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Mandriva Businesses

Mandrake Hits Wal-Mart(.com) 512

Posted by timothy from the better-mandrake-than-citroen dept.
caveat writes: "The Register is reporting that Wal-Mart is shipping PCs with Mandrake preinstalled. 'Prices range from $391 for a 900MHz Duron machine to $648 for a 2GHz Pentium 4 with CD-RW.' more power to them." So now walmart.com customers seeking a pre-installed Free OS aren't limited to Lindows. I wonder if any Wal-Mart manager is brave enough to actually set up a few machines in-store. Update: 07/15 15:35 GMT by T : As many people have pointed out, the systems running Mandrake -- just like the Lindows machines on offer -- are only available through Wal-Mart's website.
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Mandrake Hits Wal-Mart(.com) More

Mandrake Hits Wal-Mart(.com)

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  • Proof of Concept (Score:3, Interesting)

    by div_2n ( 525075 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:04AM (#3885508)
    I may go buy one to use as a test machine just to help prove that people will buy one. At $400 I think I can swallow not building my own just to provide proof of concept to the powers that be.

    • Re:Proof of Concept (Score:2, Informative)

      by sugrshack ( 519761 )
      I think it's good that mainstream places like Walmart are offering alternatives to the Microsoft juggernaut, however it's kind of like fighting evil with evil.

      I generally try to avoid Walmart if possible; the way that they treat their employees is unforgivable. As they continue to drive out competition, they make it harder and harder for people with grievances to do anything. Witness their union-busting practices [union-network.org].

      • Walmart also pays hush-money to local non-profit organizations and schools, etc. so they will all sing the praises of Walmart and ignore the downfall of every mom and pop store in their community.

        How can Linux, which embraces the little guy, allow such a place as Walmart to profit off of its existence? It'd be like Microsoft suddenly bundling StarOffice with Windows XP. Sure, StarOffice is getting some exposure, but then people will want Windows and other MS products still as well.
        • " How can Linux, which embraces the little guy, allow such a place as Walmart to profit off of its existence?"

          So who would be appropriate to 'profit off of Linux'? I'm asking in all seriousness. I figured everybody'd be happy that a main stream store was selling pre-installed Linux machines.

          I know Walmart's reputation with /. is not that good, but frankly, I wouldn't be that picky.

      • Re:Proof of Concept (Score:2, Insightful)

        by JPriest ( 547211 )
        Good, let the two evils try to fight each other off, I might enjoy the show. A long time ago Eric Raymond stated that as PC's begin to drop below the $300 and $400 range that people will become less and less willing to pay the Microsoft tax, and will be when Linux begins to take foothold on the desktop. Wal-Mart could be the turning point of the war.

  • Walmart vs. MS (Score:4, Insightful)

    by oyenstikker ( 536040 ) <slashdot@sb[ ]e.org ['yrn' in gap]> on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:05AM (#3885515) Homepage Journal
    I think Walmart is the company that could best challenge Microsoft Window's monopoly. They are big enough not to cave to Microsoft. They are diverse enough that loosing wouldn't kill them. They have a huge customer base and lots of stores. If Walmart sold you a computer, it would be cheap. They could preinstall any software they sell on the shelves. If you have a problem with it, you can just bring it to a Walmart. You're never that far from one in the US. If selling Lindows and Manrake increases their hardware sales, would they consider writing their own operating system? or maybe just Walmart Linux?

    • Re:Walmart vs. MS (Score:2, Insightful)

      by estoll ( 443779 )
      If they can sell used cars [union-network.org], why not go into the business of selling and supporting PCs too?
    • > or maybe just Walmart Linux?
      "Walmart Windows" actually would be more fitting. Both companies (MS & WalMart) want you to believe they are your friend, when they're actually huge evil megaconglomerates that would sell your internal organs for a dime if you fell asleep in the lobby at corporate headquarters.

      Many a sci-fi hero has emerged victorious by hiding in a cave while two opposing giant bad robots battled to their mutual death, so WalMart vs Microsoft is a good thing no matter how you slice it.

    • I think Walmart is the company that could best challenge Microsoft Window's monopoly.

      I doubt they are doing it to challenge MS, at least not directly. They are doing it because Walmart does whatever it takes to offer lower prices than everyone else. If Windows costs more than Linux, it only makes sense from their point of view to offer Linux. They don't care about the politics or technical merits of open-source software, etc.

      They could preinstall any software they sell on the shelves.

      I imagine Microtel could pre-install any software that they strike a licensing deal with. I don't think having the software on their shelf gives Walmart or Microtel any license other than to resell said software on said shelf.

      If you have a problem with it, you can just bring it to a Walmart.

