Over the past few years, the free software movement has made great progress, and it's constantly gaining momentum. With free software advancing at an exponential rate, we are not far from, and not necessarily in terms of time, Linux being as common as Windows, and then beating it. When we reach the breaking point, consider the free software movement unstoppable :)
People assert different reasons why free software hasn't completely replaced proprietary software yet, one of which is gaming. Currently, most games are released only for Windows, but Wine is quickly becoming able to run those games in Linux until the time comes when most games are released to run natively in Linux. The biggest issue right now certainly should not be games since at this point the best target for Linux, in my opinion, are people with very simple computer needs. That isn't to say that Linux isn't ready for everyone else, but it is more than ready for this group. This is also the biggest and easiest target.
The one thing with basic users is that most technophobic people fall into this category. Because of this, usability is often an argument against Linux, but it really isn't an issue anymore. Many Linux distributions, especially Ubuntu, are very usable. Ubuntu isn't significantly less user-friendly than Mac or Windows, but since it is different, it will need to be significantly more intuitive than them for the technophobic to feel comfortable switching. The only reason some people are only comfortable with Windows is because they are used to it and a change of something they already don't actually understand (their operating system) is a prospect with a distinct stress and even fear associated with it.
Hardware support is almost not even an issue anymore. The only reason that success is so frequent with Windows is because most Windows users receive their machines already loaded with the necessary drivers. Security, stability, availability, and price are certainly not issues. So, since there is plenty of reason to switch to Linux, and few remaining obstacles, why isn't everyone doing it? It comes down to consumer awareness. I will refer mostly to Ubuntu because it is, in my opinion, the most mainstream-ready distribution of Linux and its success is a win for Linux and free software as a whole.
Now, it seems logical to look for some flaw with Linux to blame for it not being more popular and then to try to fix that flaw, but instead consider that there is no flaw and that there are other things holding Linux back. Let's instead think about what needs to happen to reach the tipping point. Targeting governments or public schools to adopt Linux has a strong local impact but what will really put things in motion? Linux needs to be sold right alongside Windows.
All it would take is for one major chain of stores to successfully execute a Linux offering. Right now, Dell sells Ubuntu machines, so why aren't more dominoes falling? Well, for starters, Ubuntu is only offered on a separate section of their website and it's not sold alongside Windows. Doing so would help, but another reason is that selling Ubuntu online doesn't give it the visibility of having it sold in stores. A lot of the technophobic type need to go to a store where there are people to answer their questions and inform them.
Now let's imagine this happening with just one major chain store. With an Ubuntu loaded machine on the shelf next to a Windows box, people will be seeing Ubuntu as the serious competition to Windows that it is. Staff will have to know about free software and Linux, so customers will no longer be kept in the dark. The concepts of free software and the open source software model will finally be revealed to the everyday computer buyer. Support will be made available for these buyers. More press coverage will bring even more visibility. After that comes more machines being sold with Linux, more industry support, more hardware being designed to work for Linux, and free software development flourishing.
Okay, but why would a company gamble on the success of selling machines with Linux pre-installed? Well, for the above result, you don't have to offer every machine with Windows or Ubuntu: you only need a couple-- maybe one laptop and one desktop. Start by selling a couple, and that will provide a taste of the demand. I have no doubt that this small offering would appeal to a lot of people. There's also the press that this company would be able to enjoy. Which company wouldn't want to be the first one to sell the next big thing?
What can we do to make this happen? Go to the store and ask them about Ubuntu, then if they don't sell that on any of their machines which they probably don't, show off Ubuntu on your own machine if you brought it with you, or promise to bring in your Ubuntu laptop sometime soon. Make calls, write letters, and take advantage of things like Dell's IdeaStorm. The most important thing to do is to show how they would profit from this. They would be the first to tap into this growing market and they would get lots of press. I encourage everyone to get involved in making this happen. The success of free software is inevitable anyways, so if nothing else, just keep up the good work!
People assert different reasons why free software hasn't completely replaced proprietary software yet, one of which is gaming. Currently, most games are released only for Windows, but Wine is quickly becoming able to run those games in Linux until the time comes when most games are released to run natively in Linux. The biggest issue right now certainly should not be games since at this point the best target for Linux, in my opinion, are people with very simple computer needs. That isn't to say that Linux isn't ready for everyone else, but it is more than ready for this group. This is also the biggest and easiest target.
