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Netbook Return Rates Much Higher For Linux Than Windows
ivoras writes "An interview with MSI's director of US Sales, Andy Tung, contains this interesting snippet: "We have done a lot of studies on the return rates and haven't really talked about it much until now. Our internal research has shown that the return of netbooks is higher than regular notebooks, but the main cause of that is Linux. People would love to pay $299 or $399 but they don't know what they get until they open the box. They start playing around with Linux and start realizing that it's not what they are used to. They don't want to spend time to learn it so they bring it back to the store. The return rate is at least four times higher for Linux netbooks than Windows XP netbooks.'"
Read a user manual? Not ready for the Desktop? Hard to use? I don't know what Linux you are talking about but the one I've been using for over two years now is easy to use, has tons of software does everything that XP did for me before and I never needed a manual I chose to read Wiki explanations for specific tasks. I had never used Linux before and I will certainly never buy windows after.
Linux IS ready for the Desktop, it's that meatsack sitting behind it that isn't. The problem with the Linux adaption is that most people are idiots who get used to Windows as the one and only way user interaction should be presented. These are the same people that don't know how to get their microwave to show the time because they had a hard enough time to learn how to do that to the VCR and now can't be bothered anymore. In that sense Linux is improving the situation because it teaches those that use it that computers are computers and the interfaces are exchangeable. I got my brother a computer with Ubuntu on it, he's 23 and doesn't know much about computers but after I told him the things he needed to know everything works just fine. Which just goes to show if you're not biased by getting used to crap for the best part of your life you can actually adapt to changes.
The problem here is an old one, dumbshit learns Word for a couple of years and when you show him OpenOffice they go "But the printer icon doesn't look quite like the one I'm used to" and can't use it. Why? Because they are fucking stupid! I can press any type of buttons no matter what they look like as long as I understand that it's what I have to do to get the machine to do what I want. If you really can't make the connection between printer icon = printing or navigate a menu that is slightly different from what you've used before maybe these people shouldn't be working with computers. It's like with a car. If you drive your old car for a couple of years and the new one has the AC knob in a different place will you sweat? If you're dumb and ignorant you will because you refuse to learn how to work the new thing. If you're smart you'll realize that stuff needs to be operated no matter how it looks.
They could have paid me to tell them that people are generally lazy and ignorant. That they rather be spoonfed the same rubbish rather than learn something new.
The fact they're buying these things with Linux on without realising it shows how many people are too thick to be allowed on the internet.
These people can't even grasp how to use Windows properly. It's no wonder they're scared to move onto something else and sadly these people are allowed to vote on things that affect technology which they have no understanding of.
The internet will eventually become some handicapped politically correct environment to protect these people and further kill the evolutionary process.
I wish I had a cluebat right now.
"Those are all packages I found with a quick `aptitude search "~i~sGames"; that is, these are games that are packaged and trivially easy to install straight out of the box."
See that contrail waaaaaay up there at the edge of the atmosphere? That's the whole point flying right over your head...
it is the difference between memorizing a method and understanding the concept.
,like running my business, fixing up my house, studying art, whatever. I wouldn't bother with Linux because to me, it's a complete and total waste of my time.
Or, it's the case of people having other, more interesting things to spend their time learning. I used to be a computer geek, but now stuff like OS' bore the living shit out of me. I have -zero- interest in dicking around with a computer any more than I have to. I have a lot more interesting things to do
I don't respond to AC's.
Haleth, People coped, but people hated it. You're looking at the past with rose-colored glasses so bright the glare is blinding. I don't ever remember anyone cheering the fact that you had to remember 2-3 different sets of commands for different systems, or enjoying the fact that there was no simple way to ensure that a document saved on Computer A would open on Computer B. Even if you had two computers running MS-DOS (one at home, one at work), there was no guarantee they were functionally compatible--if your home computer used 5.25" floppies and your work computer had 3.5" floppies, you were just plain stuck--unless, of course, you could afford to shuck out some serious dough, and even then, compatibility could be dicey. In my case, the family computer ended up with a 1.44" floppy drive, but could only read a 720K floppy, due to BIOS/hardware limitations. Coping and embracing are two fundamentally different concepts. People "coped" with computers back then, but that doesn't mean we'd ever want to step backwards to such a state.
For the last time, I was refuting "no incentive". You are arguing about "sufficient incentive". So why keep posting in response to arguments I DID NOT MAKE?
Anti-intellectualism has nothing to do with it. I have MORE INTERESTING things to spend time doing instead of re-inventing the wheel (or in this case, the OS). If you get your jollys from spending time fighting to get Linux to do what Windows does out of the box, good for you. In fact, if you want to call names, I'd call THAT anti-intellectualism. Instead of using your computer do do things with, you spend half your time just getting the damn thing to work because you're too cheap to spend $200 on a Windows license. While you're at it, why don't you find a better substance for your car's tires than rubber? Maybe you can find something cheaper and better, huh?
What a completely and utterly pointless waste of time.
I don't respond to AC's.
What part of that was humble?
People have better things to do with their lives than learn a new OS. Vista's learning curve from XP sucks but learning most Linux distros from XP is harder. Where's the Control Panel? At least that much carries over in Vista.
People don't "stop learning," they go learn things that are more important to them.
Welcome to the angry antisocial Linux community, ladies and gentleman--where wanting to get things done instead of spending all night configuring an OS is "anti-intellectualism," and having more interesting things to do is a "misguided rush."
You're a "drone" if you want to use software that already works. Good luck spreading that message, Linux users.
"Sufferin' succotash."
You're absolutely right. There is a marked bias on Slashdot against people who are unwilling to learn *insert whatever the commenter's favorite thing is.* Personally I find this annoying. I'll give an example why. When I was a kid, it seemed like all the adults in my life were spending a lot of energy encouraging me to learn various sports. I had no interest in doing so. I wanted to read books, play with my chemistry set, and see what would happen if I shot a bottle rocket down a toilet. When I was in my late teens I took up running to stay thin - that's the closest to an interest in sports as I've ever had.
As far as I'm concerned, people can do whatever they want with their time, as long as they don't infringe the rights of other people. If this means they don't want to play sports, or learn Linux, or study Medieval Latin poetry, that's fine with me. When people ask me what I think they should do with their time (this happens occasionally), the most I'll say is "Do what makes you happy without hurting anybody else."
I can understand why you became a bit defensive. Many Slashdotters are libertarians except when it comes to the things they want to force other people to do.