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Mandrake Hits Wal-Mart (.com)
caveat writes: "The Register is reporting that Wal-Mart is shipping PCs with Mandrake preinstalled. 'Prices range from $391 for a 900MHz Duron machine to $648 for a 2GHz Pentium 4 with CD-RW.' more power to them." So now walmart.com customers seeking a pre-installed Free OS aren't limited to Lindows. I wonder if any Wal-Mart manager is brave enough to actually set up a few machines in-store. Update: 07/15 15:35 GMT by T : As many people have pointed out, the systems running Mandrake -- just like the Lindows machines on offer -- are only available through Wal-Mart's website.
I think Walmart is the company that could best challenge Microsoft Window's monopoly. They are big enough not to cave to Microsoft. They are diverse enough that loosing wouldn't kill them. They have a huge customer base and lots of stores. If Walmart sold you a computer, it would be cheap. They could preinstall any software they sell on the shelves. If you have a problem with it, you can just bring it to a Walmart. You're never that far from one in the US. If selling Lindows and Manrake increases their hardware sales, would they consider writing their own operating system? or maybe just Walmart Linux?
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
I wonder if any Wal-Mart manager is brave enough to actually set up a few machines in-store.
Why is the bravery required? Are you suggesting its hard to install Linux? Are you suggesting its hard to use Linux?
If a manager can't setup demos, then the whole idea of selling Linux in the stores is flawed and will ultimately fail.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Reasons for setting up a Linux Demo PC at Walmart
1. Fear Reduction. If customers can *see* it working, and see a few neat demos (one of the few linux games, Open Office, etc...) then they will be much more likely to buy it.
2. Employee Knowledge. The majority of Walmart employees are not really encouraged to be knowledgeable about their products or their store. If electronics department managers took the dive and installed a Linux PC for their departments, employees who worked there could play with it and learn about it. They'd be in a lot better position to deal with it.
3. Zealots. Go to any Bestbuy or Circuit city that happens to have a Mac section, and you'll find one or two Mac Zealots there to 'encourage' people toward buying a Mac. If you put Linux PC's in stores, you'll probably get Linux Zealots there too to show people how wonderful Linux can be.
Reasons AGAINST setting up a Linux Demo PC at Walmart
1. su -; password; rm -rf *.*
2. When Linux breaks, (or is broken) you've got to be knowledgable to fix it. If you installed it, you've got no problem, but can you really count on someone who works at Walmart to know how to edit files? In my experience, non techies who sell computers would rather *not* fix a broken software demo by reinstalling. If they can't make it 'right' again with a few mouse clicks, they'll turn it off.
3. 133t k1dd135
4. Customer: "So, which of this software can I run on this Linux PC?"
Walmart CSM: "Uhmm... None of it, I think. I dunno. Are these things compatible with normal PC's?"
Walmart carries a few boxed Linux distros. I've seen Mandrake and Redhat shrinkwraps before, but that is the long and short of their in-store linux support. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to download Open Office. He wants to buy it off the shelf and have it work without thinking. Unless Walmart starts carrying some of the shrinkwrap Linux software packages, and maybe some 'collection' CD's, they're shooting themselves in the foot by displaying a Linux PC next to reams of Windows-only software.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
I would love to see Linux compete on the desktop, but I just don't see how it meets the needs of the average WalMart customer.
And before someone starts with the old, "but all those people want is e-mail, a browser, and a way to write letters," let me say: Bullshit. Newbies very often buy a computer with very modest intentions but quickly get comfortable with the machine and then want to start adding programs and doing the same things with it that they see their friends and relatives do. That's when things get ugly, and people start telling each other, "Don't buy Linux, there's no software for it."
Good, let the two evils try to fight each other off, I might enjoy the show. A long time ago Eric Raymond stated that as PC's begin to drop below the $300 and $400 range that people will become less and less willing to pay the Microsoft tax, and will be when Linux begins to take foothold on the desktop. Wal-Mart could be the turning point of the war.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
On the other hand, people may find alternative, "inexpensive" ways to load some kind of Windows.