      I seriously doubt Walmart will be offering much in the way of technical support. Hardware failures sure, you'll have your normal return-policy and warranty period, but if you trash your MBR or can't run Mozilla, I don't think they'll be much help (most likely, Microtel offers some kind of support).

      If selling Lindows and Manrake increases their hardware sales, would they consider writing their own operating system? or maybe just Walmart Linux?

      That's a major stretch. Again, they aren't interested in the politics, nor do I believe they are interested in becoming a tech company. They simply see that:

      - PC hardware is dirt cheap right now
      - Lindows/Mandrake is cheap
      - As a result, they can offer a PC cheaper than the next guy

      I suspect that after so many users return the machines (My AOL don't work on this computer, or Front Page won't run) they might reconsider.
    • Walmart is not doing this out of the goodness of their heart. And they're certainly not doing it so they can sell cheaper computers: there will be far too many disgruntled customers and far too many product returns.

      My guess is that they're bargaining for lower MSWindows licensing prices.

    • Re:Walmart vs. MS (Score:3, Informative)

      by _xeno_ ( 155264 )
      Most people have been flaming you for various things regarding Walmart being cheap bastards, so I'll go off on a completely different tangent.

      They are diverse enough that loosing wouldn't kill them.

      "Loosing"?! "LOOSING"?!

      Loosing [m-w.com] means the act of letting fly, the act of letting loose, or the act of relaxing. I'm not sure what they're loosing in your sentence, but it doesn't make sense.

      Unless you meant "losing" as in L-O-S-I-N-G, which means "the act of failure, or being brought to destruction" - which would make sense in that sentence.

      Now I'm sorry if English isn't your native language or anything like that (although with a ".us" domain name, it probably is) but there are so many people here - and on the Internet in general - who spell "LOSING" with a second "O" that it does not have!

      Oh, and apparently you're an idiot for thinking that Walmart has a vested interest in improving Linux.

      However, I think that you do have a point - if Walmart thinks it'd be cheaper to improve the Linux product to increase their sales, they well might decide to roll their own or make deals with Linux vendors to improve the existing Linux distros. To people who say that Walmart is "just trying to cut costs," remember that bringing costs in-house - growing "horizontally" - has been used in the past by big buisnesses (Rockerfeller, Carnegie...) to help increase profits by removing a middle-man from the process.

      Since I don't have a clear financial view of how much it would cost Wal-Mart to help with Linux as opposed to leave well enough alone, I can't say whether or not they will - at this time, I expect that they will not and simply pump cash into the Linux distros they sell through licensing expenses, and maybe request improvements.

      Of course, the flip side to the coin is that they may be simply using this as a barganing tactic to get Microsoft to lower costs. In which case it still may be in their best interests to improve Linux, or at least threaten to do so. It's hard to say without knowing the exact costs as well as having market data to help predict the costs and benifits to trying to improve Linux compared to letting the distros evolve naturally. Time will tell...

  • Frys Electronics Has a $299 PC (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:05AM (#3885518)
    It's a 1.1 Gig Celeron and it comes with ThizLinux. Its been on the front page of their ad for a few weeks now.

    I'm probably gonna suggest my computerless newbie friend pick one up.

    I just wish it was Mandrake ore Redhat with OpenOffice and a cvs of Winex pre-installed.

  • Indirectly claiming a flaw in Linux, tim? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:06AM (#3885522) Homepage Journal
    I wonder if any Wal-Mart manager is brave enough to actually set up a few machines in-store.

    Why is the bravery required? Are you suggesting its hard to install Linux? Are you suggesting its hard to use Linux?

    If a manager can't setup demos, then the whole idea of selling Linux in the stores is flawed and will ultimately fail.
    • "Why is the bravery required? Are you suggesting its hard to install Linux? Are you suggesting its hard to use Linux?

      Its neither hard to use Linux or install it. What's hard is teaching Walmart Managers to do it.

    • I'll suggest that WalMart has a wall full of PC software that isn't going to run on the box, and that will confuse the average Walmart customer/associate.

      Walmart usually carries ONE Linux title -- Linux (Mandrake or RedHat), no applications. Same basic problem with CompUSA.

      YES, Wine will handle much of the software, and the GAMING version of Mandrake might soften things, but they are still going to have problems.

      More power to them. I hope they can make it work, and start carrying Linux software.
      • Walmart usually carries ONE Linux title -- Linux (Mandrake or RedHat), no applications

        Yes and no. Though there's only one box, there's tons of software in it. If you buy Windows, all you get is Windows (well according to MS definition of an OS). When you buy Mandrake Linux, you get many word processors (abiword, ooffice, kword, ...), spreadsheets, 10 browsers, scientific software, ... Most useful and widespread open-sources software gets included in the distro, so there's no need to sell it separately.
    • He's not suggesting that the OS is hard to install. I think he's not confident that linux (proabably KDE) can stand up to a quick play by the consumer, especially with staff that are not pros to guide them and answer they're questions properly.

