Best BUY NO LONGER SELLING

[rvndrk3233]

They officially 'dont support or sell' anything 'open source' according to the techs in patchogue, ny.

I cant find the product on the shelf, it isnt listed online on the website and all I get is odd looks when I mention CANONOCAL anywhere.
WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
The main reason to SELL ubuntu was CUSTOMER SUPPORT so people could switch and NOT SPEND $300 to get a OS up and running,
Not to mention the slowness and ineffeciently of windows (XP -->7).

Time to let CANONOCAL know about this INDUSTRY BOYCOTT of OPEN SOURCE.
Half the servers out there are running a *NIX variant anyway.

TIME to RE EDUCATE the NEXT generation of GEEKS and TECHNICIANS.

[philinux]

Moved to Community Cafe.

[robertcoulson]

Right on....
Robert

[juancarlospaco]

Source...?
Too bad

[Spice Weasel]

Yeah we gotta START the REVOLUTION all by OUR selves. Uh, no.

Open source OSes will never be popular as long as MS is doing its lobbying and stores are making money bundling crap with their PCs.

[cprofitt]

Given the average level of technical knowledge I have seen at Best Buy it is probably a good thing that they are not selling Ubuntu anymore. (to be honest I was not even aware they did in the first place).

Just today I was there to check some stuff out and over heard one of their techs trying to tell a customer that the 'smaller' external usb drives were better because there were no moving parts. I thought wow... did they put an SSD drive in the 2.5" portable external drives... and then I asked the sales guy, "which one?"

He then hold up the Western Digital Elements 500GB drive (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+WD+Elements+500GB+External+USB+2.0+Portable+Hard+ Drive/9875558.p?id=1218187081307&skuId=9875558) and said this one and all the small ones. I have a hard time resisting when someone is obviously clueless or down right dishonest. I set the record straight by telling him that the difference is the size of the drive. The desktop drives might have 7200RPM drives and the laptop 5400RPM drives, but they all have moving parts. He still insisted that they did not. I asked him to look at the package and explain the fact that is said it was a 5400RPM drive. He then got frustrated and told the customer, "This man knows more than I do; let him help you."

The guy wanted to have three computers connect to an external backup solution. I showed him a few of the retail networked drive systems.

I have yet to have a Best Buy employee have a clue.

[angryfirelord]

TIME to RE EDUCATE the NEXT generation of GEEKS and TECHNICIANS.
At Best Buy? Heh, I think Best Buy deliberately hires incompetent people so that they can get customers to buy expensive things they don't need. (Monster cable anyone?) Better look elsewhere.

[KiwiNZ]

Given the average level of technical knowledge I have seen at Best Buy it is probably a good thing that they are not selling Ubuntu anymore. (to be honest I was not even aware they did in the first place).

Just today I was there to check some stuff out and over heard one of their techs trying to tell a customer that the 'smaller' external usb drives were better because there were no moving parts. I thought wow... did they put an SSD drive in the 2.5" portable external drives... and then I asked the sales guy, "which one?"

He then hold up the Western Digital Elements 500GB drive (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+WD+Elements+500GB+External+USB+2.0+Portable+Hard+ Drive/9875558.p?id=1218187081307&skuId=9875558) and said this one and all the small ones. I have a hard time resisting when someone is obviously clueless or down right dishonest. I set the record straight by telling him that the difference is the size of the drive. The desktop drives might have 7200RPM drives and the laptop 5400RPM drives, but they all have moving parts. He still insisted that they did not. I asked him to look at the package and explain the fact that is said it was a 5400RPM drive. He then got frustrated and told the customer, "This man knows more than I do; let him help you."

The guy wanted to have three computers connect to an external backup solution. I showed him a few of the retail networked drive systems.

I have yet to have a Best Buy employee have a clue.

We do not have Best Buy in New Zealand , but the staff be will just normal folk trying to make a living to put food on the table and a roof over their head, remember that. The tech training they receive is probably minimal.

