Best Buy Selling Ubuntu: Now, the Bad News
The Web is buzzing about Best Buy’s decision to stock Ubuntu Linux on its shelves. But I have to say, I’m not all that impressed by the news. Here’s why.
Rewind to the 1990s. CompUSA actually stocked IBM’s OS/2 on its shelves for a while. But it collected dust and OS/2 Warp eventually imploded on the desktop.
Yes, Ubuntu is far more successful than IBM’s dreadful, failed OS/2 strategy. And some exposure on Best Buy shelves could give Ubuntu some more credibility. But will it actually stay on store shelves, wonders Matt Asay over at CNet?
Here’s The Opportunity
Two weeks ago, for instance, my brother in law had never heard of Ubuntu. I told him all about it’s benefits and its bundled applications. He was impressed, but ultimately he shopped around at local retailers — including Best Buy — for a Windows PC. Perhaps if he had seen Ubuntu on the shelves, he would have finally been sold on Linux.
And here’s another ironic twist: Consumers may actually prefer to pay for Ubuntu — rather than get it for free. No joke: Many consumers don’t like free software. They fear it. My brother in law didn’t understand how Ubuntu and OpenOffice could be free. “Is it legal to actually download and share that software?” he wondered.
Sell the same software in Best Buy, and I bet my brother in law would be more inclined to give it a try.
Now, The Bad News
Still, there’s another problem awaiting Ubuntu in Best Buy. Simply put, most consumers don’t want to buy and install operating systems.
Windows Vista was a nightmare manual upgrade that failed on numerous consumer systems. Those same consumers will doubt that installing Ubuntu Linux will be any easier.
What the world needs is a brave PC maker and a brave retailer to stock a name-brand PC with Ubuntu pre-installed. Yes, you can buy Ubuntu PCs from Dell online. And Wal-Mart briefly offered Linux PCs in its stores last year before switching to an online-only offer.
Now, it’s time for Best Buy or another major retailer to work closely with a big brand PC maker — and continue down the path of customer choice. When Best Buy’s stores carry PCs with Ubuntu pre-loaded, I’ll be impressed. In the meantime, I’ll opt for free Ubuntu from the Web.
I live in France, where electronics retailer Surcouf have been selling PCs with Ubuntu pre-installed for some time. I don’t know how well they’re selling though.
I believe I remember reading that BB/GS would install it for you but it would be for $100 dollars. I’m not sure of the source, but if I see it I’ll post a link
Yeah, they do the installation for a hefty fee. Better than nothing though.
The bad news? It’s hardly news.
The main thing that plenty of people are missing out here is that $20 solves two major problems:
1) Support.
2) Codecs, drivers, Flash, Java, etc.
You get 60 days of toll-free love for your $20 which is actually pretty damned good as far as software support goes. It might be useless quality but oh well =)
Non-free inclusion hasn’t been taken as far as I suggested. I think they’re only bundling the MP3 codec, but assuming somebody grows a braincell, paying a few dollars could solve all the out-the-box issues (inside America where software patents still exist).
At the end of the day, it’s another step for Linux into the mainstream.
Is the 20 dollar fee paying for non-free codecs? It only makes sense that you couldn’t sell a boxed distro legally without paying for anything included that is non-free. A TWENTY DOLLAR alternative to Mac and Windows is a no brainer, if you want to simply manage documents, home movies, music collections, email, web, etc.
I’m only running on Windows right now, while my linux box awaits a power supply, but I only loaded open source software on it and I am getting along great.
Oli: it would be perfectly legal to include Flash and Java in Ubuntu already; they just don’t do it for philosophical reasons. Ditto for AMD and NVIDIA proprietary drivers. It’s not that they’d need to pay anyone to include these, they wouldn’t.
For codecs, the situation is the opposite. For many codecs there *are* no legally licensable implementations. Fluendo has licensable implements of some codecs, but certainly not all.
[…] Fuente | WorksWithU […]
I’m 50/50. Anytime people do something with Linux they tend to lose all brain cells. Where they would have bought Vista and did a clean install without a problem they will pop in the Ubuntu CD and then say I don’t know what to do next. When the desktop comes up they will say I don’t know how to launch an application. I see some FUD coming out of this.