      This is not a troll, but judging by his statement I think Timothy isn't that confident that a demonstrated PC and being honest with the consumer will help push linux.

      Mod me down if you think that this didn't add to the conversation but it's my honest opinion.

    • Bravery might be required because upper management has probably forbidden local managers from setting up in-store demo machines, and it'd probably cost the local bloke his job if he were caught doing so.

      [Ferengi] After all a demo is a machine that is not being sold and therefore is not making profit. [/Ferengi]

  • Odd (Score:3, Interesting)

    by prof187 ( 235849 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:06AM (#3885524) Homepage
    I find it odd that Wal-Mart is the one who is starting to sell the Linux based OSs. It's great that they are, but I figured it would be someone like Radio Shack, someone more based on technology.

    It's probably Microsoft paying them to do it so they can say that they do have competition. =)
    • Radio Shack based on technology?

      My god, man, we're talking about the people behind Tandy computers!

      Why would you want them screwing around with Linux?
      • Hey, my first XT was a 1000RL, you dont' be dissin' tandy. It had a CPU that was like 12 Mhz or something.
    • Radio Shack has an exclusive contract with Digital, I mean Compaq, I mean HPAQ. Oh heck I'm not sure who it is anymore.
    • Believe me, as somebody as part of a (former) web company whose potential client base fell into Radio Shack's domain, Radio Shack is extrememly technophobic. We found them to be one of the least receptive clients of all, and they flat-out admitted to being scared of the web.

      Sounds ironic, but it isn't as much as you'd think. All their electronic parts are just plain-Jane caps and resistors, your basic 7400 logic gate IC's, etc. They built their entire consumer electronics market by just rebranding pre-existing Japanese components (back in the 60s and 70s when being Japanese was Bad instead of Good).

      When it comes to leading revolutions, Radio Shack is actually a bit behind the curve.....
  • I think it's great to see machines running Mandrake. They will be great for yonger children learning to use PC's, and a cheap alternative for writing school assignments, listening to music (mp3's/cd-audio), and web browsing.

  • walmart shipping...from their website (Score:3, Informative)

    by Hadlock ( 143607 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:08AM (#3885530) Homepage Journal
    everytime this comes up, be it lindows on wal*mart pc's, red hat or mandrake, or just plain old no OS, someone forgets to mention that this is an option for PC's bought off of walmart's website [walmart.com], not somthing you can drive down to and pick up from your local walmart. have you ever seen a PC for sale in a retail walmart store? i sure haven't.

    as a result, people still have to buy a windows/mac PC (or at least borrow someone's internet access) and get online to order, let alone discover, that walmart sells PCs sans OS, or with linux on them. kinda defeats the purpose, hunh?
    • have you ever seen a PC for sale in a retail walmart store? i sure haven't.

      Actually, at the Wal-Mart where I live, they do sell some Computers. HPs if I remember correctly. Not sure of the OS (or lack-thereof), but I'd guess Windows.

      as a result, people still have to buy a windows/mac PC ... and get online to order,hunh?

      Now they can double their profit, sell you a computer so you can buy a computer.
    • They do sell some PCs in store, at least where I live. Usually they are HPs. I haven't really looked lately to see if they had any of the linux stuff in store or not though. Probably not, they probably want to see if they can make money off the geeks first before trying it with the general public.

    • as a result, people still have to buy a windows/mac PC (or at least borrow someone's internet access) and get online to order, let alone discover, that walmart sells PCs sans OS, or with linux on them. kinda defeats the purpose, hunh?

      Not at all. Its up to Walmart and Mandrake to promote these things. There's no real need to put them on a pedastel in the store or make a chessy late night infomercial (though that would be entertaining to say the least). "How much would you pay for all this computer goodness? 100? 200?" "How about FREE!" "Call within the next hour and get a free copy of Apache, the world's most popular web server!'"

      Linux buyers will be informed buyers. Perhaps someone is going to buy one for the technophobe in their lives who just wants web and email and wants to spend as little as possible. Businesses can save time and money by buying linux desktop machines which have standardized pre-installed software and hardware. Maybe someone would want to partition the drive and install their old copy of Win98 as a dual boot. They bought the old OS didn't they? No need to throw it out along with the computer, regardless of what MS tells you to do.

  • PC's displayed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Mattygfunk ( 517948 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:10AM (#3885544) Homepage
    It's good to see that Walmart is promoting the Mandrake boxen ahead of the Lindows ones, with Windows last on their desktop PC's page [walmart.com].