I would guess the reason they no longer stock it was because it did not sell. You cannot make a company stock products by boycotts etc, show them a decent well prepared sales presentation with realistic sales growth projections then you might get somewhere.

[stmiller]

I think we are all with you here, but best buy is just a retailer.

It's the computer manufacturers (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc) who would ultimately have to create and support computer models that feature Ubuntu instead of Windows, and then work their product into those stores.

I know Dell does offer Ubuntu. Getting those models into best buy would be a logical first step.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

The problem retail chains have with selling a LinuxPC to customers is that there is no ongoing market.
A windows PC is just the start, then they can sell Anti-virus, office software and other programs, whereas a Linux PC comes with most stuff for free.

[Rasa1111]

Getting those models into best buy would be a logical first step.

But the employees at best buy would need to have some clue about Ubuntu.

Ive never goen into a best buy, I wont,
but I had a friend go into one not long ago,
and he told the employee that
"my friend (me) switched to ubuntu, and Im thinking about doing the same"...

The guy replied with a

" well, If youre a developer or a programmer that's fine, but if you're neither of those things, don't bother~ you wont be able to use it".

wtf?

Im neither of those things,
no one in my family is either of those things,
nobody i know, on a personal/intimate level, is either of those things.

yet we all get along perfectly fine with Ubuntu, better than "fine" in fact.

Amazing how people actually get paid for this junk.
"dazzle'em with brilliance or baffle'em with bull".

nope, no brilliance there.
all bull.

[Dr. C]

We do not have Best Buy in New Zealand , but the staff be will just normal folk trying to make a living to put food on the table and a roof over their head, remember that. The tech training they receive is probably minimal.

In Canada we have Future Shop owned by Best Buy. Many of the employees are clueless and those that have knowledge will likely hide it. This is by design as they are hired to sell stuff, not to educate the customers. There are not going to tell you about OpenOffice.org when they are trying to up sell you Microsoft Office or about Microsoft Security Essentials when they are trying to up sell you Norton. Talk to them after hours outside of their workplace and one may find out they run the TPB version of Microsoft Windows or GNU / Linux and do not believe any of the drivel they spew out to put food on the table.


I would guess the reason they no longer stock it was because it did not sell. You cannot make a company stock products by boycotts etc, show them a decent well prepared sales presentation with realistic sales growth projections then you might get somewhere.

Not necessarily are bad sales the reason, a more likely reason is to keep Microsoft happy. A professional well presented sales presentation will go nowhere if the retailer has already made an exclusive deal with a monopolist competitor.

[KiwiNZ]

Not necessarily are bad sales the reason, a more likely reason is to keep Microsoft happy. A professional well presented sales presentation will go nowhere if the retailer has already made an exclusive deal with a monopolist competitor.

That is because they had a better well presented professional proposal put to them.

[Dr. C]

That is because they had a better well presented professional proposal put to them.

Really? Microsoft has a worldwide monopoly on desktop operating systems that is unprecedented in any industry. It is ironically propped up by software piracy. With that type of market control comes a lot of power. There is no need to out do the next guy in a sales presentation.

[KiwiNZ]

Really? Microsoft has a worldwide monopoly on desktop operating systems that is unprecedented in any industry. It is ironically propped up by software piracy. With that type of market control comes a lot of power. There is no need to out do the next guy in a sales presentation.

Monopoly ? no

Heard of OSX ? Linux ?

And yes they do very professional Sales presentations, I have experienced them on many occasions. Their staff are very good at what they do.

[Dr. C]

Monopoly ? no

A monopoly does not mean 100% control of the market it can also mean 90%, but if your prefer overwhelming dominance in the market place we can use that. It is fair to say that Microsoft's worldwide market share in the desktop operating systems market is around 90%. This can be broken down further into 60% genuine Windows and 30% pirated or TPB Windows. This is unprecedented market dominance in any industry.


Heard of OSX ? Linux ?

The other 10%. One can also mention BSD, GNU/Hurd, Solaris, Haiku, OS/2 / eComStation and host of other minor players. Let us focus on the two main competitors.

