Linux on Nettops (or in general)

There is a lot of noise coming from certain areas in reference to nettops and linux. It’s confusing the hell out of me and I can’t seem to get a word in so I figured I’d just do it here, where there are no interruptions and I can’t be ignored (unless you’re not reading this at all, in which case we have a burp in the logical continuum).

It has been noted, wherever they have noted it, that the return rates for linux nettops are higher than for nettops with `other’ operating systems. There are several reasons posited for this. On one hand there are the gleeful idiots who take every opportunity to bash the One True OS. There are excuses from both sides, as well as other silly theories.

Let me back up and briefly restate my experience with Eee Pc’s. I have two at work: one stock (Xandros) linux and one Eee-Ubuntu linux. They are both very capable little machines. After a day or so it hit me that these nettops could be the start of the fabled Linux on the Desktop initiative that everybody has been talking about.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about the ease of use of these little buggers. I have put them in front of dozens of people and no one has asked what operating system they run. Yes, they are both running linux but the graphical interface is highly customized. When I say customized, I mean dumbed down so a five year old could operate the computer. If there were going to be user issues with these nettops, I would have seen them by now. The folks at work are, to be polite, not exactly computer-savvy.  Sometimes I wonder if some of them could identify a computer.

Flash forward to the discussion about linux returns being higher in number than the other os.  People are using this as an excuse to say that linux is difficult to use or that people don’t want to learn a new OS.  Trust me when I tell you that one doesn’t need to learn much of anything to operate these boxes.

If you want to type a letter, go to the Office tab, click on LETTER, and type to your heart’s content.  If you want to surf the web, go to the Internet tab and click on WEB BROWSER.  Does this sound horribly difficult to you?  That’s all there is to operating the computer (after you hit POWER and plug in your ethernet cable or use the internal wireless).

If the above would make you want to return the nettop to the place of purchase, you probably shouldn’t own a computer.  Windows would be even more difficult to operate (not to mention slower).  There are definitely people who should not own a computer: I work with a lot of them.

That having been said, I was shocked to find the Eee Pc displayed for sale at Target this evening.  I purchased the 1000’s for work.  Target had lower-line models, which really made me look twice, as I think the 1000 is too small.  These were tiny.  I kept trying to figure out which model they were but it wasn’t indicated anywhere.  They were offered at $299, which is a nice price.

I watched a few people come up to the display and start playing with it.  I listened to comments.  After a while it hit me: they needed to advertise this unit differently.  If you looked closely you could see where it said they ran linux.  Who looks closely?  People see a cute little laptop-like unit that’s very portable and quite affordable.  They buy it and take it home.  What comes next?

Well, if they only want to use the built-in applications, everything will be fine.  It will surf the net, do email, chat, and even has a video camera built-in.  The problem will most likely come when they want to play the game that all their friends play on their computers.  Odds are it’s a Windows program.  I didn’t check to see if WINE was hidden behind the GUI but that’s a wash more often than not.  The buyer will quickly discover they can’t load the programs their friends use.  And even if their friends gave them a linux cd, they couldn’t do anything with it because nettops don’t have optical drives.

At this point it’s either a learning curve or a return, I guess.

I think nettops are a great deal at a great price, with very good usability.  I also think people should know a tiny amount about computers and what nettops aren’t before they buy though.  Yes, I’m making the outrageous assertion that people should investigate and become knowledgeable before they buy.  Forgive me.

Linux, at least the versions that go on nettops, is not difficult to use.  It’s not really a valid excuse to avoid linux or to return a computer that runs linux.

The most exasperating part of this is that the `experts’ continue to insist that people don’t want to have to learn a new OS.  If you ever read this, navigate to a different page.  It means that the person stating it is a fatuous blowhard who has never even seen an Eee Pc.  The person is making blanket statements out of ignorance and doesn’t deserve your attention.  I expect reviewers to at least have worked with what they’re claiming to review, but maybe that’s just me…