    Even though they are clearly in Linux for a buck, that is the ideal situation for retailers. IBM, Sun and the rest, should and do support us technically, Walmart and hopefully soon others by portraying linux as a viable option at the POS.

  • Because they won't have them in the stores.

    Again it looks like it will only be available for online sales

  • quite some time now actually... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mandrake ( 3939 ) <mandrake@mandrake.net> on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:11AM (#3885553) Homepage Journal
    I've been whoring myself in front of wal-mart for ages. I can't believe it has taken this long to make it on slashdot.

    (Cheap shot, but I've got karma to burn today)

  • monitor? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mickeyreznor ( 320351 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:13AM (#3885557) Homepage Journal
    i'm guessing from the price tag this is without a monitor, right?


  • Interesting bits from today's Blookberg Business News Report ...

    "Walmart reports that the sales of Lindows
    has sky-rocketed."

  • In-store (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I wonder if any Wal-Mart manager is brave enough to actually set up a few machines in-store.

    No, because these are only being sold through walmart.com, not through the stores. I would wager that they are being shipped directly from Microtel.

  • Missing URLs + StarOffice 6.0 (Score:4, Informative)

    by joestar ( 225875 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:14AM (#3885574) Homepage
    What are you doing Timothy? :-(

    MandrakeSoft Press Release with all details:
    Press Release [mandrakesoft.com]

    The range of Microtel/Mandrake PCs at Walmart.com:
    Microtel/Mandrake PCs [walmart.com]

    It's nice to see such a great powerful system preloaded with Mandrake & StarOffice 6.0 for so cheap... Send the PR to Bill Gates - I guess he's going to appreciate it! :-) (how much would be the "proprietary" equivalent: Windows + Office + IIS + ... ????)

  • Staroffice 6.0 (Score:3, Informative)

    by Brymouse ( 563050 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:18AM (#3885604)
    These include Staroffice 6.0 too!

    It will be interesting to see what effect this has on MS domanace of the office-suite market. I don't think SO6 can beat MS office in funicantaily, but this does not matter to 95% of people using it. The $70 price more than makes up for it.

    For the majority of people buying these computers, Mandrake and SO can do everything that they will need.

    It will be cool to see the sales numbers in 3 months and see what is selling more, lindows, or Mandrake.

    It's not spellchecked b/c I am not at my normal pc.

  • pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jest3r ( 458429 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:19AM (#3885605)
    Other than some extra RAM and a CDRW the pricing is pretty much the same between the Mandrake comps and the M$ Windows comps .. and the Mandrake one is loaded with loads of pre-installed bloatware software .. I would have expected a big difference in price / not a small difference in components ..

    Microsoft Windows XP Home
    AMD 1.3 GHz Duron processor
    128 MB memory
    40 GB hard drive
    $499.00

    Mandrake Linux OS v8.2
    AMD 1.3 GHz Duron processor
    256 MB memory
    40 GB hard drive
    $498.00

    • Re:pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

      by joestar ( 225875 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:27AM (#3885653) Homepage
      It's not comparable. If you want to compare, add Microsoft Office (StarOffice 6.0), IIS (Apache), SQL server (MySQL, PostgreSQL...), Photoshop (Gimp), Money (GnuCash)... etc.

      What the price now? :-)
      • ...StarOffice and Apache for the XP box as well, if the purpose is to compare similar equiped boxes?

        I don't know about MySQL on win32, and I would guess the Gtk applications would be clearly inferior on XP than on Mandrake, since they provide a native interface on the later.
      • Eh, why are you comparing SQLserver to mySQL and Postgre? mySQL and Postgre are on the level of Access. Last time I checked, I didn't notice a lot of large corportations running mySQL to hold their critical info.

        Actually, thats besides the point. What does Joe Shmoe need with Apache and mySQL to begin with?

      • Re:pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Rogerborg ( 306625 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @12:21PM (#3886489) Homepage
        • If you want to compare, add Microsoft Office (StarOffice 6.0), IIS (Apache), SQL server (MySQL, PostgreSQL...), Photoshop (Gimp), Money (GnuCash)

        But heck, there isn't a GnuCash Win32 port, so I guess that makes you right. ;-P

        I do have a serious point here. It's absolutely brillant that these apps are available for Win32 and other platforms, because that's pretty much the only way that market forces can actually effect Microsoft. If, for example, they start to see their highly lucrative Office sales slip in favour of Star/OpenOffice, then they might (unlikely, but possible) actually have to start doing something about stopping people from then migrating to Linux - hey, if you can run the same apps, but pay much less for the OS, then why not?

        As I say, it's unlikely. I actually think that they'll just try and tighten their grip (through Palladium, tighter integration and buying legislation) rather than loosen it, but we can live in hope, right?