Apple Mac OS X. First there are many parts of the world Apple products are not sold. More importantly Max OS X is only licensed on Apple hardware, This effectively makes Mac OS X a niche product selling to a very loyal client base and not a true competitor to Microsoft on the desktop.

GNU / Linux. This actually places a very serious long term threat mainly because the development cost of FLOSS is orders of magnitude less that propriety software. At this point GNU / Linux remains a very small player that is growing exponentially; however like a person that has a very slow growing and incurable cancer Microsoft will eventually succumb. It may take a few decades before this happens. By the way Steve Ballmer was right on the money when he compared GNU / Linux to a cancer. The trouble is in the meantime GNU / Linux has a serious problem competing with the "free as in beer" pirated or TPB Windows.


And yes they do very professional Sales presentations, I have experienced them on many occasions. Their staff are very good at what they do.

Of course Microsoft can make excellent sales presentations, and so can their competitors. That however is not the point.

[KiwiNZ]

A monopoly does not mean 100% control of the market it can also mean 90%, but if your prefer overwhelming dominance in the market place we can use that. It is fair to say that Microsoft's worldwide market share in the desktop operating systems market is around 90%. This can be broken down further into 60% genuine Windows and 30% pirated or TPB Windows. This is unprecedented market dominance in any industry.



The other 10%. One can also mention BSD, GNU/Hurd, Solaris, Haiku, OS/2 / eComStation and host of other minor players. Let us focus on the two main competitors.

Apple Mac OS X. First there are many parts of the world Apple products are not sold. More importantly Max OS X is only licensed on Apple hardware, This effectively makes Mac OS X a niche product selling to a very loyal client base and not a true competitor to Microsoft on the desktop.

GNU / Linux. This actually places a very serious long term threat mainly because the development cost of FLOSS is orders of magnitude less that propriety software. At this point GNU / Linux remains a very small player that is growing exponentially; however like a person that has a very slow growing and incurable cancer Microsoft will eventually succumb. It may take a few decades before this happens. By the way Steve Ballmer was right on the money when he compared GNU / Linux to a cancer. The trouble is in the meantime GNU / Linux has a serious problem competing with the "free as in beer" pirated or TPB Windows.



Of course Microsoft can make excellent sales presentations, and so can their competitors. That however is not the point.

It was the point I was making. We cannot coerce, bully, harangue resellers into stocking Open source products by boycotts and protests. We can however do it by giving professionally presented sales proposals backed by sound sales data and projections and sound quality products.

[Dr. C]

It was the point I was making. We cannot coerce, bully, harangue resellers into stocking Open source products by boycotts and protests. We can however do it by giving professionally presented sales proposals backed by sound sales data and projections and sound quality products.

With the market dominance of Microsoft no, as the retailer is not in a position to respond to your sales presentation. Boycotts and protests many actually be more effective especially if they bring to light illegal anti competitive activity by the dominant market player.

One is better of working with smaller players in the market place. A company like System 76 has everything it gain an nothing to loose by promoting Ubuntu, the same cannot be said of Dell because of their much larger business relationship to Microsoft.

[Dustin2128]

*ahem*
BEST BUY!





That is all.

[KiwiNZ]

With the market dominance of Microsoft no, as the retailer is not in a position to respond to your sales presentation. Boycotts and protests many actually be more effective especially if they bring to light illegal anti competitive activity by the dominant market player.

One is better of working with smaller players in the market place. A company like System 76 has everything it gain an nothing to loose by promoting Ubuntu, the same cannot be said of Dell because of their much larger business relationship to Microsoft.

You need to stop believing the rubbish you read about MS on the Internet. Believe it or not the owners of Retail Chains do have the ability to make up their own minds.

[Dr. C]

You need to stop believing the rubbish you read about MS on the Internet. Believe it or not the owners of Retail Chains do have the ability to make up their own minds.

