Fry's Electronics - Selling Linux... Or Not?

TheMadPenguin writes "For those of you who may not be aware, Fry's Electronics has been selling a Linux desktop PC loaded with ThizLinux for quite a while now. The question is, are they really selling it? The answer is a definitive no."

heh

[Tirel]

They had one of these machines at their store in Houston. I fiddled around with it for a second and came to find out that the root password was blank. I told the sales guy this and he just asked me, "what's that?" I just left.

Jolly good show

[mao che minh]

Terrific, a grown man crying all over his keyboard because Fry's Electronics doesn't know how to effectively sell PCs running Linux. Today must be gushing with news.

Well, the name already spells it out....

[tsvk]

"Thiz Linux is not for sale."

Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Linux Box

[Amsterdam Vallon]

5.) You want to "Think Different" without looking queer.
4.) You need an OS as unreliable as your '83 Ford Fairlane.
3.) It'll help you get a job. Oh wait, nevermind, it's not 1999 anymore.
2.) You have an extra $299 from your unemployment check.
1.) You want to make uglier friends.

I refuse to pay the Linux tax.

[Anonymous Coward]

These people will not be getting my business. I insist on the ability to get a full refund from Red Hat if it comes with an OS I intend to erase anyway.

They can't really sell it.

[Bingo Foo]

Of course they aren't really selling it:

• Linux is the stolen property of SCO.
• Sales of stolen property are null and void by law.

Q.E.D.

Re:No Suspens

[Anonymous Coward]

"He would make for a poor Soup Opera writer."

S1: Oh Asian Noodle, how could you leave me?

S2: You must understand Cream of Chicken, it's not because I don't love you but because...

...Another can bursts into the room...

S3: It's because I, Split Pea, am your identical twin separated at birth, drowned in the ocean and come back to life!

Thiz isn't the linux you're looking for...

[adrianbaugh]

You can go about your business. Move along.

Top five reasons to buy a Linux box

[mao che minh]

5.) You want to "Think Different" without looking queer.
4.) You need an OS as unreliable as your '83 Ford Fairlane.
3.) It'll help you get a job. Oh wait, nevermind, it's not 1999 anymore.
2.) You have an extra $299 from your unemployment check.

And the number one reason to buy a computer with Linux pre-installed:

1.) You want to make uglier friends.

Re:Anyone work for Frys?

[FattMattP]

Anyone work for Frys? And can explain how they came to be selling THIS machine?

No one who works for Fry's knows how to use a computer. You won't get an answer here.

Re:heh

[macdaddy357]

Why would anybody who doesn't have a VCR flashing 12:00 shop at Fry's Electronics in the first place. It hella sucks!

Re:well, yeah. its fry's.

[James Lanfear]

Of course they compensate by not hiring anyone who knows anything.

Obligatory Fry's Application Form [lagmonster.org].

Re:heh

[secolactico]

Indeed. Went there once (in LA) and was underwhelmed. The selection is not that good and the prices are nothing to write home about.

Plus, I hate stores that make you "clear customs" before you can leave. Geez, if I managed to sneak an article past the cashier, what makes you think you'll catch me? "No, sir, that's not a CAT-5 spool in my pocket... I'm just glad to see you".

Bottom feeder.

[Anonymous Coward]

"How completely shocking, that $7-an-hour floor sales staff at a discount warehouse store aren't very savvy about technology!"

Yeah! How dare a company that sells technology have knowledgable staff?

"One would think they'd hire 20-year industry veterans and experienced Unix sysadmins to tell people on what aisle the mouse pads are, right?"

Don't worry. With the economy tanking, the next words out of your mouth will be: "There over on aisle 12".

Re:heh

[Wyatt Earp]

Because it has everything.

While the Internet has more than everything a geek might want to shop for, Fry's allows one the chance to poke at it, to pick it up and carry it around the store, then say "Fuck it" and leave it on a pallet of old NT4 Server books which are "On Sale" by the row of every electric razor blade you'd ever need.

