Charlie Wilkes <charlie_wilkes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:59:07 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>
>> for the record, I do not believe or suggest there is a management
>> conspiracy here, but I do suspect that the media's reaction was
>> unnatural. I watch many feeds and never before have I seen such a
>> /flood/ of misleading headlines and insults (yes, some headlines
>> generalised and even insulted). The closest thing to this which I can
>> recall was in May last years when Microsoft issued patent threats
>> against FOSS. The media added _A LOT_ of unnecessary drama. I wasn't
>> alone in noticing this. Even scientists published some things about how
>> it was orchestrated.
>>
> I didn't notice that the media's reaction was hostile to Linux, but I did
> notice that this announcement by WalMart got a surprising amount of
> coverage. I think that reflects the fact that journalists, as well-
> educated users of technology, recognize that the desktop market is up for
> grabs. Vista is widely perceived as a dud while OS X is a big hit, and
> Linux is advancing steadily and getting a lot of good press in technical
> publications. Who knows where all that will lead?
>
> I sometimes get frustrated about the situation with Ubuntu. On the one
> hand, it is an excellent OS, more stable than Windows, faster on
> comparable hardware, and with a better UI. But when I run across a
> broken driver in the repository, that _wasn't_ broken in the previous
> version, it gives me pause...
>
The stories being run were not correct. Wal Mart are, apparently, not
dropping gPC.
Your suggestion that Wal Mart couldn't be tempted by a supplier to
change their strategy shows a total lack of grasp of retail. In large
mega-stores, suppliers will pay to have their wares placed in "better"
locations in order to sell more. Ends of aisles sell more than on-aisle,
front-of-checkout sells more than end-aisle, middle shelf sells best
on-ailse, distance from doors & checkout is critical, milk and bread are
placed in the corner opposite the doors to force people to walk across
the store, in clothes stores, the escalators are set so that people have
to walk around the whole store in order to go up and down again.
In case that wasn't clear, it's very very likely that Microsoft would
*pay* WalMart to change how they marketed goods which competed with
Windows - this is how the game works. Of course, it would be put
slightly differently, but that is very much what it amounts to,
conversely, Everex do not have the kind of budget which Microsoft have,
so probably cannot afford to do a "deal" to keep a particular part of
shelf-space in the same way which Microsoft can.
Obviously, shareholders would require stores like WalMart to do anything
they can to increase their margin, and this is one way.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
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