Sure they do and the last this they are going to do is confuse their customers by trying to break Microsoft market dominance. A confused customer will not buy. They want to keep their message simple and targeted to the lowest common denominator which is the bulk of their customers.

[SoFl W]

Wouldn't it be easier not to buy from Best Buy?

[KiwiNZ]

Sure they do and the last this they are going to do is confuse their customers by trying to break Microsoft market dominance. A confused customer will not buy. They want to keep their message simple and targeted to the lowest common denominator which is the bulk of their customers.

Then why does Best Buys stock Apple?

Stocking Apple does not fit your scenario

[I am Raf]

Best buy makes money off selling OS X and Windows...
If they start distributing free software, they wont make much money...

[an0dos]

Best buy makes money off selling OS X and Windows...
If they start distributing free software, they wont make much money...

I thought they made most of their money on overpriced cables.

[jerenept]

I thought they made most of their money on overpriced cables.

no, that's RadioShack.:p:p

[Dr. C]

Then why does Best Buys stock Apple?

Stocking Apple does not fit your scenario

You need a certain market share. In the US and Canada Apple OS X is over 10% of the desktop, and Apple is not a real threat to Microsoft on the desktop in any case. Still Staples here in Canada stocked and then dropped Apple for the very same reasons mentioned.

One would expect GNU / Linux to be carried by some big box retailers once it reaches 5%-10% market share which it will in time.

Most retailers do not all stock all brands of electronics for the same reason. Go to a different retailer and one finds different brands. Again keep it simple for the customer.

[pwnst*r]

They officially 'dont support or sell' anything 'open source' according to the techs in patchogue, ny.

I cant find the product on the shelf, it isnt listed online on the website and all I get is odd looks when I mention CANONOCAL anywhere.
WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
The main reason to SELL ubuntu was CUSTOMER SUPPORT so people could switch and NOT SPEND $300 to get a OS up and running,
Not to mention the slowness and ineffeciently of windows (XP -->7).

Time to let CANONOCAL know about this INDUSTRY BOYCOTT of OPEN SOURCE.
Half the servers out there are running a *NIX variant anyway.

TIME to RE EDUCATE the NEXT generation of GEEKS and TECHNICIANS.

Until Best Buy has some sort of official announcement of your claim, then I call sensationalism.

[3rdalbum]

A suggestion to the OP - use fewer capitalized words, they make whoever is using them sound like a crank. And capitalize the first letter ONLY of proper nouns (don't capitalize the words "open source" either).

[Dustin2128]

Then why does Best Buys stock Apple?

since when? I've never seen anything apple other than ipods, and everyone has those.

[YuiDaoren]

since when? I've never seen anything apple other than ipods, and everyone has those.
For years.

Best Buy Apple Stuff (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d 30312d3031%7E%7Ecabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a%7E%7 Ecabcat0501000%23%230%23%2329%7E%7Enf510%7C%7C4170 706c6526233137343b&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=-displaydate+skuid&usc=abcat0500000)

[Dustin2128]

For years.

Best Buy Apple Stuff (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d 30312d3031%7E%7Ecabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a%7E%7 Ecabcat0501000%23%230%23%2329%7E%7Enf510%7C%7C4170 706c6526233137343b&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=-displaydate+skuid&usc=abcat0500000)
huh, did not know that. I've never seen any apple desktops in any best buy.

[baddnady23]

In local stores by me, they have a full compliment of macbooks that you can buy and even have demo units in store to use.

[Slug71]

Its Canonical by the way. Not Canonocal. ):P

[YuiDaoren]

huh, did not know that. I've never seen any apple desktops in any best buy.
Seems likely each Best Buy store manager has some control over what gets stocked, and stocks according to what sells well in their area.

I guess there aren't enough hipsters in your area. ;) :D

[Dustin2128]

I guess there aren't enough hipsters in your area. ;) :D
Indeed.
..
..
..
*Straight face breaks* :lolflag:

[ST3ALTHPSYCH0]

@ OP,
The fact that the "average" user has no interest in spending significant amounts of time fixing something if it breaks might play into such a decision... And most users would run fast as lightning to the Better Business Bureau (or its local equivalent) if they charged as many hours as some breaks take to fix.