    • Re:pricing (Score:2, Insightful)

      by bromoseltzer ( 23292 )
      The big payoff is at the low end. Minimum Linux system $391 (900 MHz Duron, minimum Windows $498 (1.3GHz Celeron). That goes along with predictions that Windows is priced out of the market at the low end. However, for a lot of users I know, that $100 will translate into pain, if they try to save it.

      On the other hand, people may find alternative, "inexpensive" ways to load some kind of Windows.

      -MSE

  • Pro and Con (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bonker ( 243350 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:21AM (#3885617)
    Reasons for setting up a Linux Demo PC at Walmart

    1. Fear Reduction. If customers can *see* it working, and see a few neat demos (one of the few linux games, Open Office, etc...) then they will be much more likely to buy it.

    2. Employee Knowledge. The majority of Walmart employees are not really encouraged to be knowledgeable about their products or their store. If electronics department managers took the dive and installed a Linux PC for their departments, employees who worked there could play with it and learn about it. They'd be in a lot better position to deal with it.

    3. Zealots. Go to any Bestbuy or Circuit city that happens to have a Mac section, and you'll find one or two Mac Zealots there to 'encourage' people toward buying a Mac. If you put Linux PC's in stores, you'll probably get Linux Zealots there too to show people how wonderful Linux can be.

    Reasons AGAINST setting up a Linux Demo PC at Walmart

    1. su -; password; rm -rf *.*

    2. When Linux breaks, (or is broken) you've got to be knowledgable to fix it. If you installed it, you've got no problem, but can you really count on someone who works at Walmart to know how to edit files? In my experience, non techies who sell computers would rather *not* fix a broken software demo by reinstalling. If they can't make it 'right' again with a few mouse clicks, they'll turn it off.

    3. 133t k1dd135

    4. Customer: "So, which of this software can I run on this Linux PC?"

    Walmart CSM: "Uhmm... None of it, I think. I dunno. Are these things compatible with normal PC's?"

    Walmart carries a few boxed Linux distros. I've seen Mandrake and Redhat shrinkwraps before, but that is the long and short of their in-store linux support. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to download Open Office. He wants to buy it off the shelf and have it work without thinking. Unless Walmart starts carrying some of the shrinkwrap Linux software packages, and maybe some 'collection' CD's, they're shooting themselves in the foot by displaying a Linux PC next to reams of Windows-only software.

    • Re:Pro and Con (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Damek ( 515688 )
      Unless Walmart starts carrying some of the shrinkwrap Linux software packages, and maybe some 'collection' CD's, they're shooting themselves in the foot by displaying a Linux PC next to reams of Windows-only software.


      Well, they're not displaying a Linux PC next to reams of Windows-only software. These Linux-loaded PCs are only available via Walmart.com. You have to be looking for it, or have a friend point it out to you, in order to find it in the first place.

      I think you're basically right - Walmart suddenly offering some PCs loaded with Linux is not going to immediately push Linux into the mainstream, like some people seem to think. Furthermore, if Walmart were to present these PCs in their stores as "just like Windows PCs, only cheaper!", they'd be shooting themselves in the foot. But they're not, and I don't think they mean to push Linux into the mainstream.

      I think, really, this is like Linux getting it's tonail (not the full toe, and definitely not the full foot) in the door of "pre-installed OS" computers.

      I mean, these things have to go in baby steps. In another two years, it's quite possible that Linux could be so much farther on that all the reasons against having these things in stores might be solved. I, for one, hope so. Some elitist geeks might shudder at their niche OS being tainted by "the masses", but I personally see the good outweighing the bad if free software were to end up being used everywhere.
    • Reasons AGAINST setting up a Linux Demo PC at Walmart 1. su -; password; rm -rf *.*
      <ob_smartass>So someone might remove all files with a dot in the filename?</ob_smartass>
      2. When Linux breaks, (or is broken) you've got to be knowledgable to fix it. If you installed it, you've got no problem, but can you really count on someone who works at Walmart to know how to edit files? In my experience, non techies who sell computers would rather *not* fix a broken software demo by reinstalling. If they can't make it 'right' again with a few mouse clicks, they'll turn it off.
      No problem. That's what "Flash this box back to factory configuration" CDs are for. The store demo doesn't need any custom config work, it's a demo of what you get right out of the box.
      3. 133t k1dd135
      See above. If they wind up having to re-flash the box more than one or two times a week, then they'll pull it down (or flash it to the WinXP version)
      I'm curious though, what makes you think that a Linux box would be MORE prone to this than a Win box? Last I checked, unpriviledged users could still edit the display settings for a windows box and set a refresh rate that the monitor can't handle, or drop it to 640x480x16 colors (which to a WalMart associate is "crashing the machine") You can also remove DLLs from the Windows folder, no?