BUT…I believe this will push Linux further in the long run. It will get people to realize that theres another OS out there and they can even download it at home instead of going to Best Buy. The fact that its on store shelves might push vendors to start supporting Linux in their software. They won’t be able to continue to ignore it between this and the low cost PC’s that will run Linux. In a couple of year I believe there won’t be any software support barriers left that can’t be overcome by FOSS alternatives.
The OS/2 analogy isn’t as valid as you think.
1) The full version of OS/2 was sold for around $200 in stores, and there were few OS/2 specific apps available. Many, probably most, OS/2 users simply ran DOS/Win3.x software on their OS/2 machine (that’s what i did) making it somewhat hard to justify dumping the DOS/Win3.x that came with your computer for an OS that was technically superior, but you’d end up just running the same software on that already works fine on your machine already.
Ubuntu is selling for 1/10th the price, ignoring inflation, and provides access to a huge library of free software that dwarfs the available software for OS/2… even including non-free OS/2 software.
OS/2 simply lacked a compelling reason for the average home user to drop down $200 on an OS upgrade.
2) OS/2 was not designed, nor marketed, to home users. OS/2 targeted businesses and professionals only, billing itself as the pro’s choice in OS compared to the poor man’s Windows. As such it never caught on with home users, only medium to large scale businesses. It even did poorly with small businesses, due to the fact small business owners typically run their business with what they know and have already. And when Win95 hit, you couldn’t run those new Win95 apps on OS/2 either, making OS/2 even less attractive to potential customers across the board… and again since there were few OS/2 specific apps out, not being able to run the latest Win95 apps any Packard Bell POS could with its preinstalled Windows was not good at all for OS/2
Ubuntu in contrast is a Linux distro specifically targeted at home users. Although it is works well for the pro’s still, work done on it always keeps the novice in mind. Not being able to run your favorite Windows apps (ignoring Wine) isn’t as big a problem anymore because there are free replacements for most everything, and computer use has largely shifted to web use instead of specific apps since the 90’s.
OS/2, while a superior OS to Windows in many respects, didn’t sell well to consumers because IBM didn’t target that audience at all, nor consider their needs in its design and available features.
These days I always download Linux freely. But I remember in the past buying SuSE, Mandrake, Storm, Redhat, Caldera Linux at places like Fry’s electronics. I didn’t mind paying for them at all. They came with a nice box and sometimes materials. Customers won’t mind paying and it helps Ubuntu adoption. I believe Linux is going to hit the market preinstalled – in many more places. ‘Made for Linux’ decals are already being applied to some Lenovo notebooks where i live.
Your brother in law would have been very disappointed if he had bought Ubuntu. If he doesn’t know much about Linux, imagine him buying one of those new cool video games for his kids. And their disappointment that there’s no Windows on daddy’s computer, so you can’t play. People like him must be warned in advance that if they go with Linux they can forget about running any of those over the counter applications they see every week at stores.
Who will buy the shelf space? To be on the shelf in a retailer like Best Buy, the hardware manufacturer needs to “buy” the shelf space with co-marketing money or some other means. If you are any major PC manufacturer with the money to do this, you’re only going to do it once for a given model and if you can only do it once you’re going to do it with the OS that the largest # of buyers are looking for as the installed OS.
Getting a small box of Ubuntu on a non-endcap shelf somewhere in the store is less expensive and a whole lot less effective. The majority of people buying from a Best Buy are buy-the-PC-with-the-OS-pre-installed kinds of buyers.
The rest are people that would download Linux anyway but they might buy it on impulse if they see it in the store and happen to think it is a good time to get a new distro.
SUSE and RedHat have been on the shelf in a combination of electronics, software and book retailers over the years and I don’t think any of them made many sales this way. For the most part they’ve stopped because the cost of packaging, distributing, stock swapouts and shelfspace is higher than the revenue, let alone the profit. Meanwhile, more and more people have the bandwidth for downloading a DVD image in a reasonable time.
