It seems that a little story from the middle of Wisconson has taken the buzz this week. A girl who is in college ordered a computer from Dell and didn’t realize she selected ‘Ubunto’ Linux instead of Windows. Now she tried to return it, but the Dell reps convinced her that Ubunto was better then Windows. What i don’t understand is the price. Usually when you get a linux based computer your going below $1,000. But this person paid more then $1,100 according to the article.
Now a computer isn’t like the steak that wasn’t cooked enough, you don’t just send it back to the kitchen. There is always a learning curve and what is very frustrating out there is not enough people know or want to know how things work. The problem I see is that the world is convinced that Windows is the only way to go, but that isn’t true. Like going out to eat, you have your choices. Windows is more like Sushi, its expensive, a little dangerous and you walk away still a little hungry. While Mac is more like a steak house, you pay a lot for a lot and sometimes its just too much. While Linux is more like the hot dog stand, you order your beef frank but have to put the mustard and relish on your self and then you might want to buy a side of fries.
There is a lot of places out there for peole to learn how to use linux and openoffice. There are wonderful open source proudcts out in the world that will not break your bank. However, when its free, there is usually no hands on support. No one to call. This is what makes it harder for people. We all want someone to hold our hand.