      By the way, you mention the Zealot Attractor factor as a Pro -- I'd call it a Con. The average WalMart associate is going to be more likely to think the geeky guy hanging out in the electronics section is looking to swipe something than be grateful for his help selling PCs.
      • By the way, you mention the Zealot Attractor factor as a Pro -- I'd call it a Con. The average WalMart associate is going to be more likely to think the geeky guy hanging out in the electronics section is looking to swipe something than be grateful for his help selling PCs.

        Which brings up my number one pet peeve about walking into any store that carries computer anything or even Radio Shack now (unfortunately). When I go to these places, I know EXACTLY what I am looking for and I go in, go to where it is (by reading the freaking signs), I get it, I pay, I walk out. How come the freaking clueless blueshirts insist on talking to me or asking if I need help? Go back to your l33t talk with your buds about Quake and let me get my stuff and get out of here. Did I ask for your help? Did I ask your opinion on which video card I should get (usually cuz they thing I should spend lots of bucks on the piece o shit card of the week instead of the Nvidia card I have in my hand). When I do ask you something, if you don't know, then don't try and tell me you think it will work. Tell me you don't know. I'll say thank you and leave you alone. Don't try to sell me something I don't want! I remember walking up to someone who was so confused right after a salesman walked away to check on something...I ask that person what did they want to do. They tell me I only want to do internet and chat and maybe type up my resume and they are selling me this $$$$ machine...do you think it's ok? Usually, they point out a machine fine for, well, geeks like us, or a machine that's underpowered even for today's stuff. I point them to the correct machine (one which will do what they want, not one with all kind of toys like we'd like, and will not cost them an arm and a leg). They buy it. They go home. They are happy. They also won't buy without me or another computer friend again. These guys working at CompUSA and Best Buy almost all worked at a Grocery store last week. They are the rice boy equivalent to geeks. They think that PC over there is nice cuz of the case! Well, they don't know jack and I wish they'd just leave me alone when I go to make my purchases, or at least HELP ME GET my purchases instead of chatting with yer buds that work there. Honestly the Quake/SOF/PS/2 talk can wait 5 minutes while you grab a hard disk for me.
    • What if joe sixpack is a cheapskate, is scared of microsoft word (just hitting "enter" and getting that new line to start off with a lowercase letter! ), and is willing to deal with some free stuff and get on that there internet thing.

  • What about the software? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by taeric ( 204033 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:23AM (#3885620)
    I know that for most people here, finding software for linux is no problem. However, I can't help but feel that not having a "linux" section in the software is going to hurt the sales of these machines. Especially when the customers are going to find out that the vast majority of the software you can buy will probably not work with these machines.

    How long until we have a good sized shelf to sit next to these machines with software that can be loaded on them without trouble?

    -josh

  • Ask Wal-Mart (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:24AM (#3885631)
    Why doesn't Slashdot do an "Ask Slashdot" with the person responsible for all this Linux in wal-Mart? Or, at least an interview.

  • Walmart Employees (Score:2, Interesting)

    by TibbonZero ( 571809 )
    I am glad to see that you can buy more than Windows at Walmart now, so you have some choice. But seriously, the Walmart employees are pretty stupid. Even something as simple as a PS/2 elluded two employees at a local store.

    The PS/2 was either turned off, or just crashed (rarely they do...), and I wanted it turned on or reset (can't remember). I asked an employee to do so (just for kicks to see their stupidity)- and they said that they didn't know how. In addition to that, they wondered if the tape was in it- and then commented that they might need to call the sales rep at the manufaturer to come out and reset it.

    A few minutes later, they actually carded me when I bought "The Sum of all Fears" game (which doesn't touch Ghost Recon)- I normally don't buy games there, but it was cheap, and I was there. Money==Time.

    Point is, that few will buy these machines (unless they just need an emergency Linux box at 2am). This is because the employees are so stupid that they won't know a single thing about the machines or the software. The linux machines won't even be an option that they will show people, or know about themselves. They lack proper training at all.

    What they really need is a 30 minute course on how to sell linux (which isn't that hard to teach to someone), as long as they take the 36 month course on how to speak english first...

    Hey, I am not against other languages or nationalities, but even Linus has always commented in English (and rather well at it).

  • Another Netscape 6.0? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by thales ( 32660 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:27AM (#3885648) Homepage Journal
    Netscape jumpped the gun when they released Netscape 6.0. At the time Mozilla/Netscape was usable but still had a lot of rough edges that didn't make it suitable for the general public.

    Lately we have seen a few articles pointing out some of areas where the Linux desktop is lacking that might not seem like a big deal to a Geek, but will be viewed as a major short comming by by the general public.