It’s Ubuntu’s turn to learn these lessons through experience next. It’d be nice to see a different outcome but I wouldn’t bet money on that happening.
A couple of years ago you could get Mandriva, Red Hat, Corel Linux and others from dozens of different stores.
I really like how every time the Ubuntu crew does something that has been done before – and in many cases better – it is the most amazing thing in the world.
Get over yourselves.
“Linux is winning” deluge continues. As User21 correctly pointed out it’s been done before and didn’t make a dent. It seems that linux advocates have severe case of amnesia when it comes to linux failures.
User21:
“A couple of years ago you could get Mandriva, Red Hat, Corel Linux and others from dozens of different stores.”
That’s not the same thing, as they never targeted average joe consumer. Ubuntu is the first distro who is targeting the computer novice with a retail box. All those you mentioned were going after people with a higher skill level than your average computer user.
@Mr. Pink: I sincerely agree. I’m typing this comment from my Ubuntu/Dell PC. I look forward to the day when similar PCs with Ubuntu preloaded are offered on retail shelves. In the meantime, let’s not declare a huge victory for Ubuntu.
to Joe Panettieri and stix213
Computers with linux were offered on retail shelves of walmart. As a matter of fact there were several attempts at this in past 8 years or so. Not Ubuntu, I think first time it was Xandros. Then gOS. All targeted at “average joe consumer”. All failed. As I said — amnesia.
@L666:
Actually, a significant amount of Windows programs will in fact run on Ubuntu, thanks to Wine. (The same goes for any Linux distro with a proper Wine installation, really.) Its not perfect, true, but it works. I’ve heard anecdotal accounts of some programs actually running better under Wine than Windows.
[…] at Best Buy stores. While I, and just about everyone else, was excited, there is a reality, as a WorksWithU article pointed out, that just having the software hidden away on some shelf is highly unlikely to attract […]
@ Mr. Pink: I remember the Ubuntu PCs at Wal-Mart last fall and holiday season. Wal-mart did, indeed, stop selling them in stores and instead directed customers to online.
We are way, way early in the consumer Linux game. I suspect the best hope for true Linux consumer adoption is via Installfests and kids. Teach the children well, and they will grow up with open minds that select software based on value rather than installed base.
the gPC failed on shelves because of the following (i was there helping new users, so i know):
-gOS used the buggy e17 beta and lack of integration + lots of essential missing stuff. They resolved this by going with gnome now (but was a bit late for the gPC).
-Vague support, no one at walmart to answer things, no official gOS forums, faqly was a mess, etc. Ubuntu on the other hand has the best linux support available and the biggest forums.
-No instructions, manuals or on screen help to ease the linux learning curve (specially on a commercial pc). Ubuntu also lacks in this department. So they have proposed this for ibex: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NewUserEducation
-The pc was a bit slow, so it wasnt the best linux experience.
so in conclusion
new user + lack of linux education + lack of support = failure.
Yes!!! that’s what we need, a brave retailer selling linux.
So some hours later the customer rings them asking why [any piece of windows only software] does not install on their brand new linux.
Linux only chance to become prevalent is through Wine so you can run those pesky apps that does not have Linux counterparts.
And I’m not talking about games.
Linux is ok for us linux people, but until the software industry wakes up to linux, or linux makes 90% of windows apps run under wine won’t be ready for the masses.
The masses have a humongous mass of windows apps they’re used to run. It is easy to repace a cd-burning app with a free one, however replacing that custom-made/rare engineering tool is magnitudes more dificult.
If Joe consumer has the brains to install Ubuntu then he would know that it is a different OS from Windows or Mac OS. Client knowledge has come a long way, since 1995 and I trust most clients will know what the software will and won’t do. Of course they have support and they can call someone, when they otherwise wouldn’t if they downloaded it. Again I would assume if they knew how to download it, burn it or even use WUBI then they have an idea of what they are getting into.
Have fun use Linux, as I type this on a Windoze PC.
Go to Tesco (Lotus) in Pattaya Thailand.
