Big Retailers Timid About Selling Linux Boxen

RollWaves75 writes "Jay Lyman reports in IT Manager's Journal that major Linux retailers like Wal-Mart, CompUSA, Fry's and Best Buy are being timid and waiting to see how a small, Midwest-based chain called Micro Center fares in selling Linux software. Turns out that Micro Center not only is out-selling Wal-Mart in Linux systems, it is taking the bold step to have Linux-knowledgeable clerks and trained sales support for customers like you and me." From the article: "[Kevin Carmony] described three levels of mainstream retail Linux: Wal-Mart, which provides no sales support, only offering its Linux machines online; Fry's, where Linux is viewed as a loss leader on the ultra low end; and Micro Center, which is only carrying Linspire Linux at this point, but is behind Linspire's in-store training for reps, Micro Center Marketing Communications Manager Ed Lukens told ITMJ in an email. He said the chain, which is selling boxed and pre-installed Linspire 5.0 desktops and notebooks, will promote the Linux systems with offers through its direct mail pieces."

Comments

He he .....

[gstoddart]

Mostly I'm going to watch this thread to see how lively the 'boxen' discussion gets. :-P

Re:He he .....

[ivan256]

What discussion? Boxen is a word... Just ask Webster:

Boxen \Box"en\ (b[o^]ks"'n), a.
Made of boxwood; pertaining to, or resembling, the box
({Buxus}). [R.]
[1913 Webster]


Clearly the big name stores aren't eager to offer an OS with low market share on luxury wooden computers that already have such a tiny market appeal.

Re:He he .....

[Le Marteau]

No, the origin of the word actually was developed at UC Berkeley. Because the geeks there were so, well, 'geeky' one's gaydar tended to become ineffectual and another way to discover other gays was needed.

Hence the development of the term 'boxen'. It was developed as a code word by the gay community at Berkeley so that they could find sexual partners. If you heard someone referring to 'boxen' you could be sure they were promiscuously gay.

The term has since become misused by geeks who don't know any better. But anyone 'in the know' understands that 'boxen' is about the gayest thing someone can say.

You mean

[Enigma_Man]

Merchants are wary of selling a computing product that is all-but-unknown to the public at large? You don't say!

-Jesse

Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[Doc Squidly]

Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks

When is the last time you met a Knowledgeable Clerk in any retail store?

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[Martin Blank]

"Oh, sure, this thing is the latest technology. It has a Viamamia Serious chip in it that does over 600 million Bogoblips running the latest Microsoft. It also comes with 200 megs of memory, and more than 100 megs of ROM! And look at this new two-button moose -- better than anything that Applesauce place can do. It can play all the latest games just as good as those big name-brand units, and for only half the cost at $1500 (monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer extra)."
-- Random Fry's floor sales rep

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[Anonymous Coward]

"When is the last time you met a Knowledgeable Clerk in any retail store?"

Often...after the dot com crash.

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

and network administrating (on linux boxes)

That's BOXEN forcryingoutloud...

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[Winckle]

"But if yuo act now i'll throw in 200GB WOM disk!"

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[DrAegoon]

Fry's clerk: "Don't forget your special USB 2.0 cable for your new $40 printer" Me: "Why does it cost four times as much as this USB 1.1 cable?" Clerk: "It'll make your printer go faster." Me: "The printer doesn't say it supports USB 2.0" Clerk: "Don't worry it's still better" Me: "It's not going to magically increase the speed of the printer, the computer it's going on doesn't support USB 2.0 anyway, and I'm not adding 50% to the price of a printer for a cable that doesn't do anything the $5 cable doesn't do." The saddest part is that he'd probably gotten people with that line before.

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[ThousandStars]

Me: I'm only interested in laptops with Pentium-M chips.

Fry's guy: We have a lot of Centrino.

Me: I don't care about the wireless chipset, I just care about the processor.

(So we look at the laptop selection. Some are Centrino bundles. I find a machine that uses a P-M w/o "Centrino".)

Me: This one.

Fry's: It doesn't have Centrino.

Me: I only care about the chip.

Fry's: I think you want this one. (It's $500 more).

Me: What's the difference between a P-M and Centrino?

Fry's: They're the same.

Me: Slams head into table.

This is in working on finding a laptop suitable for my sister. Eventually I retreat.

How do they make money on free software?

[Anonymous Coward]

Volume!

Well Obviously...

[Momoru]

...I would be timid to sell an OS for Losers too.

Re:Excellent news

[ImaLamer]

I'm not suprised either, because it is what people want. In fact, I never saw Apple computers in a retail store until I walked into my local MicroCenter.

But then again, the people in the Apple section were always a little snobbier than the rest. I can't wait to see their Linux associates...

I hope their marketing is better

[sanctimonius hypocrt]

I can't think calling them "boxen" helps.

Hey Mister! You wanna buy some Linux boxen?

Get away from me you freak!

Re:I hope their marketing is better

[Enigma_Man]

I saw a flock... of moosen!

That's Linspire Boxen to you :)

-Jesse

Re: Can we banish the term Boxen

[Black Parrot]

What's with all the nixen on boxen?

Re:Linux....whats that????

[anno1602]

Retailers are leary of selling something that most of their employees do not understand.

I wish.

Re:Windows

[It doesn't come easy]

Besy Buy

In case anyone was wondering, that's the sister store to Best Buy.

Re:Linux---great! But 'Linspire'?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Now, before I get slammed by Linspire zealots, just let me say one thing:"

There are Linspire zealots?

Re:Excellent news

[databyss]

All linux associates will be required to yell "RTFM n00b!" before answering any questions.

I only speak from experience, cause that's the response I get when I need linux help.

That Suxen

[spun]

Sounds like they're nixen the whole ball of waxen. What're they smokin, craxen?

** duxen **