    Netscape got a lot of bad press because of 6.0. I Hope we aren't going to see a repeat of that with the Linux desktop on Wal-mart PCs.

  • been approached by a stanger outside Walmart? (Score:3, Funny)

    by H3XA ( 590662 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:29AM (#3885664)
    I can see it now..... a guy wearing a large jacket ouside Wal-Mart comes up to you and says "Psst.... wanna buy a prirate CD vesion of XP for that cheap box you just bought?"

    I sometimes wonder if these Wal-Mart PCs encourage piracy of MS OSes...... not that I really care if it does :)

    I would assume the average customer who buys these PCs don't give a damn about what cheap OS is on the system (be it Lindows or Mandrake).... they probably just wipe the hard drive and stick XP on it from a CD they borrowed from a mate. Mandrake is still not ready for the n00b public, which is kidn of good, so Wal-Mart don't realistically expect that these PCs will be useful. As someone already posted, a retail version of XP worth a couple of hundred dollars would be an easy add on sales with a decent profit margin.

    - HeXa
    • It bugs me that the cheapest PC they have is $299 that comes with Lindows. Why isn't the same box loaded with Mandrake for $299? The modem might be a soft modem, but spend another $20 and put a good modem in it. Geez.

      There is a cool side to this though. Take my neighbor for instance. She's got a PII 450 with Win95 on it. She wants a faster Windoze box so she can put linux on her 450. So she goes to Walmart.com, buys the $299 PC, TRANSFERS her 95 license to the new box, and there you go. Microsoft of course says you can't do that with the newer versions of Windoze, but AFAIK this is still legal with Win9x.
  • I bought an OS free system not too long ago and found that they don't really carry PCs in store. They typically have 2-3 boxed PCs available on a shelf that most employees can't really find. This was in the 3 stores I checked in my area, but it could be widespread....

  • Brave? (Score:3, Funny)

    by macdaddy ( 38372 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:40AM (#3885736) Homepage Journal
    I don't think brave is the right word. Dumb or ignorant might be a better choice. ;-)

    When I was much younger a bunch of my friends and myself would sneak into our Wal-Mart electronics area and install Doom on all the machines. They were networked at the time. When no one was looking, we'd have a fragfest. Lots of fun. I think we actually sold more Wal-Mart machines then they actual paid employees did!

  • When I worked at Circuit City in '93, a buddy and I used to take the AST on one of the display endcaps and boot it off the Slackware boot- and root-disks, just to scare customers. I think we even installed Linux partitions on a few of the machines there (until we reparitioned a Compaq that kept its BIOS management software in a hidden partition-- oops!). We never had a single customer that wasn't completely flummoxed by the non-Windows OS. I'm not sure it would be any different at Wal-Mart in 2002.

    Boy, those were the days-- unauthorized Linux installs, playing DOOM over a null modem cable on working hours. Sometimes, I think I miss retail.
  • OK, so Walmart sells boxes without any OS installed...here [walmart.com] we have a system with no OS, almost identical to this [walmart.com] Mandrake system, except that the no OS system uses SDRAM instead of DDRAM...but the Mandrake box is a dollar cheaper...what am I missing here?

    Is anyone seeing the price difference The Register mentioned in their article saying that the Mandrake boxes were a little more expensive than the no-OS boxes? If this is the case, is the money going back to Mandrake or is the money going to Wal-mart for going to the time and trouble of installing an operating system?

  • Linux isn't ready for the Store Shelves (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rute_1 ( 190676 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:53AM (#3885835) Homepage
    OK, so an Unknowning customer buys this Linux machine and takes it home.

    Problem 1. Connect to the Internet. The customer calls his local internet provider, Cable, DSL, or dial-up and says he want's to setup his system to connect to the net. The Internet provider sends him the software. Hmmm, where's the Linux install. Call back the provider. The provider asks what Operating system he's running. Customer repsonds "Linux". Click!

    Problem 2. Swapping files. The customer's best friend just downloaded this cool program and wants him to try it. Hmmm, just stick the disk in and and run setup?

    Problem 3. U.S. Federal Income Tax Software, Quicken for Linux, MS Office for Linux, Wheel of Fortune for Linux? While there are alternatives, they aren't mainstream.

    Problem 4. Computer crashes. No problem take it to the local computer repair center. Ooops, they don't support Linux.

    Problem 5. Ohhh, there's a new cool USB 2.0 gadget out for the computer at my local store. I'll buy it and connect it to my system. Hmmm, Linux doesn't recognize the new hardware and there's no Linux install software included with the gadget.

