Dell: join in! Offer a low-cost Linux PC!

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Dell: join in! Offer a low-cost Linux PC!

2340 points posted to Linux, Sales Strategies, Desktops and Laptops by phubert Apr 2

It appears Dell remains afraid of Microsoft... and here is an answer we haven't heard from Dell on IdeaStorm:

"The top PC makers have so far treaded carefully. Dell's website sells Ubuntu computers in a separate section for open-source PCs, out of direct comparison with Windows machines. Dell spokeswoman Anne Camden said the placement reflects the fact that Linux is still not a mainstream consumer product."

From the USA Today article:

Burst of low-end PCs could boost Linux

"Business computing suppliers are finding open-source desktops especially gaining traction in cost-conscious developing markets. For example, IBM and Linux vendor Red Hat recently launched Microsoft-free desktops for Eastern Europe.

One buyer is Aleksandar Spagnut, a director of Moscow-based Rushotel, which needed new desktop PCs for a hotel-building project. Spagnut said his company saved 30 to 35% over comparable Windows machines. He added that Linux PCs are now common enough that a snowball effect is emerging, whereby technical support and "drivers" — which essentially tell programs how to interact with hardware — are much easier to find." ****

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2008-04-01-cheap-pc-linux_N.ht...

okroger104 Apr 2	Don't you think saying that Dell is afraid of Microsoft is a bit inflammatory? Ms. Cadmen's quote says it all. Linux is just not a mainstream product. Citing EEEpc sales wouldn't be a proper comparison. Especially since Asus expects XP to outsell Linux on the EEEpc by a factor of 6 to 4. That said, I'd love to see Dell offer a ultraportable PC like the eeepc and HP's upcoming 2133 mini-note. Offer both Linux and windows. Dell already offers low cost Linux PC's. Unless you mean even lower cost like in the $300 range.
winoffice Apr 2	Clarify what you mean by "low-cost".
phubert Apr 3	$199, perhaps WO? And, okroger104, it is already well-known that Microsoft has made it a practice to threaten hardware vendors who would not tow its line. Does it still wield such power? Well, money is a significant incentive, isn't it? I said "It appears" not "It's certain". As to 'not mainstream' THERE we're at the chicken and the egg. Markets are CREATED. This provides evidence that a market may well be waiting. An especially lucrative one? Probably not. But with the apparent direction of today's economy, "any port in a storm" might also be a prudent mode... The other issue, though, is that if others get there first, Dell won't have ANY part in this market... and THEIR sales could suffer. Note that the recent car sales figures showed all manufacturers suffering in the U.S. (didn't see a figure for Hyundai and some others at the lower and, and THAT might have been instructive) ... don't you think this will also be seen in PC's and laptops????
okroger104 Apr 3	Well, markets aren't necessarily created. Most attempts at creating markets fail. What is successful is fulfilling a need. These mini PC's filled a need between a full size notebook and a PDA. As they are/were running Linux because, well, that's all that was currently being offered given that Linux is well suited to their scaled back hardware and Vista's not. The fact that Asus is estimating that XP on the device will outsell Linux says it a lot about the current state of the market and where the demand actually is. People were actually waiting for windows. And many people were installing XP on the eeepcs. But the Linux versions will continue to sell especially since it will be cheaper than the XP ones. But at the same time, Linux is developing a stigma of being for small, weak, and cheap PC and for basic computing. As far as Microsoft threatening OEMS over offering other OSs, it's mostly conspiracy theory in as much as the degree of threat and interpretation of legal decisions you see floating around on the net on pro-open source websites. Losing a volume discount and marketing dollars is standard business practice. Sell a million, we offer you this price with these incentives. Sell 500,000 we offer you this higher price less those incentives. See, in order to even suggest that Dell is "afraid" of Microsoft, you'd have to show that there's this significant demand for Linux that Dell is neglecting. Because, if there were this demand, Dell would be willing to take the risk of losing their volume discount with Microsoft by calculating that it would be compensated with Linux based pc sales. But that's not so since the installed based of Linux desktop computers is less than that of Apple's Mac. Dell is no position to be an activist company. And it would be irresponsible at this time. HP is better suited to take a risk but really haven't. They understand the market well. That said, one day perhaps in the near future, I believe that Linux might gain a significant share of the market. But it has some internal hurdles to overcome to make itself mainstream and to shake the current stigma of being suited to low cost and cheap junk.
phubert Apr 3	Interesting. I can't see that Linux HAS such a stigma. I assume you've seen the following thread... Linux HAS been mainstream for quite some time when it comes to Enterprise applications and only continues to grow. Whole government agencies and cities have either converted or begun to convert ALL systems, including desktops. Lotus SmartSuite and Domino server run natively on Linux. Not mainstream? C'mon. The consumer market is only one segment. But, the low-end box is an enabler and will be even more so as the economy continues to sour. More schools are learning Linux is the way to go not only for economies but also for better computer education! http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/64644?page=last#lastPost
phubert Apr 3	And, let me add, that HIDING A PRODUCT AWAY is NO way to SELL it. The very fact that Dell is hiding their Linux products, then adding disclaimers to them is a sign of rather significant reluctance. The only thing Dell's Linux laptop and desktop consumer offerings indicate is that Dell wanted to placate those who strongly insist upon Linux... so far, their efforts have been truly feeble and I can only conclude are concessions to the Big Gorilla, Microsofft.
