[Linux-aus] Eee PC and Windows - http://www.stuff.co.nz/4439865a28.html

[Arjen Lentz]

Hi Brenda, Kanchana,

On 14/03/2008, at 1:45 PM, Brenda Aynsley wrote:
> Kanchana Wickremasinghe wrote:
>> Have you all seen this.
>>
>> Take a look at the comment by possibly a MS paid Analyst.
>>
>> "A Windows Eee PC is more attractive to buyers because people are  
>> just
>> not used to using Linux-based computers," said Alvin Kwock, analyst  
>> at
>> JP Morgan.
>>
>> This is rubbsh. My kids 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 uses Ubuntu without having  
>> any
>> issue with it. They have used Eee PC with out any issues (LINUX of
>> course). The way Eee PC is created there is no need for someone to
>> understand the underlying OS. Analyst should think about twice before
>> making such comments.
>
>
> what you say is true, equally true is what alvin kwock said -"people  
> are
> just not used to using Linux-based computers".  There is no attempt to
> say people CANT use linux based computers and indeed as a eeepc owner
> myself I agree, what's hard about using it, absolutely nothing.   
> However
> I agree that given a choice betweeen eeepc/xandros and eeepc/winxp  
> even
> at $80 more, its a no brainer for most people.
>
> SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORT is the issue, sure it really is perception in
> this case, but as someone I know keeps telling me "Perception is  
> reality".


Exactly, perception is the key.
Most home users will never use any support. But they might ask a  
friend, and other than that it's just a comfort level of using "known"  
stuff, regardless of its quality or how it compares with something  
else. These users do not have the expertise to make that kind of  
assessment/judgement, so they don't.

Fundamentally, the user does not care what OS they are using; this has  
been proven in tests where a Win desktop was replaced with something  
else and the user does not even notice. But if you brand it as  
"Windows" and "anything else", the abovementioned comfort factor kicks  
in. People will indeed pay the premium for Win, regardless of whether  
it provides any additional functionality or quality or anything else.

I don't even blame Microsoft for this. It's just a natural advantage  
they have acquired over time, and they like it ;-)
Of course, it's a very strategic advantage that they will they to keep/ 
maintain at very high cost. It *is* worth that much.
Think of it... people deciding on a (desktop) OS based on merit rather  
than a defacto install that just comes along with the PC. They would  
actually have to market/sell the OS... takes lots of extra effort. Not  
nice for 'em when that starts happening.

Ubuntu is becoming really slick from the user perspective (regardless  
of what some geeks reckon) and I've successfully moved some people  
from Win to Ubuntu setups to get great kiddie software like GCompris,  
and even some adult tools like Inkscape, GIMP and FreeMind. All the  
latter are all on Win as well, I know that. But given the system, it's  
all there now and that's good.

I did notice that distros are now quite reliant on having a fast  
Internet connection, but Windows too has that issue.
One installation is at a place where the phoneline won't go beyond 31k  
on a modem dialup. Different modems make no difference so it'll just  
be a line quality issue. Updates and new installs are just very very  
painful. No magic fix for that.
(and seeing that Win has the same issue is good, in that context ;-)


Regards,
Arjen.
-- 
Arjen Lentz, Owner @ Open Query (http://openquery.com.au/)
Based in Brisbane, Australia - ph. +61-7-3103 0809
Open Source Experts, MySQL Specialists

Director of OSIA (http://osia.net.au/) Open Source Industry Australia
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