-MSE
Fiat Lux.
There's a difference between saying Rednecks shop at Wal-Mart and saying everyone who shops at Wal-Mart is a Redneck. The insult to all Wal-Mart customers is only in your mind. Plus I don't think saying Rednecks shop at Wal-Mart falls into insulting someone on their Race/Color/Creed/Religion/National Origin/Sexual Orientation.
Hell, at my company we have off on "Deer Slaying Day" as it's affectionatly know as. (Monday after Thanksgiving).
I worked at a GM factory one summer, and the employees there told me that one year they had to shut down production and send every one home for the day because not enough people showed up on opening day of deer season.
And from dictionary.com:
hick Pronunciation Key (hk) Informal
n.
A person regarded as gullible or provincial: "New Yorkers had a horrid way of making people feel like hicks" (Louis Auchincloss).
adj.
Provincial; unsophisticated: a hick town.
[After Hick, a nickname for Richard, from Middle English Hikke.]
What?
Absolutely!! Besides, who do you think does a majority of the hard labor in the south and midwest? You have the White "redneck" working class, then the black folk, who, by and large, are all working class, and the latinos. As regards the White working class, you know how many of these so-called stupid rednecks ship the food in this country? Bottom line is: Some people are arrogant prick elitists, and, whilst the concept of elitism does not bother me, I find thast it really depends upon whether or not the person speaking has the right to feel this way in due part to achievement, or because said person feels this way because they know how to do something, ie use Linux effectively, that a lot of people do not. What about your mechanic? How many times have you noticed that these guys are just hackers(GEARHEADS) of a different stripe, and are far from stupid, at least where it matters to the situation at hand.
...StarOffice and Apache for the XP box as well, if the purpose is to compare similar equiped boxes?
I don't know about MySQL on win32, and I would guess the Gtk applications would be clearly inferior on XP than on Mandrake, since they provide a native interface on the later.
We're talking about Walmart quietly adding PCs on their website with little promotion (other than geek news coverage) vs Fry's (a large regional store) displaying linux-based PCs in Fry's stores and boldly promoting it in their advertising. A friend of mine went there twice in the last couple weeks and bought two of them right off the shelf in the store. Saw a big ad, no mail order, no needing to know about about an obscure page on a website, didn't already need to have a PC, etc.
Sure, Walmart may be able to reach everyone, if they try... and maybe they will someday.
But in the here and now, and lot more people are getting exposed to a bargain linux-based PC due to (regional) Frys than (international) Walmart. Just because you're bitter that Fry's isn't in your area doesn't mean that they aren't managing to expose a lot of people to the concept of a $300 PC with linux.
Sure, you may like Walmart better (I do too... Fry's really does terrible customer service), and it is true that Walmart could expose a lot more people to linux-based computers, but the fact is that their linux-based PCs are on their website, only available to people who already have a PC and are willing to mail order. Fry's has these $300 machines in their stores, and they're devoting major advertising to let people know about it.
PJRC: Electronic Projects, 8051 Microcontroller Tools
OK, so an Unknowning customer buys this Linux machine and takes it home.
Don't know how they would unknowingly buy it, since they have to but it from Walmart.com, and the description tells you it's linux.
Problem 1. Connect to the Internet. The customer calls his local internet provider, Cable, DSL, or dial-up and says he want's to setup his system to connect to the net. The Internet provider sends him the software. Hmmm, where's the Linux install. Call back the provider. The provider asks what Operating system he's running. Customer repsonds "Linux". Click!
User gets sent hardware, connects it, boots machine, during boot, the hardware is detected, and the user is prompted for settings, adds them, and continues booting. When he logs in, the connection works. Better than windows (no reboot necessary).
Problem 2. Swapping files. The customer's best friend just downloaded this cool program and wants him to try it. Hmmm, just stick the disk in and and run setup?
But the user would already have 3 programs under linux that do the same, but in different ways, and easier to install.
