This snippet of news deserves a some analysis. Yahoo reports that Wal-Mart will stop selling all Linux-based PCs in shops. That includes the gPC and the Cloudbook.
“This really wasn’t what our customers were looking for,” said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien.
Or was it that the cost of wheeling them out onto the shop floor and answering questions about whether it runs Outlook was biting into the extremely thin profit margin on it? Or were the Cloudbook unboxing horror stories enough to scare Wal-Mart into thinking twice?
Windows is a recognised brand and to try and sell devices that look like PCs with another operating system is guaranteed to be tough work. If it looks like a PC it has to act like one and if you’re selling at bargain hunters, you’re going to attract bargain hunters. They are not the sort of people that hesitate to bring a device back when it doesn’t work and they are not the sort of people that spend hours trawling forums for an answer. They get straight onto the phone and call the support line because it’s the only process they know.
If you’re going to put Linux on a device you have to make it attractive and rock-solid otherwise the customers won’t feel comfortable and the resellers will dump it at the first sign of an increase manpower costs. It’s going to be absolutely crucial for MIDs that Intel, Ubuntu, RedFlag and others get the UI stable, stylish and intuitive because MIDs will also be relatively low-margin devices. If they get it right though, the OS could be simpler, more stable and cheaper to support than something based on XP or Vista. MID’s are a perfect opportunity for Linux to move into the mainstream but there’s only one chance with the big guys as this Wal-Mart example shows.
