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Fry's Electronics - Selling Linux... Or Not?
TheMadPenguin writes "For those of you who may not be aware, Fry's Electronics has been selling a Linux desktop PC loaded with ThizLinux for quite a while now. The question is, are they really selling it? The answer is a definitive no."
They had one of these machines at their store in Houston. I fiddled around with it for a second and came to find out that the root password was blank. I told the sales guy this and he just asked me, "what's that?" I just left.
Terrific, a grown man crying all over his keyboard because Fry's Electronics doesn't know how to effectively sell PCs running Linux. Today must be gushing with news.
"Thiz Linux is not for sale."
5.) You want to "Think Different" without looking queer.
4.) You need an OS as unreliable as your '83 Ford Fairlane.
3.) It'll help you get a job. Oh wait, nevermind, it's not 1999 anymore.
2.) You have an extra $299 from your unemployment check.
1.) You want to make uglier friends.
Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate. Ex-O'Reilly/MIT employee, now a full-time Google employee.
These people will not be getting my business. I insist on the ability to get a full refund from Red Hat if it comes with an OS I intend to erase anyway.
- Linux is the stolen property of SCO.
- Sales of stolen property are null and void by law.
Q.E.D.taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
"He would make for a poor Soup Opera writer."
...Another can bursts into the room...
S1: Oh Asian Noodle, how could you leave me?
S2: You must understand Cream of Chicken, it's not because I don't love you but because...
S3: It's because I, Split Pea, am your identical twin separated at birth, drowned in the ocean and come back to life!
You can go about your business. Move along.
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
4.) You need an OS as unreliable as your '83 Ford Fairlane.
3.) It'll help you get a job. Oh wait, nevermind, it's not 1999 anymore.
2.) You have an extra $299 from your unemployment check.
And the number one reason to buy a computer with Linux pre-installed:
1.) You want to make uglier friends.
Prevent email address forgery. Publish SPF records for y
Of course they compensate by not hiring anyone who knows anything.
Obligatory Fry's Application Form.
"How completely shocking, that $7-an-hour floor sales staff at a discount warehouse store aren't very savvy about technology!"
Yeah! How dare a company that sells technology have knowledgable staff?
"One would think they'd hire 20-year industry veterans and experienced Unix sysadmins to tell people on what aisle the mouse pads are, right?"
Don't worry. With the economy tanking, the next words out of your mouth will be: "There over on aisle 12".
Has anyone seen the PCs or Thiz Linux? The PC makes an e-machine look like a super computer... it's absolute crap complete with a Cyrix chipset. As far as Thiz Linux goes, it is also crap... If SCO wants to go after Linux, we ought to feed them Thiz Linux as a diversion. It's a stripped down e-mail, word processor, MP3 Player, and cheesy Web Browser. That's it! I hear users still preferred their speak-n-spell over Thiz Linux.
.
DALLAS, TX - November 3, 1998 -- The call came in sometime after midnight. As soon as COO Kersten was informed that Fry's Electronics was calling, he rushed to the telephone.
"I immediately sensed the limitless potential. My own customer experiences with Fry's were so excruciatingly painful that I was overwhelmed with the possibilities of a relationship. They are truly Jedis of Customer Disservice", from whom I could learn much," Kersten stated.
Kersten was flattered to learn that Fry's was calling to talk business. Company President John Fry wanted to purchase APATHY Demotivators(tm), thousands of them. He had seen the design during a visit to his local post office, and felt it perfectly articulated their own indifferent sentiments towards customers. In completing the transaction, Fry's became the largest single customer of APATHY poster outside of the government sector.
"It is a wonderful irony that the company that turned Customer Disservice into an artform has entered into a relationship with the company that turned it into artwork. We couldn't be more flattered, offered Kersten on the purchase.
In reply, Fry offered, "This will keep our employees from losing sight of what is important. -- Nothing."
At one point, during a conversation with Fry, the notoriously unemotional Kersten found himself choked up with tears. His personal secretary and confidante of ten years, "Hey You", later commented that they had revealed some radical new techniques for Customer Disservice"; they intended to test in their Dallas store.
Kersten declined to reveal details, saying only, "How much does body armor go for these days" This led some to speculate that Fry's may be considering shooting customers at random to gauge subsequent buying patterns.
Fry's legendary indifference to customer service, although occasionally drawing criticism and media scrutiny, has only led to increased loyalty amongst their customer base and continued explosive growth. Analysts theorize that Fry.s customer base, heavily skewed towards poorly socialized, pure geek demographics, may actually derive some erotic gratification from the masochistic purchasing experience.
PJRC: Electronic Projects, 8051 Microcontroller Tools
well linux developers..... that is your real goal.
when you make this OS so simple the frys guys can sell it..... you have arrived!
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
Godwin's law states that any usenet flamefest will eventually degenerate into comparisons with Nazis, or something to that effect.
Have we replaced Nazis with SCO, such that any slashdot discussion will eventually end up with comparisons to SCO?
I like it!
Infuriate left and right
Oh, sorry. That was me. What else is there to do in Fry's but fiddle with the stuff they're selling.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
or, in my case, a definitive 404 not found
Let's read between the lines, shall we:
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, warez monkeys. Here's a cheap and reasonably fast box you can rebuild with that Devil's 0wn copy of Windows XP you've had stashed in your bedroom since you leeched it from that Russian FTP server. We won't ask any questions, even though you don't have a beard or sandals. ;-)
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
The reason he could not find the counsel is they were on the planet corsucand.
Hey freaks: now you're ju