Problem 3. U.S. Federal Income Tax Software, Quicken for Linux, MS Office for Linux, Wheel of Fortune for Linux? While there are alternatives, they aren't mainstream.
Buy Crossover Office or Win4lin from the mandrakestore.com, if they aren't happy with OpenOffice.org 1 (actually 641c), StarOffice 6.0, Gnumeric, or KOffice or one of the accounting apps that ships with Mandrake 8.2
Problem 4. Computer crashes. No problem take it to the local computer repair center. Ooops, they don't support Linux.
How often is this going to happen??? And it's probably installed on ext3, so no problems. Hardware problems are hardware problems, so the shop can boot a diagnostic tool from a floppy to test the hardware. Anyway, they can probably return it to Walmart.com and get a replacement.
Problem 5. Ohhh, there's a new cool USB 2.0 gadget out for the computer at my local store. I'll buy it and connect it to my system. Hmmm, Linux doesn't recognize the new hardware and there's no Linux install software included with the gadget.
USB 2.0 won't work on Windows XP either. So, the user might have to upgrade to Mandrake 9.1 or whatever release first has a kernel with usb2 support.
The point is, that Linux, at this time, is only for people that want to download it/buy it, install it, and spend alot of time learning Linux. It's not for people that just want to use it as part of their computer and don't really care what's running in the background as long as they can e-mail, surf, do finances, play games, etc. We Linux zealots often forget that the majority of the population could care less if they're running Wndoze, Linux, or Mac, as long as they can do what they need to do with their computer.
I would disagree, and say that at the moment, linux is restricted to those who are geeks or know geeks, because they don't know that they are capable of installing it. My girlfriend now uses Mandrake 8.2 (though she has win98 dual-boot, atm only used for downloading photos from my camera which is not well enough supported by gphoto2), and prefers it, mainly because a lot of things come with the distro that don't come with windows. For example, she would have to get a new version of winamp to play music she got from a friend, whereas xmms plays it fine - and she has no network connection).
Sure, I had to install Mandrake for her, but I had to do that with Win98 also. She did the installation/upgrade to Mandrake 8.2 from 8.1, and I don't know if she would manage win98.
So, now we will really see how difficult linux is to use, now that a decent distro comes pre-installed, which IMHO was the only major obstacle before.
Now, we can only hope that these sell well.
Wow, its nice to see that slashdot is no longer filled with open-minded, intelligent individuals. It is now populated with bigots who like to impress others with their superior intellects and mastery of everything over your common, ordinary person. I reply not only to you, but to those that sit at their computers and insult these 'rednecks' as you like to call them. In my opinion, this displays an utter lack of maturity and makes me question the integrity of those posting on this site. Yes, the rednecks have ways which are strange to 'y'all', but this is no reason to treat them as if they are a backward group of ignorant morons whose socio-economic status has indefinitely limited them to shopping at such stores as Wal-Mart. Has anyone ever told you that stereotyping is a BAD thing? What's funny is how the stereotypical Slashdot hacker (coder, not crackers) broils when they get word that the government has stereotyped them into the very group (crackers) that they wholeheartedly detest and in most cases, aren't a part of. I can only laugh at such hipocrisy. I am a college student, not a 'redneck', and I shop at Wal-Mart simply because after auto insurance, tuition, books, and my residence is paid off, I simply don't have the time nor the money to shop at the Epicure for my tv diners and 12 packs of Mt. Dew. The day that I can join the crowd of 1337 /.ers that can afford to, maybe I will. Also, I played deer hunter at one time simply because I thought it was kinda cool for a minute. Does this make me a backwoods, green-tooth/no-tooth, spawn of incestual relations? I hardly think so.
I've been tempted by their excellent prices far too many times. Their computer hardware is nearly all refurbished (or just relabelled), and many of the items on the shelves have been returned and resold 3 or more times - count the number of restock stickers.
Not only does their hardware suck, but they're a tremendous pain in the ass about refunds. they are almost only willing to accept exchanges, you will have to argue at length for anything else (with few exceptions).