[aysiu]

@ OP,
The fact that the "average" user has no interest in spending significant amounts of time fixing something if it breaks might play into such a decision... And most users would run fast as lightning to the Better Business Bureau (or its local equivalent) if they charged as many hours as some breaks take to fix.
I don't see how that's relevant. Anything can break. Windows can break. Mac OS X can break. Why do you think there's the Apple Genius Bar and the Geek Squad?

[KiwiNZ]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

[cprofitt]

We do not have Best Buy in New Zealand , but the staff be will just normal folk trying to make a living to put food on the table and a roof over their head, remember that. The tech training they receive is probably minimal.

That may be true, but if you are going to do a job you might want to actually do it... not just sleep walk through it. I worked in retail for many years and always took the time to learn about the products I was selling. I went beyond the training material.

I agree that Best Buy needs to give their employees better training, but I doubt that they would actually include training that claims that a 2.5" external drive with 5400RPM drive in it has no moving parts while the 3.5" external drive with 7200RPM drive in it has moving parts.

[MasterNetra]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

+1

And as mentioned before its not just the OS alone the company makes money off of, its anti-virus, firewall, and other kinds of software.

So lets see, what makes more financial sense, promoting a flawed OS that they can make tons of money selling additional software for, or a free OS using Linux? To which either doesn't need certain software or comes with/can be obtained for no cost? Where's the profit in that? Of course they're not going to support Linux. Not for as long as there is a currency based economy.

[cprofitt]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

I do not pretend to think that. I actually think that... my neighbor who is very much an average user found Ubuntu to be far more simple than Windows. My kids (3, 4 and 9) all find Ubuntu easy to use. I have several customers who I converted from Windows to Ubuntu; all of them found Ubuntu to be more simple to use.

The key difference for most is that fact that Windows and OS X come pre-installed; while Ubuntu usually requires installation. I think if the end user had to install OS X or Windows they would trip as much, if not more, on those OSes.

[KiwiNZ]

I do not pretend to think that. I actually think that... my neighbor who is very much an average user found Ubuntu to be far more simple than Windows. My kids (3, 4 and 9) all find Ubuntu easy to use. I have several customers who I converted from Windows to Ubuntu; all of them found Ubuntu to be more simple to use.

The key difference for most is that fact that Windows and OS X come pre-installed; while Ubuntu usually requires installation. I think if the end user had to install OS X or Windows they would trip as much, if not more, on those OSes.

OSX from memory takes about 4 clicks to install. To install an App its simply "Click drag drop" to un install and app its either send to trash or Click drag drop.

Windows 7 is considerably easier to install than previous version with only a few questions to answer. MS has listened and learnt.

The problem with Linux with have so many ways to install. So many ways to add Apps.

[rox retro]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

Your average computer user goes into shock if they move or accidently delete the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop.

Windows is no more a panacea than either Ubuntu Linux or OSX in this area.

I know my mother finds my Ubuntu desktop far easier to navigate than her own Windows XP setup.

[cprofitt]

OSX from memory takes about 4 clicks to install. To install an App its simply "Click drag drop" to un install and app its either send to trash or Click drag drop.

Unless you need to prepare your drive first. OS X allows apps to be dragged in to the Apps folder or some are a click and they run.


Windows 7 is considerably easier to install than previous version with only a few questions to answer. MS has listened and learnt.

Windows 7 is better, but it still takes a long, long time to add all your drivers after the initial install. Doesn't matter how many clicks it takes if you end up with no Ethernet driver.


The problem with Linux with have so many ways to install. So many ways to add Apps.

From the average users perspective its in the Software Center -- you and I know the other ways, but the average user does not.

[Dustin2128]

From the average users perspective its in the Software Center -- you and I know the other ways, but the average user does not.
Yes, the app center is why I think that ubuntu is easier to use than windows and OS X.