The one thing with basic users is that most technophobic people fall into this category. Because of this, usability is often an argument against Linux, but it really isn't an issue anymore. Many Linux distributions, especially Ubuntu, are very usable. Ubuntu isn't significantly less user-friendly than Mac or Windows, but since it is different, it will need to be significantly more intuitive than them for the technophobic to feel comfortable switching. The only reason some people are only comfortable with Windows is because they are used to it and a change of something they already don't actually understand (their operating system) is a prospect with a distinct stress and even fear associated with it.
Hardware support is almost not even an issue anymore. The only reason that success is so frequent with Windows is because most Windows users receive their machines already loaded with the necessary drivers. Security, stability, availability, and price are certainly not issues. So, since there is plenty of reason to switch to Linux, and few remaining obstacles, why isn't everyone doing it? It comes down to consumer awareness. I will refer mostly to Ubuntu because it is, in my opinion, the most mainstream-ready distribution of Linux and its success is a win for Linux and free software as a whole.
Now, it seems logical to look for some flaw with Linux to blame for it not being more popular and then to try to fix that flaw, but instead consider that there is no flaw and that there are other things holding Linux back. Let's instead think about what needs to happen to reach the tipping point. Targeting governments or public schools to adopt Linux has a strong local impact but what will really put things in motion? Linux needs to be sold right alongside Windows.
All it would take is for one major chain of stores to successfully execute a Linux offering. Right now, Dell sells Ubuntu machines, so why aren't more dominoes falling? Well, for starters, Ubuntu is only offered on a separate section of their website and it's not sold alongside Windows. Doing so would help, but another reason is that selling Ubuntu online doesn't give it the visibility of having it sold in stores. A lot of the technophobic type need to go to a store where there are people to answer their questions and inform them.
Now let's imagine this happening with just one major chain store. With an Ubuntu loaded machine on the shelf next to a Windows box, people will be seeing Ubuntu as the serious competition to Windows that it is. Staff will have to know about free software and Linux, so customers will no longer be kept in the dark. The concepts of free software and the open source software model will finally be revealed to the everyday computer buyer. Support will be made available for these buyers. More press coverage will bring even more visibility. After that comes more machines being sold with Linux, more industry support, more hardware being designed to work for Linux, and free software development flourishing.
Okay, but why would a company gamble on the success of selling machines with Linux pre-installed? Well, for the above result, you don't have to offer every machine with Windows or Ubuntu: you only need a couple-- maybe one laptop and one desktop. Start by selling a couple, and that will provide a taste of the demand. I have no doubt that this small offering would appeal to a lot of people. There's also the press that this company would be able to enjoy. Which company wouldn't want to be the first one to sell the next big thing?
What can we do to make this happen? Go to the store and ask them about Ubuntu, then if they don't sell that on any of their machines which they probably don't, show off Ubuntu on your own machine if you brought it with you, or promise to bring in your Ubuntu laptop sometime soon. Make calls, write letters, and take advantage of things like Dell's IdeaStorm. The most important thing to do is to show how they would profit from this. They would be the first to tap into this growing market and they would get lots of press. I encourage everyone to get involved in making this happen. The success of free software is inevitable anyways, so if nothing else, just keep up the good work!
8 comments:
"You want us to tell the customers that? We better be getting good bonuses on this..."
Training the salesforce alone to comprehend selling something that's free, then training the technicians to be able to service something they've never touched before, teaching your existing support line representatives / hiring new ones ... all this specifically for Linux support. The company's top heads would have to be 10% convinced this'll pay off before they even touch it seriously.
And you know though, I thought about, and now agree with Dell's stands. The ubuntus it sells are, like it said, for experienced linux users. Not new ones. New ones atm will have just too much troubles getting off the ground on their own.
Aa! I meant to say 110%, not 10%.
Your final para is spot on -- so often I hear there is no demand for linux. I've been making a point of mentioning in stores for years.
Things are changing, these days the staff very often have some knowledge. Also, we are starting to see linux alongside windows and macs. I was in a Dixons at a UK airport at the weekend and they had the ASUS EE PC with linux alongside a Mac Book Air and the usual windows laptops.