I love Frys. I wouldn't buy anything more complex than a Case Fan or DVDs from them, but I love Frys.

Thiz Linux

[Geminus]

Has anyone seen the PCs or Thiz Linux? The PC makes an e-machine look like a super computer... it's absolute crap complete with a Cyrix chipset. As far as Thiz Linux goes, it is also crap... If SCO wants to go after Linux, we ought to feed them Thiz Linux as a diversion. It's a stripped down e-mail, word processor, MP3 Player, and cheesy Web Browser. That's it! I hear users still preferred their speak-n-spell over Thiz Linux.

What really matters at Frys....

[pjrc]

Apathy [despair.com].

.

DALLAS, TX - November 3, 1998 -- The call came in sometime after midnight. As soon as COO Kersten was informed that Fry's Electronics was calling, he rushed to the telephone.

"I immediately sensed the limitless potential. My own customer experiences with Fry's were so excruciatingly painful that I was overwhelmed with the possibilities of a relationship. They are truly Jedis of Customer Disservice", from whom I could learn much," Kersten stated.

Kersten was flattered to learn that Fry's was calling to talk business. Company President John Fry wanted to purchase APATHY Demotivators(tm), thousands of them. He had seen the design during a visit to his local post office, and felt it perfectly articulated their own indifferent sentiments towards customers. In completing the transaction, Fry's became the largest single customer of APATHY poster outside of the government sector.

"It is a wonderful irony that the company that turned Customer Disservice into an artform has entered into a relationship with the company that turned it into artwork. We couldn't be more flattered, offered Kersten on the purchase.

In reply, Fry offered, "This will keep our employees from losing sight of what is important. -- Nothing."

At one point, during a conversation with Fry, the notoriously unemotional Kersten found himself choked up with tears. His personal secretary and confidante of ten years, "Hey You", later commented that they had revealed some radical new techniques for Customer Disservice"; they intended to test in their Dallas store.

Kersten declined to reveal details, saying only, "How much does body armor go for these days" This led some to speculate that Fry's may be considering shooting customers at random to gauge subsequent buying patterns.

Fry's legendary indifference to customer service, although occasionally drawing criticism and media scrutiny, has only led to increased loyalty amongst their customer base and continued explosive growth. Analysts theorize that Fry.s customer base, heavily skewed towards poorly socialized, pure geek demographics, may actually derive some erotic gratification from the masochistic purchasing experience.

Re:Fry's vs. The Rest Of The World

[deft]

well linux developers..... that is your real goal.

when you make this OS so simple the frys guys can sell it..... you have arrived!

Re:Bottom feeder.

[SoSueMe]

Oh NO! I can just hear it now...

Newb 1: "I'm going to install Linux"

Newb 2: "Do you want Frys with that?"

(Rim-shot)

Is this the new Godwin's law?

[A nonymous Coward]

Godwin's law states that any usenet flamefest will eventually degenerate into comparisons with Nazis, or something to that effect.

Have we replaced Nazis with SCO, such that any slashdot discussion will eventually end up with comparisons to SCO?

I like it!

It was running chinese

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

Oh, sorry. That was me. What else is there to do in Fry's but fiddle with the stuff they're selling.

The answer is a definitive no...

[Cryogenes]

or, in my case, a definitive 404 not found

Cheap boxes

[Zog The Undeniable]

This computer is running the Linux operating system. It is easily removed and can be replaced by Windows 98 or higher by formatting the hard drive and loading Windows. We will perform this service for you for a fee.

Let's read between the lines, shall we:

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, warez monkeys. Here's a cheap and reasonably fast box you can rebuild with that Devil's 0wn copy of Windows XP you've had stashed in your bedroom since you leeched it from that Russian FTP server. We won't ask any questions, even though you don't have a beard or sandals. ;-)

Re:quetionable veracity

[dasmegabyte]

The reason he could not find the counsel is they were on the planet corsucand.

Re:heh

[hesiod]

> The problem lay in the desire.

So, obviously, we must remove the element of desire. Electro-Shock Therapy anyone? anyone?