3 ms·

Yes, because when they go to Media Market and FNAC they will only have macOS and Windows laptops to chose from. Having Tuxedo, System76 and co is great, but wh

by pjmlp 1mo ago

Yes, because when they go to Media Market and FNAC they will only have macOS and Windows laptops to chose from. Having Tuxedo, System76 and co is great, but what most people care about is what there are in regular consumer shops. Linux adoption among consumer hardware has only been a success where it is invisible to the user, like the Linux kernel on Android or WebOS, firmware on DVD/BlueRay players,...

LtWorf 1mo ago
Stores are dead to anyone who is under 35 years of age.
- embedding-shape 1mo ago
  You might want to contact Media Markt, FNAC, Corte Ingles and all the other stores to tell them apparently they have 0 customers yet they pay for rent, salaries and everything else even though no one goes there anymore.
  - repelsteeltje 1mo ago
    Add CoolBlue (Netherlands) to that list. Initially a post order-only for consumer electronics, but added bricks & mortar stores because many customers (of all ages, btw) prefer IRL service, viewing and touching actual hardware.
    - guenthert 1mo ago
      > prefer IRL service, viewing and touching actual hardware. That did Fry's in, didn't it? People coming in viewing, touching hardware in store and then buy it on-line (elsewhere) so that they could save 2.5%. Or worse, buying it in store and returning it two weeks later when they found a better deal or didn't need it anymore.
      - embedding-shape 1mo ago
        > Or worse, buying it in store and returning it two weeks later when they found a better deal or didn't need it anymore. Here a lot of places has a sort of price guarantee that I guess is supposed to work against this. Basically, if I know Media Markt sells something I want, but the very same thing is available for cheaper in other (big) store, I'll show them their competitors pricing and they'll lower their price to match it. Assuming by the fact that the physical stores still exists, don't seem to be going anywhere soon, and these companies tend to get rid of stuff that doesn't make them profit anymore, I think it's safe to assume they at least are net positive on having the physical stores.
- cpursley 1mo ago
  Tell that to Apple, glance inside next time you pass by an Apple Store.
  - LtWorf 1mo ago
    Apple stores also do repairs, so I'm not sure what's the point of this comparison.
    - pjmlp 1mo ago
      Which ones? Usually they send the device to some center like everyone else.
- pjmlp 1mo ago
  Not really, otherwise I wouldn't bump into them all over the place around here.
rich_sasha 1mo ago
The average person walking into these shops has never heard of Linux. If, as I would hope, they find out about it and like it, they’ll ask. Then either the shops assortment will be improved, or as sibling comment says, they’ll look online.
- pjmlp 1mo ago
  Which is why "The Year of Desktop Linux" will keep being a meme (30 years to 4%), unless we are talking about running Linux Desktops from within WSL and Virtualisation Framework, or for the oldies, VMWare Workstation and Virtual Box. "Linus Torvalds Explains The Reason Linux Lost The Desktop" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMujWFUDSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMujWFUDSg
  - TheOtherHobbes 1mo ago
    M$FT revenue is currently around $300bn a year, with a 40% profit margin. Canonical's revenue is less than $300m. Even if Canonical wanted to create a perfect version of Ubuntu with driver support for almost everything and as many desktop bugs removed as possible, they still can't afford to do it. A credible Linux-on-the-desktop needs a global or multinational consumer-oriented foundation that can herd all the cats and turn desktop Linux into a professionally-managed project with proper beta testing and some interest in user experience. That's a 180 from Linux culture, so it's unlikely to ever happen. The Linux Foundation is not that Linux foundation, because it's not remotely desktop or consumer-oriented. freedesktop.org is a nice side project but doesn't have anything like the budget or the profile or resources required. That is literally the only way to make a desktop version that can compete with Windows and OS X. There's an obvious opportunity for someone to do this for governments now - a standard gov-optimised distro with enhanced security and access control and a collection of boring productivity software.

by pjmlp 1mo ago

LtWorf 1mo ago

Stores are dead to anyone who is under 35 years of age.

embedding-shape 1mo ago
You might want to contact Media Markt, FNAC, Corte Ingles and all the other stores to tell them apparently they have 0 customers yet they pay for rent, salaries and everything else even though no one goes there anymore.
- repelsteeltje 1mo ago
  Add CoolBlue (Netherlands) to that list. Initially a post order-only for consumer electronics, but added bricks & mortar stores because many customers (of all ages, btw) prefer IRL service, viewing and touching actual hardware.
  - guenthert 1mo ago
    > prefer IRL service, viewing and touching actual hardware. That did Fry's in, didn't it? People coming in viewing, touching hardware in store and then buy it on-line (elsewhere) so that they could save 2.5%. Or worse, buying it in store and returning it two weeks later when they found a better deal or didn't need it anymore.
    - embedding-shape 1mo ago
      > Or worse, buying it in store and returning it two weeks later when they found a better deal or didn't need it anymore. Here a lot of places has a sort of price guarantee that I guess is supposed to work against this. Basically, if I know Media Markt sells something I want, but the very same thing is available for cheaper in other (big) store, I'll show them their competitors pricing and they'll lower their price to match it. Assuming by the fact that the physical stores still exists, don't seem to be going anywhere soon, and these companies tend to get rid of stuff that doesn't make them profit anymore, I think it's safe to assume they at least are net positive on having the physical stores.
cpursley 1mo ago
Tell that to Apple, glance inside next time you pass by an Apple Store.
- LtWorf 1mo ago
  Apple stores also do repairs, so I'm not sure what's the point of this comparison.
  - pjmlp 1mo ago
    Which ones? Usually they send the device to some center like everyone else.
pjmlp 1mo ago
Not really, otherwise I wouldn't bump into them all over the place around here.

rich_sasha 1mo ago

The average person walking into these shops has never heard of Linux. If, as I would hope, they find out about it and like it, they’ll ask. Then either the shops assortment will be improved, or as sibling comment says, they’ll look online.

pjmlp 1mo ago
Which is why "The Year of Desktop Linux" will keep being a meme (30 years to 4%), unless we are talking about running Linux Desktops from within WSL and Virtualisation Framework, or for the oldies, VMWare Workstation and Virtual Box. "Linus Torvalds Explains The Reason Linux Lost The Desktop" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMujWFUDSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMujWFUDSg
- TheOtherHobbes 1mo ago
  M$FT revenue is currently around $300bn a year, with a 40% profit margin. Canonical's revenue is less than $300m. Even if Canonical wanted to create a perfect version of Ubuntu with driver support for almost everything and as many desktop bugs removed as possible, they still can't afford to do it. A credible Linux-on-the-desktop needs a global or multinational consumer-oriented foundation that can herd all the cats and turn desktop Linux into a professionally-managed project with proper beta testing and some interest in user experience. That's a 180 from Linux culture, so it's unlikely to ever happen. The Linux Foundation is not that Linux foundation, because it's not remotely desktop or consumer-oriented. freedesktop.org is a nice side project but doesn't have anything like the budget or the profile or resources required. That is literally the only way to make a desktop version that can compete with Windows and OS X. There's an obvious opportunity for someone to do this for governments now - a standard gov-optimised distro with enhanced security and access control and a collection of boring productivity software.