    The point is, that Linux, at this time, is only for people that want to download it/buy it, install it, and spend alot of time learning Linux. It's not for people that just want to use it as part of their computer and don't really care what's running in the background as long as they can e-mail, surf, do finances, play games, etc. We Linux zealots often forget that the majority of the population could care less if they're running Wndoze, Linux, or Mac, as long as they can do what they need to do with their computer.
    • I think it is ready for the shelves, as long as the consumer knows he/she is not buying a Windows box. There will also have to be consideration given by Walmart to putting Linux software on the shelves as well, perhaps even a software kiosk where you get CD's burned with the selected OS software for the price of the CD... People will feel a lot better about uying a computer knowing they can go to Walmart and get their software.

  • They'll have to change the name of fsck (Score:5, Funny)

    by gelfling ( 6534 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @10:57AM (#3885857) Homepage Journal
    It's too close to.....well you know. And Walmart has a strict policy of protecting us from dirty words and evil thoughts.

    Come to think of it, kill will have to change too.
  • Before we all get giddy with excitement, consider this -- WalMart selling Linux may be what it takes for AOL to port to Linux.
    Last time I checked, that's one of the signs of the apocalypse! (though I admit I'm posting before the Coffee has really kicked in)

  • Meanwhile... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Heghta' ( 246911 )
    Meanwhile, in a deep cavern below Redmond...

    Bill: "Did it work?"
    Steve: "Yes, and they only asked 10 millions for it."
    Bill: "That cheap. The company didn't ask more?"
    Steve: "Yes. It's actually all money for bribing their higher-ups."
    Bill: "Splendid. So they will start selling machines with Linux. Monopoly, my judge? No, we don't have one. See, even Walmart sells Linux Machines. So how dare those States say we have a monopoly."
    Steve: "And the best thing is, all the strupid peons will order software along, and when they realize it wont work, they will blame Linux for it, and get Windows for the machine. So we will even increase our retail Sales."
    Bill: "Damn Steve, your evil beats mine. You should really ask Slashdot for an icon of your own!"
    Steve: "So how's the other plan going?"
    Bill: "Fine, fine. With the RIAA and the MPAA on our Side we can't fail. And once DRM is a must, we will crush those Linux Geeks."
    Steve: "Yes, Yes. But the young Torvalds. He could be very useful for us if he joined us. Can you arrange that?"
    Bill: "He will either join us, or die..."

  • Sam's Club (basically walmart) is offering two "do-it-yourself" kits that are basically just cases, power supplies, and motherboards that are advertised with "Easy to use Linux Operating System". Check them out here:

    http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp? co e=0&oidPath=0%3a-15464%3a-16203%3a635001&mt=a&n=0& BV_SessionID=_SC_1661883245.1026746490_CS_&BV_Engi neID=cccfadcfjgjfijhcfkfcfkjdgoodflf.0
    and here
    http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping. jsp?co e=0&oidPath=0%3a-15464%3a-16203%3a657125&mt=a&n=0& BV_SessionID=_SC_1661883245.1026746490_CS_&BV_Engi neID=cccfadcfjgjfijhcfkfcfkjdgoodflf.0

    I saw one at the local Sam's Club yesterday. The funniest part was the bold letters on the box: "Linux Included, Windows Optional."
  • They have been selling the Lindows PC for some time on the site, does anyone know how many have sold? What the interest in these are?

  • Price Comparison (Score:4, Informative)

    by Diamon ( 13013 ) on Monday July 15, 2002 @12:59PM (#3886736)
    $399.00 Microtel 1.3 GHz Duron No OS [walmart.com]
    $399.00 Microtel 1.3 GHz Duron Lindows OS [walmart.com]
    $428.00 Microtel 1.3 GHz Duron Mandrake Linux 8.2 [walmart.com]
    $499.00 Microtel 1.3 GHz Duron Mandrake Windows XP Home Edition [walmart.com]

  • It's a message to (Score:3, Interesting)

    by netringer ( 319831 ) <maaddr-slashdot@NospaM.yahoo.com> on Monday July 15, 2002 @02:15PM (#3887227) Journal
    Microsoft. Wal-Mart's just sending a message Microsoft. The ol' boys in Bentonville like to wield Wal-Mart's buying power to negotiate great exclusive pricing deals with vendors. You can be sure that, Microsoft, being a monopoly does not feel a strong need to negotiate. MSFT's monopoly is more solid than WMTs.

    So... The Wal-Mart boys think, "We'll show them. We'll WILL feature the product of the competion until they come the table."

    So Wal-Mart makes all kinds of noise about featuring Linux on PCs. The aren't serious about it because they know their Joe Six-Pack customer isn't gonna grok Linux, but they hope that maybe the shoutin' will embarrass them and bring Microsoft back with a sweeter deal.

    If Microsoft gives Wal-Mart an exclusive price on bundling Windows the Linux PCs will disappear from Wal-Mart's shelves.

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