Wal-Mart Says No To Linux Computers
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Just when you thought that retailers were starting to take to Linux computers, Wal-Mart changes their mind in selling the systems. Seems in a press release that Wal-Mart thinks that Linux computers are not what their customers want. According to a statement, the selling of Linux computers was just an experiment and sales of the hardware was disappointing. In the AP article it states:
Computers that run the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows didn’t attract enough attention from Wal-Mart customers, and the chain has stopped selling them in stores, a spokeswoman said Monday.
“This really wasn’t what our customers were looking for,” said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien.
To test demand for systems with the open-source operating system, Wal-Mart stocked the $199 “Green gPC,” made by Everex of Taiwan, in about 600 stores starting late in October.
Walmart.com, the chain’s e-commerce site, had sold Linux-based computers before and will continue selling the gPC.
This was the first time they appeared on retail shelves.
Paul Kim, brand manager for Everex, said selling the gPC online was “significantly more effective” than selling it in stores.
Wal-Mart sold out the in-store gPC inventory but decided not to restock, O’Brien said. The company does not reveal sales figures for individual items.
In another twist, it now seems that Asus in their new Eee PC ultraportable models is going with Windows XP instead of Linux and also will be using an Intel CPU instead of one from Via. Seems that Linux is once again being pushed out of the operating system picture.
Comments welcome.
Complete AP article is here.
[tags]wal-mart, linux, computers, pc, discontinued, windows, cpu, intel, via, xp, [/tags]
4 Comments
the oracle
March 11th, 2008
at 11:40am
Those Everex PCs flew off the shelves. Perhaps the customer return lines tell the tale, although there were no stories I saw about returns.
Matt Hartley
March 11th, 2008
at 1:43pm
You have it right. Under-powered PCs were largely to blame, in addition to not educating the public as to what they were buying. As a full time Linux user, I blame each distro individually for this.
Love the OS, hate the hot-air and hype making it out to be easier to migrate to than it actually is. It’s doable, but there is a largely ignored learning curve.
I have actually beta tested some of these types of PCs dating back to 2004. The distros ranged from Xandros, Linspire, Zonbu and gOS. In each instance, low power meant low perfomrance.
Still using the Zonbu notebook to this day, own their mini, but they are still a work in progress.
Darryl
March 13th, 2008
at 10:39pm
It doesn’t surprise me with what Wal-Mart has done. But on the other hand, could Big Red (Redmond) be behind the scene’s on this one?
As for Linux systems, yes, they are great Operating systems, if you have the know-how to run and administer any of the distro’s. Most of the people I deal with (the general public), still have problems coming to terms with Windows. They want to have a computer that “Just Works” and doesn’t have to be maintained with yearly purchases of the latest software or worry about how often they need to update Anti Virus programs etc.
So many people I talk to still don’t realise they need Anti-virus and Firewall software. But then again (my thoughts on this), many people just shouldn’t have PC’s at all. They just don’t get it.
Wayne
March 15th, 2008
at 8:38am
Microsoft payoff–probably ownes Walmart in the background.