okroger104 Apr 3	Oh yeah, it has been mainstream in the enterprise segment of the market for years making up about half the market give or take. But I was referring to Linux on the desktop as they call it (hence the market share less than Mac comment) meaning consumer PCs. In this space Linux has been developing that aforementioned stigma as nearly all the PCs that Linux has been offered on by various manufacturers, including Dell, is relatively sub par spec'd. And I agree about the "placating" notion of Dell's Linux offerings. It would be hard to argue otherwise. But I can't place that blame on Microsoft. Think of this in terms of a business. Those that were clamoring for Linux on this site, already use it. They figured out how to get it to run on any their systems - what with some of the driver issues that they collectively solved. So that defined the Linux market as mostly DIYer savvy techies. How then would one go about marketing it? Well, to techies of course. Walmart learned the hard way that Linux wasn't ready for the masses and that's why they pulled their offering from stores. Sears also. Dell can't afford to learn that lesson by putting Linux, a low demand OS, everywhere on everything, or they'll face a whole host of problems from people who buy it not knowing that it won't run a single commercial app nearly all of which are made for windows. Like Walmart learned with all the returns and complaints. You really can't create a market. One usually has to already be there. You can grow a market though but sometimes it takes time to do it. But I agree that Dell should make an ultraportable and offer Linux as well as windows on it. Even HP and Asus are doing that and that's the sensible way to go.
phubert Apr 3	Well, OK, I never intended in my comments above to place blame on Microsoft (though, given the recent ISO voting, I suspect there's plenty of blame to apply (and let's have a little historical note here in that -IBM- was once solidly in the very same category when it came to arm-twisting and likely outright bribing tactics to keep competitors out of its market)), but rather on DELL.
rotthund Apr 4	At least offer Linux on the Vosto 1000. That's $400. I'd like to see a $300 Linux laptop. Drop the optical drive and increase battery life, it's be great. The EeePC and XO are too small.
phubert Apr 8	Looks like HP has joined-in... though, perhaps at a higher price point??? HP unveils small laptop for schoolkids **** http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080408/ap_on_hi_te/apfn_hewlett_packard_small_la...
phubert Apr 9	depends, now doesn't it? on what? on the customer, on the effective 'competition'... As you can see, the HP offering _starts_ at $499.
phubert Apr 9	Customized Linux PC for MySpacers PC vendor Everex and gOS (Good OS), the Linux distribution based around Google applications, is taking the next step in online-based computing by introducing a limited edition MySpace PC. **** http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2470629555.html
phubert Apr 9	And in Israel on Tuesday, Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell said his company will release a similar model in the next three to six months, adding it to the lineup of Linux-equipped computers the company already sells in mature markets. From the following article: **** http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/technology/04/09/0...
jervis961 Apr 9	Yes they would. If Dell wasn't afraid they would advertise it more, maybe even offer it in the configuration along with windows instead of hiding it in the corner.
phubert Apr 10	...well I DID say "Dell should "JOIN IN"" ... ...so I suppose I shouldn't say anything like "Looks like Dell is honing its skills in "Me TOO!" leadership" huh? Now Dell wants to do a low-cost laptop **** http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/10/dell-wants-low-cost-la...
rebresb Apr 13	The only stigma I've heard associated with Linux is that it's geared to power users or geeks, not that it is only suited to low-resource hardware. The former was true in the past, but no longer given advances in the last few years. The latter is a misinterprettation of the greater flexability and efficiency of Linux which makes it perform better than Win on light hardware. On a high-end system, performance and scalability differences are less apparent since even a bulky, inefficient OS will perform sufficiently well that a user won't notice the difference. Heavy Linux distros are readily available with all the features you wish to add, though, like Win, some compromise in performance will exist. You pick as much or as little as you want. I would say the mainstream public is still getting ready for Linux rather than Linux isn't ready for the mainstream. Habits are hard to break, even if the alternative offers advantages. People focus on the cost as an economic factor, but the flexibility/scalability/creativity of open-source is a technical advantage probably more important to future success. Easier for hardware makers, developers, users, ...everyone. Naive users would probably find Linux easier than Windows to install/maintain on non-problematic systems (driver difficulties), and these are prevalent now. There may be a lot of demand for an EEE PC loaded with WinXP, but users will know that they're not getting as much out of their hardware as they could with Linux. When side-by-side comparisons show advantage-Linux, it'll be hard to ignore. If you want to spend more time working and less time waiting for your computer, that is...
madjr Apr 14	something similar to the shuttle KPC would be great (with DVD-ROM) in a price range of $250 to $300 http://us.shuttle.com/KPC/
goombadoolies37 Apr 16	And sell them in other places - like Australia. I have purchased 3 Dell computers (this through indirect advertising caused by the hype surrounding Ubuntu - I wouldn't have bothered considering Dell otherwise) in the past 2 weeks from Dell. I want a new laptop for my wife. She loves the Asus eeePC (she is a steady Ubuntu user, though she has extremely basic computer skills), but if dell offered a colour inspiron with Ubuntu, I'd have no problem buying it for her (nor her in taking it from me). Otherwise my money goes to pioneer computers, who do already offer the option of an Ubuntu laptop, or Asus, who have a cute coloured linux based product.
spm May 27	The combination of low cost embedded Internet device and cloud computing a la Google apps/mail/sites is a killer formula. It will replace desktop computing as we now know it, and Dell is lagging behind. Dell really needs to smell the coffee and get into this market pretty quick. A hyper portable up-spec'ed OLPC XO2 book type device, and EeePC and EBox competitors are needed for Dell to remain in the PC market.

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