Their PC section has loads of Linux pre-loaded.
Unfortunately, all the implementations are cr*p.
I don’t know if the Thai distros are duff, or the PCs are underpowered (probable) or the install is hobbled.
The effect is to show Linux in a rubbish light.
Overall, probably better not to have pre-loads
that give Linux a bad reputation.
Client knowledge has come a long way, since 1995 and I trust most clients will know what the software will and won’t do.
In my experience it’s quiet the opposite. And the walmart failure mostly attributed to high rate of returns due to customers’ misunderstanding that linux is not compatible with windows.
-The pc was a bit slow, so it wasn’t the best linux experience.Isn’t that what linux community is proud about? The ability of linux to run comfortably on underpowered machines.
I think that failure to capture desktop market can be explained by poor quality of applications and their inclusion into distributions by maintainers.
@Sanders
and
@Mr. Pink
the box clearly states that Windows and Mac Software does not run.
OS X states the same when you go and purchase it. Also, it says that it will not run on old powerpc or Personal computers (PC) only on macs + they include support for the dumber 1st time mac users.
see the pictures for yourself of Ubuntu at the bestbuy shelfs (high resolution):
http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2008/07/08/pictures-and-details-of-ubuntu-in-best-buy/
you guys are clearly over exaggerating. Ubuntu is not the same as other distros, getting support is as easy or easier than mac. and our forums are just huge, there’s always someone available.
@Mr. Pink: Curious to know the reasoning behind your name. The VAR Guy is a huge Pink Floyd fan (“Oh by the way, which one’s Pink?”) but he also remembers the Apple operating system project codenamed Pink.
So, what’s behind your name, The VAR Guy wonders?
Best Buy has sold Linux in boxed form on its store shelves in the past. This isn’t new, though I suppose it’s still “news”. Red Hat was once found on Best Buy shelves, much the same for CompUSA as I recall. I think there may have been another distro out there, too, but I can’t recall which one.
Personally, I’m glad to see ANY Linux distro on store shelves, even if it may carry with it some risks. I’d like to see more than just Ubuntu (Mandriva, for example), but I suppose it’s better to start with just one so as to not cause too much confusion among the general consumer.
So, what’s behind your name, The VAR Guy wonders?
Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But Pink Floyd rules, no argument there.
Not to be spamming the comments, but I remembered the other distro I saw at Best Buy. It was SuSE Linux, long before Novell got a hold of it. I think this was around the time of Red Hat 6… maybe? Memory’s a little fuzzy. In any case, it was 5+ years ago, I’d wager. Still, it’s nice to see a return of Linux in mainstream retail environments. I look forward to the continued progress.
When I had a very limited (1 gigabyte download) broadband connection, I did look for Linux in retail stores, before discovering that Ubuntu sends out free CDs. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into.
Even if it doesn’t sell like hot cakes, it’s still putting the concept of Linux out to people who just see it on the shelf and wonder what it is. Even if they don’t buy it, it’s still helpful to Linux.
Mr. Pink says, “the walmart failure mostly attributed to high rate of returns due to customers’ misunderstanding that linux is not compatible with windows.”
That’s because they bought a preloaded PC. This article is discussing buying a boxed version of Linux to be installed by the client. If the client buys this thing thinking it will run on Windows, then I’m sorry. I’m sure this will be attempted, but I doubt that is why it might fail. I would love to get some feedback from the buyer reviews, but it’s mainly Ubuntu users chiming in about how great Ubuntu is and not buyer reaction.
@carolinason
like i said before
the box clearly states that Windows and Mac Software does not run or compatible (see the pics:).
http://www.linuxloop.com/news/2008/07/08/pictures-and-details-of-ubuntu-in-best-buy/
[…] An article over at “Works With U” has an interesting thing that I have run into a few times before: And here’s another ironic twist: Consumers may actually prefer to pay for Ubuntu — rather than get it for free. No joke: Many consumers don’t like free software. They fear it. My brother in law didn’t understand how Ubuntu and OpenOffice could be free. “Is it legal to actually download and share that software?” he wondered. […]
what do you think about install-fest?