Dell Says High Linux Netbook Returns a "Non-Issue"

Michiel Roos notes that at this week's OpenSource World, a Dell executive deflated Microsoft's claims that Linux notebooks have return rates four or five times higher than Windows machines. "Todd Finch, Dell senior product marketing manager, said the number of Linux returns are approximately the same as those for Windows netbooks. He categorized the matter of returns as a 'non-issue.' 'They are making something of nothing,' he said of Microsoft's claims."

Comments

IdeaStorm's Top Ideas

[eldavojohn]

The end of the article plugs Dell's IdeaStorm which has these as top ideas:

1. 115170: Pre-Installed OpenOffice | alternative to MS Works & MS Office
2. 105120: Have Firefox pre-installed as default browser
3. 103950: No Extra Software Option
4. 101110: Pre-Installed Linux | Ubuntu | Fedora | OpenSUSE | Multi-Boot
5. 86980: Provide Linux Drivers for all your Hardware
6. 72510: No OS Preloaded
7. 53180: Sell Linux PCs Worldwide - not only the United States
8. 46690: Stripped down, fast Linux Box
9. 39970: coreboot (formerly LinuxBIOS) instead of proprietary BIOS

So maybe only open source users know about IdeaStorm? Regardless, Dell is staring down hundreds of thousands of users looking for more options that should honestly be very easy to provide. So if the returns are a "non-issue" and are similar to Windows returns then what's the deal, Dell?

Re:IdeaStorm's Top Ideas

[mpapet]

Dell is staring down hundreds of thousands of users looking for more options that should honestly be very easy to provide.

I can tell you from personal experience, none of those things are 'easy.' Yes, some of them are very easy for you and I. But we're talking about a huge unwieldy corporate machine where every good intention/new idea from the bottom of the org chart is unwelcome and punished.

FYI, for most people at any sufficiently large organization, the customer is at the very bottom of the org chart.

If the CEO drove these changes without endless, mind-numbing discussion and rooms full of people notifying her of the 'dangers' it would be a different story. But that's just not how it works at that level.

Coreboot would be at the very top of my list. From there, the user is free-er to do what they please with the computer. Words cannot describe how important that project is to the future of computing. Please, go help coreboot out.

Microsoft is fighting back

[alen]

if anyone hasn't noticed, Apple and Microsoft have been playing very nice together since last year.

  Apple has licensed ActiveSync for the iphone and MobileMe
there is Exchange 2007 integration into Snow Leopard
New MS Office for the Mac will have an Outlook client for the first time with full Exchange integration

I think MS is playing nice with Apple to get back at Dell and HP for the netbook linux thing. If HP and Dell want to ship linux PC's, then MS is going to help Apple poach Dell's most profitable customers

Re:Not surprised

[rxan]

People aren't returning these machines more because they have Ubuntu, they're buying them more because they have Ubuntu.

That's a nice sounding way to spin it. But in TFA it actually says they were buying them because they were cheaper, not because they had Ubuntu.

Normal people don't know what Ubuntu is. They don't know what Windows is. They just want cheap computers and assume that they all have that familiar OS.

Dell UK. ()

[NickFortune]

I suspect that, while the enthusiasm on ideastorm is real, it isn't wildly representative.

It isn't representative of Dell UK, I can tell you much. End of last year, I bought the wife a new laptop. She's a fan of Ubuntu, so I got her a Dell Inspiron with Ubuntu preloaed. She loves it - never been the least bit bother.

A month ago, my old laptop finally gave up the ghost, and I thought (seeing as how the Missus' machine was so reliable) that a Dell machine might be the way to go.

So I go to Dell's UK website, only to find that the only Ubuntu option they now offer is a minimum spec netbook - and that I suspect only because Michael Dell threatened to remove their testicles if they didn't offer something.

I suppose ... if I'd wanted to phone them up, and if I'd been willing to spend the time arguing, I could probably have got my preloaded Ubuntu system. Instead, I thought "sod it" and order an Acer instead.

I do wonder if Dell are aware of they shenanigans going on at their UK subsidiary sometimes. Operating system evangelism is all very well, but this is costing them sales, you know?