On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:25:33 -0700, High Plains Thumper
<highplainsthumper@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Ignoramus31576 wrote:
>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>> Ignoramus31576 on Friday:
>>>
>>>> According to Mr. Salles, a survey polling members of the
>>>> French Assembly found that 80 percent of the members were
>>>> happy with the new software, which included new e-mail and
>>>> office applications, while 14 percent felt Windows should
>>>> return.
>>>
>>> Wal-Mart had similar experiences before Microsoft stepped in
>>> to interfere. Customers liked their Linux boxes, which sold
>>> very well.
>>
>> How did Microsoft interfere with Walmart?
>>
>> I would like to know.
>
>http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9890880-16.html
>
>[quote]
>Remember Microsoft's COO, Kevin Turner? He's a former Wal-Mart
>executive. Turner used to run Wal-Mart's Sam's Club business unit
>and before that was Microsoft's chief information officer.
Actually no I don't remember him. I don't keep up on that stuff.
Live and learn!
>Even when Wal-Mart has made motions toward Linux and open source,
>Microsoft (no doubt inspired by Turner) has been there to help it
>see the light. It was likely Turner who pushed Wal-Mart to go on
>the record as adopting SUSE Linux for its Linux deployments
>because of patent protection. Wal-Mart never goes on the record
>for anything related to IT purchases. The fact that it did in
>this case says a lot about the exeuctive sleepovers that happen
>between the two companies.
I know a project manager for a fairly large computer company that
deals with Walmart and you are correct, they are very secretive
about everything. They are also cut-throat and will chew people
up and spit them out.
>Indeed, the more successful this retail Linux PC experiment by
>Wal-Mart, the less likely it was to continue. Had the PCs sat on
>the shelves Microsoft would have been gleeful to let it continue.
>
>It may well be that Wal-Mart simply didn't push enough units to
>make the grade. Many great products simply don't sell for
>Wal-Mart, and it dumps them. But in this case, it could well be
>that Linux's success paved the way for its downfall due to a
>too-cozy relationship between the world's largest retailer and
>the world's largest software vendor.
>[/quote]
Interesting.
I would think it's kind of a dichotomy because on one hand
Walmart caters to shoppers who want inexpensive yet at the same
time they are offering a machine that for it's time was
inexpensive. I wonder how much Walmart marketed the Linux
machines, if at all. I could see those machines as perfect home
systems for surfers, email, basic office work and the like.
Sort of like the netbooks that are popular at this juncture in
time.
Thank you for the link.
George Barca
georgebarca1981@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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