__/ [ Cyberwasteland ] on Sunday 07 May 2006 03:20 \__
> hakro807@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> Hi!
How do you do?
>> I noticed that Walmart offer a few computers with Linux and I believe
>> they have done so for a few years. Does anyone here know how Linux have
>> been recieved among the costumers? Who is the typical costumer, how
>> many boxes have been sold, is the customers happy with their choice,
>> have many switched (back?) to Windows. If certain applications have
>> been missing, what were these etc.
Linux was received warmly by the customers, who clearly bought it for a
reason. Other than gaining actual /ownership/ of their data, there was an
improvement in reliability, resilience, and flexibility. Cost was just an
arbitrary bonus, if not a side effect. The typical customer is that which
was utterly disappointed with commercial platforms (e.g. data losses,
persistence of viruses), which until recently, seemed like the only
choice. Others just felt ripped off or were denied easy access to data or
extension of existing software.
The number of boxes sold can only be estimated by WalMart themselves, but
_do_ remember that most Linux boxes 'in the wild' are sold with Windows,
which in turn lives side-by-side with Linux or is ultimately wiped to
accommodate or give its place to Linux.
I am aware of very few people who returned to Windows. They are a *loud*
minority who did not want to invest in the migration and handle the
learning curves involved. All others are quiet and pleased with their
current choice. Less fortunately, only few of them register their Linux
boxes online or choose to share their experience and knowledge with
others. This means that the scale of Linux adoption is grossly
underestimated.
As for missing applications, there are none. Some people would just be
unwilling to /explore/ for the suitable equivalent/alternative. Photoshop
was names the most requested and longed-for application for Linux. Anyone
who has used the GIMP extensively knows that Photoshop plug-ins work in
the GIMP and that GIMP, once taught properly (there are no frontal,
face-to-face courses), can achieve everything rather easily. The interface
difference deceive many, so there is also a port called GIMPShop, which
bridges a certain gap.
http://www.gimpshop.net/
Take Photoshop as merely an example here. No application is truly missing.
You just need to have a look around.
>> Also please feel free to point to other retailers who sell desktop
>> Linux systems.
Where do you live? Google Groups is all I can judge by...
>> As I don't live in the US I haven't been able to follow the experiment
>> to closely and therefore would appreciate any input/comments you guys
>> can give, anything you may find useful.
I suggest you explore the Web to have more of your questions answered and
doubts eliminated.
>> Of course I have tried to google for an answer, read "professional"
>> reviews but haven't been able to find any real statistics about how
>> the average customer thinks about it.
>>
>> Best of regards
>> /Håkan
>
> Why don't you ask Wal-Mart?
> <aside>
> They have Wal-Mart in Sweden now?
I think it was used merely as an example by the OP. Wal-Mart, despite their
gigantic size, are not a big Linux seller. Most Linux boxes are bought as
Windows workstations, e.g. from HP and Dell.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Computers are useless. They only solve problems"
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE GNU/Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
5:00am up 9 days 11:57, 12 users, load average: 1.12, 0.78, 0.83
http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
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