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

It's marketing.

[fsck!]

Maybe they think "boxen" is a stupid, stupid word.

Big Retailers Timid About Not Turning Profit

[gatkinso]

Revised title.

But what are they really exposing?

[paranode]

Seriously, when people look at one of these things in a store what are they going to think? "Hey here are these cheaper ones with the cheap Windows knock-off". I think Linux is great but Linspire is really just Linux contorted to be as much like Windows as possible. So to the public who doesn't know what Linux is, it becomes "that cheap Windows knock-off".

Linux power users probably won't be interested unless they only want the hardware. So that just leaves the in-the-middle folks looking for a cheap computer. Heck I'll bet half of them will just install a pirated Windows copy on it.

Re:Linux-Knowledgeable Clerks?

[codeguy007]

My experience is based upon a particularly
knowledgable friend of mine who had A+ and CCNA training plus years of Linux use and network administrating (on linux boxes) under his belt and was turned down there.


If his resume was that good he wasn't turned down because he wasn't knowledgeable enough. Chances are more likely that they were afraid to hire someone with too much experience / knowledge because they don't pay well enough to keep them any significant length of time.

Having a high employee turn over ratio doesn't increase the bottom line especially if you provide training to new employees.

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

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

If Linux really wants to become a player

Linux doesn't want anything. It isn't a person, it isn't a corporate person, it isn't a country.

If you want linux to become a player, go ahead and do whatever you feel is necessary.