[DeadSuperHero]

I still think an Ubuntu-based hardware store would be a fantastic idea.

[Groucho Marxist]

At Best Buy? Heh, I think Best Buy deliberately hires incompetent people so that they can get customers to buy expensive things they don't need.

I think they hire anyone so that they won't have to pay for professionally trained technical support. Any time I go to major box stores and attempt to explain why I'm writing down manufacturer and model numbers for kernel/driver compatibility, I'm harangued by employees. They're just doing their jobs and I'm doing mine.


(Monster cable anyone?) Better look elsewhere.

=D> Here, here. I purchased my generic HDMI cable through Newegg for $5.99. Monster Cable/ any box store wanted me to pay upwards of $30. To paraphrase Mortal Kombat, "FLAWLESS SAVINGS."

[Dr. C]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

Really? Maybe a decade ago, but now GNU / Linux is a far easier to install and maintain once installed than any version of Microsoft Windows. As for OS X try finding drivers for non Apple hardware for that OS licensing issues aside.

What is holding GNU / Linux back is inertia, people's mindsets change far slower than technology, not any intrinsic inferiority of GNU / Linux over Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X.

Ever wonder why a disproportionate number of the members of this community are in their teens or early 20's?

[KiwiNZ]

Really? Maybe a decade ago, but now GNU / Linux is a far easier to install and maintain once installed than any version of Microsoft Windows. As for OS X try finding drivers for non Apple hardware for that OS licensing issues aside.

What is holding GNU / Linux back is inertia, people's mindsets change far slower than technology, not any intrinsic inferiority of GNU / Linux over Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X.

Ever wonder why a disproportionate number of the members of this community are in their teens or early 20's?

There is far better driver support for OSX for generic products than for Linux period.

What puts the average user of is Tarballs , *.debs *.rpms 100+ Distros .......... etc etc etc . In other words a fragmented mess to put it bluntly.

As for your last point I have never surveyed the age demographics of this Forum but maybe the older age group either know what they are doing and don't help here or are working , bringing up families ,travelling and other activities.

[Dr. C]

There is far better driver support for OSX for generic products than for Linux period.

Evidence? Like the typical Windows users setting up a hackintosh.


What puts the average user of is Tarballs , *.debs *.rpms 100+ Distros .......... etc etc etc . In other words a fragmented mess to put it bluntly.

The average user does not care about *.debs *.rpms and tarballs any more than they care about the finer points of the Windows registry, or the command prompt or fragmentation of the pagefile. What they care is which icon to press to get the desired effect. Once they are shown how to use the Ubuntu interface they are just as content if not more so.


As for your last point I have never surveyed the age demographics of this Forum but maybe the older age group either know what they are doing and don't help here or are working , bringing up families ,travelling and other activities.

There is a much more simple explanation. Young people are far more likely to adopt new technologies because they have not invested the time and resources in the old way of doing things than older people have. There is ample historical evidence for this starting with the sinking of the Titanic for example.

[KiwiNZ]

Evidence? Like the typical Windows users setting up a hackintosh.



The average user does not care about *.debs *.rpms and tarballs any more than they care about the finer points of the Windows registry, or the command prompt or fragmentation of the pagefile. What they care is which icon to press to get the desired effect. Once they are shown how to use the Ubuntu interface they are just as content if not more so.



There is a much more simple explanation. Young people are far more likely to adopt new technologies because they have not invested the time and resources in the old way of doing things than older people have. There is ample historical evidence for this starting with the sinking of the Titanic for example.

May someones deity give me strength

I am out ](*,)

[sideaway]

What puts the average user of is ... a fragmented mess.

+1

Put that together with a 6 months release schedule that has the potential to break things... Don't deny it doesn't, every time there's a new release, there's always a small (or large) flood of new topics asking about how to fix this and that as a result of updating - most experienced users I know just do a fresh install. I do, now that I have a separate home partition. When I install Ubuntu for other (new or newish) users I generally install the latest LTS.

