Canonical confirms that it's "higher than expected", not "higher than Windows". He specifically says he doesn't know the return rate of Windows netbooks.
"The customer will get their netbook sent to their home and they imagine to find something like a Microsoft desktop, but they see a brown Ubuntu version. They are unwilling to learn it and they were expecting to have Windows".
That's the core and the point. There's no point in trying to discredit what people (MSI _or_ Dell) actually say after actually trying to sell Linux computers - it's not relevant to the subject on hand.
Doesn't matter who you or I believe, what matters is who Nokia believes. And I am not surprised Nokia choose Windows first.
"The customer will get their netbook sent to their home and they imagine to find something like a Microsoft desktop, but they see a brown Ubuntu version. They are unwilling to learn it and they were expecting to have Windows".
That's the core and the point. There's no point in trying to discredit what people (MSI _or_ Dell) actually say after actually trying to sell Linux computers - it's not relevant to the subject on hand.
Doesn't matter who you or I believe, what matters is who Nokia believes. And I am not surprised Nokia choose Windows first.
That's not a problem of Linux. It's a problem of people not reading what they're buying. After that when they get the brown desktop they return it immidiately, not because it's hard, different, or broken, just because it's not-windows.
If I buy a car with gears, I cannot expect that it'll be automatic and return it because of that.
Price update - our good friend Eldar suggests it'll be 399 Euro. That's quite the spec for the price. If true, Nokia will move a LOT of these. And with 3G/HSPA inside, mobile providers could subsidize it down to... 0?
"The customer will get their netbook sent to their home and they imagine to find something like a Microsoft desktop, but they see a brown Ubuntu version. They are unwilling to learn it and they were expecting to have Windows".
That's the core and the point. There's no point in trying to discredit what people (MSI _or_ Dell) actually say after actually trying to sell Linux computers - it's not relevant to the subject on hand.
That's not the point. The whole thing is botched at the start. Why were these people buying linux netbooks over windows in the first place ? Did they just click/pick up on the cheapest option ? Was it the first one on the list ? Did they *want* linux ? Did they want to 'take a shot' at linux ? With all returns mixed into one category, you can't make ANY conclusion with regard to returns due to 'unfamiliarity and unwillingness to learn', just a subjective guesstimate at best.
Price update - our good friend Eldar suggests it'll be 399 Euro. That's quite the spec for the price. If true, Nokia will move a LOT of these. And with 3G/HSPA inside, mobile providers could subsidize it down to... 0?
Keep in mind Eldar's estimate is usually for net price (i.e. no VAT / MwSt / AFA / PDV / etc).
That's not a problem of Linux. It's a problem of people not reading what they're buying. After that when they get the brown desktop they return it immidiately, not because it's hard, different, or broken, just because it's not-windows.
If I buy a car with gears, I cannot expect that it'll be automatic and return it because of that.
I never said it was a problem of Linux. To follow your analogy; if you sell a car with gears in the USA, and people don't realize they are different to drive until the first week after they buy it, that too would have higher return rates, yes? Your point.
My point: If the car salesman sold a lot of cars with gears to Americans, and they kept returning it at a (somewhat, not four or five times) higher return rate, he'd favour the model with automatic transmission, because the extra mass of returned cars would be a problem for him.
You can blame MSI for misguiding people when they buy notebooks with Linux, so people expect Windows. But whatever problem MSI had in communicating this, Nokia might experience. Why would Nokia want that?
