Modify Colors
Would you like your notebook in pink or with Windows?
I have sort of a love-hate relationship with Dell. On one hand, I appreciate that they occasionally sell Ubuntu machines, but I am really sick of their avaliability games. The number of avaliable computers, and the options that go with them, changes randomly from day to day. For new readers, I am not a fan of these variations. Today, the selection has moved from annoying to almost comical.
If Dell did as much market research as asking one person, they could learn that people buying their Ubuntu computers are very largely:
- Tech-savvy,
- Smart,
- And male
Given these attributes, why on earth do you make your two non-netbook computers a laptop that costs about $60 more than the Windows version and a semi-discontinued laptop that comes in exactly one color: pink.
I’d be great if Linux users, and technologically-centered people in general, were more balanced in gender, and I believe we are getting there, but the reality is that Linux geeks are still mostly male. Heck, I’m not even sure if it has to do with gender. There is nothing wrong with pink, but I’m not sure I know anyone, male or female, who would actually buy a pink primary computer. How many Linux geeks do you know who love pink?
Of course if you don’t want a pink computer, you can of course buy the Insipron 15n, which offers a range of colors. Unfortunatley, you pay an extra $60 or so to have Ubuntu pre-installed. Since the vast majority of potential buyers are tech-savvy and reasonably smart, why wouldn’t they just buy the Windows version and install Ubuntu?
The bottom line: market research fail.
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Ubuntu people are not tech-savvy, they are Debian deserters with no moral.
Ubuntu claims to be easier, even though all they do is pack a GNOME like everyone else and getting funded by a former astronaut named Shuttleworth.
A good example is their wiki, try a search .. It simply sucks .. 90% of pages are empty and are only placeholders ..
Gentoo and ArchLinux can create documentation easier to understand than the installwizard in Ubuntu, still, it is considered a geek Linux ..
If you give a man Ubuntu, he will come back when he has his first issues .. If you make him install Gentoo or ArchLinux himself, he will be good off already just by the Beginners guide and the wiki-resources and the amazingly newbie-friendly forums.
Ubuntu users share alot of howtos that simply ignore symptoms instead of fixing the problem .. The habit has to stop ..
dezza – Are you serious? Do you really tell your friends to go use Gentoo?
Gentoo is for pansies, LFS! 8D
I spent months visiting Dell.ca waiting for a better offering, just as the Window PCs are consistently upgraded and price adjusted, only to see systems and customizations options disappear. I ended up ordering all the parts separately from a retailer in Vancouver and building my own Kubuntu system. Now I see that Dell.ca gives the option of no computer, or a Windows computer, as the Ubuntu page is now empty.
I own the second largest computer store in Cincinnati. Half of our computers are linux, and half of those are sold to women. They love it. Pink+Linux=No Problem
I nearly bought the pink Mini 9 but opted for black earlier in the year. The pink one cost more. Mainly I thought it would be amusing and also my daughter would love it. Another reason for not getting it in pink was my daughter would love it too much and I would lose it.
I don’t really grumble at Dell, there are still lots of choices of machines to buy and it is so competitive they often give great deals. I’m still happy at the price I paid for mine 8 months on.
I wanted an eee 700, My wife said it had to be pink. And it did come with linux.
Now I feel a little self concious if I’m using it in an airport lounge without her but no other men have offered to buy me a drink so pink can’t be that bad.
Stephen
Actually, I would gladly spend $60 USD more for a GNU/Linux preinstallation. Why? Let’s look at it like this: currently, it is more costly for Dell to maintain a GNU/Linux installation than Windows. Oh, please skip all of low-cost of Open Source: for Dell in this market, they have already had significant investment in Windows drivers and utilities, but virtually none for GNU/Linux. Of course, when they sell something with GNU/Linux pre-installed, we will expect them to support that. This means big investments in GNU/Linux.
And I personally support that kind of investments. I will, therefore, cheerfully pay for it. Just a way to help out GNU/Linux.
Respectfully agree with what you said. It is much better to pay more for Linux that less for windows. I hope Dell or who ever is taking them will reinvest them for the good of the community. On the other hand you can pay for windows as so many people have done before you that will bring no benefits to anyone rather than M…..S… .
While I am not going to argue that the FLOSS community is not predominately male- it is. But you kind of overlooked the female population that use Ubuntu (ME, for a great example) with your description of Ubuntu users.
“Ubuntu computers are very largely:
* Tech-savvy,
* Smart,
* And male”
I don’t appreciate that. I also don’t appreciate the assumption right of the bat that males would not be interested in pink. I did notice that you went on to say that you’re not sure if this has anything to do with gender. But, you already made it about gender in the first instance when you said “ubuntu users are male” and that it’s pink and there’s problem with that, because they’re male.
But, I do agree with you, Dell is really shit with advertisements. Can anyone recall Della, the computer market towards “women”. (I think they had to change the website after receiving so many complaints).
Anyway, please don’t discount the ladies out there. We are a small percent, but we’re here.
-Adelaida
Sarah Adelaida – “largely” != “completely”
Dell’s brain-dead shenanigans with its Ubuntu line are the reason I now only buy computers from ZaReason and System76. Go there to find Linux computers done right. Amazing what a store can do when they aren’t in Microsoft’s pocket.
[...] way is strangulation of the market, which leads to offering of no choice but Windows. How about this new story from Linux [...]
i was actually seriously considering to get my lg x110 in pink, then slap a massive hello kitty sticker on it just for the heck of it, probably would have too if it wasnt the only choice on my operators website! I just dont like having one option. Bought a black one from their store, but they billed me $100 extra. Point is dell doesnt seem to be alone in overestimating the marketability of pink.
targeted to the gay geek population ?
the only person i know who likes pink tech devices (phones n lappies) is exactly my gay geek friend..