If people took a small amount of time to learn Ubuntu, I believe they would find it more intuitive than Windows, but most people aren't that willing. Support is easier too, you can c&p one or two commands instead of walking them through complex GUI layers.

IMHO Ubuntu has more advantages than pitfalls for the average user... But it's still not enough to get the majority to switch... yet.

[Chris1274]

As much as we might like to think so Linux ( Ubuntu ) is not that user friendly for the average computer user.

I consider myself pretty average (except for a sliver of Python, I don't know any progamming languages, never took a computer course), but I find Ubuntu quite user-friendly :)

[ST3ALTHPSYCH0]

When everything works, Linux is fine. Those aren't the situations that several of us are talking about.

How about a simple update that leaves an "average" user with only 1 computer starting at
GRUB>

How about 800x600 graphics that drop (and stay) to 640x480 after installing proprietary drivers?

How about when an update leaves one looking at only a command prompt?

For the "average" user with only 1 computer, that they bought w/ Ubuntu preinstalled, each of these = a trip to a tech... The "average" user will gladly run back to Windows update, anti-viruses, and using whatever software they find online (some more advanced ones too).

[samalex]

Just curious though, what techie would buy computer hardware or software at Best Buy? It's the equivalent to shopping for groceries at a convenient store where they jack-up the prices and cherry pick your options. Most tech oriented people know where to go for more options and cheaper prices, and Best Buy ain't it. It and other big-box department stores are there for those who want to make spontaneous or uneducated purchases.

For cheaper computer hardware or software NewEgg and Amazon beat Best Buy pretty much every time, and even for music, videos, or games, Amazon is pretty much always cheaper.

So them not selling Open Source software is sad to see, especially since I bought my first copy of Red Hat Linux there in the 90's, but honestly it doesn't affect me very much.

Sam

[Johnsie]

First off, the type of people who shop in places like best buy aren't usually the type of people who would like or want Ubuntu. Most customers there would have very little knowledge of computers other than the little they learned in school or from using their previous computer (Windows/Office).

Secondly a computer expert will not be working in somewhere like Best Buy. If you know enough about computers you can make alot more money working with computers elsewhere.

Best buy is a close to minimum wage job, so the only people who would go for that type of job are students and people who didn't make it very far with school. They are being paid to sell products and that's what they do. Nobody should expect them to be experts.... If they were experts they would be wasted in Best Buy.

[aeiah]

here in the uk, our equivalent to best by, pc world, used to sell red hat, suse and mandrake operating systems. they were in the big boxes just like windows and pc games used to be, and each distro's box looked fairly similar, so i guess all three were distributed by the same company.

they dont sell them anymore and havent for years, but i suspect this is more to do with the distributor folding than them actively avoiding linux.

its all very well expecting best buy to sell open source operating systems and software, but if there's no one distributing it wholesale then they aren't going to do the work themselves.

[cprofitt]

What puts the average user of is Tarballs , *.debs *.rpms 100+ Distros .......... etc etc etc . In other words a fragmented mess to put it bluntly.

To be honest I have yet to have to use a .deb etc. In Windows I always had to use a .exe and it did not always work.

[PostChache]

Aw hell naw

[Dr. C]

To be honest I have yet to have to use a .deb etc. In Windows I always had to use a .exe and it did not always work.

If you wish to install software from outside the repositories one would use a .deb or a tarball and compile it oneself. This is very rare for most Ubuntu users.

One thing to keep in mind is that if one finds an software program for GNU / Linux on a trusted website that one wishes to install one should first search Synaptic for it and install it from the repositories rather than download the .deb or compile the tarball. This is very different from Microsoft Windows.

[pwnst*r]

In Windows I always had to use a .exe and it did not always work.

Chances of that being Windows' fault is minuscule.

[oldos2er]

There is a much more simple explanation. Young people are far more likely to adopt new technologies because they have not invested the time and resources in the old way of doing things than older people have. There is ample historical evidence for this starting with the sinking of the Titanic for example.

To borrow a British phrase, I'm gobsmacked.