These small, cheap machines are a natural spot for linux to emerge.
Re: users with simple needs being technophobes. My sister is the least computer literate person on the planet. I bought her a Dell Inspiron with Ubuntu. She is having no problems at all with it (one advantage with my sister is she is sufficiently technophobe she doesn't try new stuff, so actually is easy to support).
Johnnyg has hit the nail on the head. Emerging markets are probably the easiest way to find the untapped niche. Whilst Asus released the eeepc with a different flavour of ubuntu the key wasn't that is was linux. The key was that it wasn't Ubuntu.
Windows and Apple are singular, with a single face. Linux is multi faceted in as much as there is a distro for just about anything. If linux is to be more mainstream and as you rightly point out, there is no reason why it shouldn't, a market leader such as ubuntu needs to spearhead the charge.
Ubuntu is accepted in our household because for the most part it's easy and recognisable
Hardware support is a huge issue. [b]Every single time I've tried to use Linux on different computers, they have been hardware issues.[/b] My half-techy friend has trid Ubuntu several times, and never got to GDM, because of hardware issues. I installed Ubuntu on one my friend's computers, I couldn't connect to the Internet because of the USB modem, he installed an ethernet card, it still doesn't work, it isn't even detected! (Needless to say, it is on Windows.) X has failed me several times (despite bulletproof whatever). The laptop I'm using now has disfunctional headphone and microphone jacks (bye Skype). This is the only reason that I honestly cannot recommend Ubuntu to people, despite being quite user-friendly otherwise. It's just too much hassle to get the drivers to work properly, even for a techy person. What I would recommend is a computer with Linux preinstalled. I think that's the way forward.
"What I would recommend is a computer with Linux preinstalled"
Jadd, that's is exactly what this calls for. Although i have installed Ubuntu on many, many different computers, new and old, and had very few problems.
We actually had something very similar to what you are describing in our store over the last few months. We had a Acer laptop that came with Uubuntu on it at a really cheap price point. We backed that up with strong coverage in our catalogue and a fairly prominent position in our shop.
Initally I found that people didn't even realise that it didn't come with windows. They just thought it looked a bit different. Then for a lot of people it was a difficult concept to grasp that you could even have a PC that didn't have windows on it. Let alone the people that didn't even know what we meant when we said windows. Unfortunately a lot of people confuse Office/Internet Explorer/other microsoft programs with the operating system.
However, the main problem for us it that it was difficult to recommend a linux based laptop like this to our customers. If all they wanted to do was just surf the internet and write a couple of documents then it would probably be ok. But the main issue we had is that most people would not want to stop there. If for instance they wanted to use their iPod on the computer, then we would have to explain that they couldn't install itunes and that they would have to get another 3rd party program that wouldn't work exactly the same. For people like us that know about technology that wouldn't be an issue, but for the target market of such a cheap computer, it is a big deal.
As other people have mentioned here the eeepc is a much more vaible option to introduce people to linux. Its cheap, simple, and effective. But even then I find that a good number of people that are coming in to purchase a eeepc are looking to put windows xp on it!
Realistically, unless something drastic happens, I don't see linux penetrating the broader market outside of niche areas (like the eeepc). It is certainly a shame as I use ubuntu myself and do believe it to be a fantastic operating system.
The biggest problem with selling Linux in retail stores is the software Freedom that it brings to the table. Our desktop, filesystems, requirements, and performance are all superior to that of Windows. Our OS costs us nothing, so the computer can be sold much cheaper.
So why wouldn't you want to sell the better product at a cheaper price, when you'll be able to sell more units and make more money off of them? Go look a couple isles over at the boxes of software that customers will have no reason to buy anymore. When you can simply open a program like Synaptic and install whatever you desire with a mere 3 clicks, why would you ever go back to the store to purchase software? These retailers would be cannibalising their own sales. It's in their best interest to sell a broken product that requires 2 or 3 other products for it to be usable. Windows upsells itself, and these companies are happily reaping the benefits of it.
Think about it, you're not going to see RadioShack selling cheap and efficient solar panels on their endcaps anytime soon, are you? No way, they're all about their battery sales. Retailers are all about selling retail, not what you really need.
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