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Wal-Mart to Offer Components for DIY Computers
FearTheFrail writes "Reuters reports that Wal-Mart is preparing to put "build your own computer counters" in 1200 of its 3200 stores, with plans to do so in at least 1400 by the end of the year. Maybe this will bring on an influx of new hardware enthusiasts, along with plenty of horror stories about attempted computer assembly. Do you think this will have an effect on the OEM parts market? And what about the operating systems to be offered? Will Wal-Mart shoppers migrate to Linux in order to save a hundred bucks or more, or will they even have the chance?"
I can see it now:
Customer - "The computer memory won't upgrade."
Walmart - "What was the problem?"
Customer - "I put it inside the CDROM drive and didn't get any more hard drive space."
Walmart - "Alrighty then."
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
For years, we shipped assembly off shore to factories where people would work for 20 cents an hour. From these economic theory, Wal-Mart was born.
Now, they're shipping the labour back here.
Perhaps in future, Wal-Mart will offer sew-it-yourself clothing as well? They could market it as a sweat shop tourist attraction!
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
I wish Walmart would start selling self-assembled microwaves for $10. Talk about a quick way to clear out some of the genetic driftwood in this country.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Walmart is going to sell Towers, Monitors, Keyboards, Mice, and Speakers seperately. Not the individule hardware pieces of the tower. Can't anyone read articles before posting them?
~~ Please keep your arms, legs, and outright stupidity inside the ride at all times. Thank You ~~
Cheap clothing, food, plans to open a bank, computers.... Is there nothing Wal-Mart doesn't provide aside from living wages, benefits, and dignified to its employees?
It's a girl!
On /., reading first is **cheating**!
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Maybe not for the computer nerd. But for the nerd that is fixing someone else's computer this may be a dream come true. In smaller towns where there isn't a computer shop, or where the computer shop charges such outrageous fees, it could provide a cost effective, fast way to fix a computer. I can think of countless times that I have been fixing a friend's computer and the computer places are closed. Half the time I fix someone's computer I throw in a component that I wouldn't use in my own computer -- i.e. a low end video card, etc. With Wal-mart providing the low end components that your looking for, at a cheap price, why not?
But I would seriously expect the products at Wal-mart and the small business guy not to compare well. Big-box stores like Wal-mart, Home Depot, etc, are known for playing games with margins. For example if your looking at items like garden products, there is a product for Wal-mart and one for everyone else -- don't believe me, go into your local nursery and look at the Scott's lawn fertilizer, and then go to Wal-mart. The products will compare differently on ingredients, volume, percentages and prices. But they packaging will look nearly exactly the same, except for the declarations which will be different. For real kicks, ask the nurseryman what the difference is between what Wal-mart has and the nursery. So if Wal-mart can take something that is really expensive out or reduce it, then Wal-mart can lower the price and kill competition on margin. When I was working at as a Garden Center manager I wouldn't even compete with Wal-mart on anything they sold. The products would look exactly the same, but when you looks at the specs, they are very different. But Joe Sixpack doesn't know the difference and half the time care. So why would I carry something that will be twice as expensive as Wal-mart if the customer doesn't care enough to find out why I was more expensive? Wal-mart pushed me to carry high to elite-end (i.e. golf course grade) grade products and it allowed me to make the company a lot of money.
What I found was that Wal-mart carrying the low end products brought me more business. People would stop there, and then come and see me. I attended a workshop that says that Wal-mart and other big box stores will actually increase business in the long run if the small business can survive the first three years. After the first three years, business will bounce back. But the key is that the small businesses need to provide an expert that people can talk to.
I could see the same thing happening in computer parts. Some joe who wants to do computers, stops at Wal-mart and figures out the guy behind the counter couldn't care less. Since they already have the thought about doing computers, they go to the shop that knows what they are doing. If the shop doesn't have the elitist attitude and is willing to help the guy learn a small business could make a lot of money of Wal-mart's idea.
The views expressed are mine own and do not express the views of my employer.
Somehow, I don't think that the people who can't tell the difference between a hard disk and RAM are the ones that are going to be buying their own parts. If they do, they're most likely going to learn the hard way. At that point, there's basically two roads. One, they'll NEVER try to put together their own computer ( and probably discourage all future generations from doing so, since they couldn't) OR two, they'll figure out what they did wrong and try again. If they take the second path enough times, they'll become a geek.
Instead of being dismissive of this Walmart thing, I'm interested in how they're going to do it. (Not that I like or shop at Walmart. I pretty much despise them.)
Anyone from the Bay Area remember Domino Computers? I forget exactly what their model was, but it was a build-your-own-computer. They provided the parts, the tools, the facilities and the advice. I think they offered classes/seminars, but I don't remember if those were free, or if you paid a fee.
Home Depot and Lowes sell diy materials, tools, and instruction books. They also offer free seminars on a variety of diy topics. Don't see why Walmart couldn't follow this example.
Another thing Walmart could do is use color coded packaging. This Red CPUs and Red RAM work with Red MBs. Green CPUs and Green RAM work with the Green MB. Oh, look the packaging on this PSU is Red and Blue. It works with the Red MB and the Blue MB, but not the Green. And look, this HD is in a purple package. It only works with the Purple MB and other Purple parts. So, the uneducated user need never know that his computer's HD is SATA; he only knows it's part of the Purple group. He doesn't need to know that his MB has an AGP slot, only that Yellow video cards work with Yello MBs.
I could also see Walmart being able to tailor you linux install based on what parts you buy. They scan all your parts, and their Distro distro system picks the right ISO for you and spits out a CD.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.