centric, I can find Suse and Redhat in the OS section with Windows. I have to agree with the posting of others, this can only be a good thing since it gives choice.
I don’t want to overblow this, but it is precisely the fact that we are talking about Wal-Mart and not CompUSA that makes this interesting.
My advice to Wal-Mart : stop wasting our time with this kind of announcement. Here is why :
1. On their web site, I couldn’t find other distros than Lindows and Lycoris (I just checked it). These two are not really representative of what I would call the Linux experience. What is next … Xandros ?
2. If ease of use is what matters, then why not go with RedHat, Mandrake or Suse ? These have been active for quite a long time compared to Lindows and Lycoris and they don’t ask users to pay for software that is freely available on the Net.
3. If, on the other hand, emphasis is put on price, then since nothing beats free (as in beer) they should go for a distro like debian which has also a good package manager.
4. I haven’t seen any ad on tv about these PCs. What is worse, they are available only through Wal-Mart’s web site. That is strange coming from the king of retailers. Do these people believe that only those who have good credit can buy a cheap PC ? I’d certainly prefer to go see some used computers vendors.
4. They made their announcement through ZDNet. That’s probably the only place where a reporter can say that Linux is going mainstream thanks to Wal-Mart. Now, this one was really stupid from a site like ZDNet. They should know better.
Let’s do this by point:
1. Lindows and Lycoris are representitive of the wave of “new world” distros that are targeted directly at consumers, rather than the “old-world” distros that are targeted at techies and/or businesses. Therefore it makes sense for Wal-Mart to do this. Xandros would actually be my bet for the next OS in their lineup.
2. Ease of use and the other things you mention are different things. Ordinary consumers – the primary target audience of these distros – don’t care about free ISOs, because they wouldn’t know what to do with one anyway. Besides, Lycoris allows you to download their stuff freely, so that part of your point doesn’t apply to them. Sure, Lycoris is asking you to pay for freely available software, but consumers like boxes, CDs, manuals and support. Lindows offers commercial software in addition to standard Debian fare, and this part of Click-n-Run is expanding at a relatively reasonable rate.
3. WTF? Can you imagine Wal-Mart selling Debian to Grandpa? Lindows, sure, but Debian? The installer isn’t exactly hard, but text mode scares people. Plus, no paid support options at all.
4. Wal-Mart have yet to confirm whether the Lycoris boxes will, in fact, be available in retail stores. I’m waiting on an answer from their Customer Support division.
5. LOL. Very true. But the fact that Wal-Mart are prepared to offer these products at all probably means that it is beginning the long journey to mainstream acceptance. As an aside, it’s worth noting that these “new-world” distros have been picked up to a degree by the mainstream press as well as the tech press.
1. What is this new versus old world distros thing ? I should have said that there is something fuzzy about Lindows and Lycoris. On the other side, with what you call old world distros, people can still get a consumer experience without being techies, as long as they can read the fine manual
2. You’re right about free stuff available for Lycoris users and also about the commercial software provided. As for the ordinary consumers, you mean those who simply want to use their computers to accomplish daily tasks ? I used to be one of them but my boxes, CD, manual didn’t do me any good when Windows 98 kept crashing or when Windows 2000 simply refused to recognize a peripheral that was supposed to work fine. Paying for support gives the illusion that when something doesn’t work, a company representative will help you find a solution. That has been rarely the case for a lot of people.
3. I mentionned Debian because it’s free. There are other choices and I wasn’t thinking about GrandPa but about young people who can’t afford those 3 GHz Pentium 4 PCs.
4. Thanks for the info
5. You have somehow raised an issue : during many years, computer magazines used to write only about MS Windows and the hardware related to it. Now, all of a sudden, editors realize that their magazines are named PC Expert, PC World, Info Mag and yet they don’t really talk about the other operating systems that work on Intel chips. I think these editors still can’t find a way to adjust their course, unless they opt for names like Windows Expert, Windows World or Windows mag.
1. I was trying to adapt (of all people) Donald Rumsfeld’s recent comments about Europe. Obviously it missed the mark a little; my apologies. My point was that these new-comer distros are much more directly targeted at the consumer that Red Hat or SuSE (or even Mandrake nowdays). They ignore the traditional Linux community and adapt things to the consumer’s liking instead. Reduced application sets, KDE looking like Windows XP, etc; all of these things are designed to appeal to consumers, not tech-heads. That’s why so many Lindows haters complain about the lack of a freely downloadable ISO, the skimpy default application set, and the “expensive” Click-n-Run subscription service. With Lycoris, some are more generous, but still say that it isn’t for them because of the tiny application set (like that Major Distros article here on OSNews). Whereas Mandrake, Red Hat and SuSE are proponents of the Old Values – huge application choice, and thick manuals. IMHO, thick manuals frighten Joe Average Consumer.
2. Of course it’s an illusion! But people are more likely to stick with an illusion they believe they know rather than brave the unknown. A great deal of the problem of selling Linux is inertia – people are scared to change. That’s why Lycoris and Lindows market themselves so heavily as being “just like Windows”. Xandros takes it one step further by offering compatibility with Microsoft Office.
3. The sort of people I think you have in mind are technologically able people who aren’t affected by the inertia I mentioned earlier. In the end, they make up a small percentage of the overall marketplace. These companies envisage a larger target audience who are sick of Windows but are scared of mainstream Linux distros – “it won’t do what I want” / “it’s not like Windows” / etc – and aim to bridge the gap by making Linux more like what they already know how to use.
4. No problem. Email me at [email protected] if you like, so I can forward you the info when it arrives.
5. Indeed they do – but this is changing. Once they see both the level of technology and an increasing consumer uptake (thanks to things like this Wal-Mart deal), this trend may begin to change for the better. Already, we’re beginning to see some coverage of Linux – mostly distro reviews – and hopefully the situation will continue to improve.