Mainstream Media Blames Ubuntu for Problems in School, Caught in Fanboy Cross-Fire
by Wyatt WalterWhether it was a stunt to boost traffic to their website, or legitimately not knowing the can of worms they were opening, a tv station in Madison, WI ran a story about a girl who ordered a computer from Dell with Ubuntu. The short version goes something like this: A girl orders a computer for college. It was a Dell laptop that cost $1,100. She selected Ubuntu as an option rather than Windows and it wasn’t until after she received the computer that she realized she couldn’t install Microsoft Office or her Verizon Wireless card herself. She did call Dell immediately when she realized it wasn’t Windows and they reassured her that the computer would still perform basic office suite funcitonality and Internet connectivity just fine, so she kept it. Later, after she realized the software/hardware she wanted to install wasn’t going to work, she felt “forced” to drop out of school since she didn’t have the tools necessary to do what she needed for the classes. The story made it far up on Reddit and Digg (front page of the tech. section early this afternoon) and of course drew tons and tons of comments from Ubuntu and Linux lovers everywhere. While the story does blame Dell, it definitely leaves the root of the problem upon the operating system that was preinstalled on the computer. I’m not sure that they realized the holy war they accidentally (or purposely) joined. Allegedly, they had hundreds of phone calls and comments on the story and subsequent blog posts from angry Ubuntu users and contributers. And rightfully so! There is some seriously flawed logic happening and Ubuntu and Dell are getting blamed. I’m going to hop on my soap box here for a minute and discuss what went horribly wrong in this story.
First, the user didn’t get requirements for school. She spent thousands of dollars on tuition as well as $1,100 (which was explicitly listed in the article for some reason, even though it’s nothing compared to the cost of school) on a laptop without finding out exactly what she needed. Different operating systems are better for different jobs and picking the right tool, especially a $1,100 tool, is very important. If someone tells they need me to buy a screwdriver and I pick up a flat head when really I needed a Phillips, is it the store’s fault? No, I bought the wrong tool. When I take it back after I know what I need I don’t really care what they say about whether or not the tool is right for me – I already know it’s not right.
Second, since when can’t you get help? You can go to a public library to use a computer, talk to a professor to try to get an extension, talk to the school, or simply borrow a computer until it gets straightened out. There’s always ways to make exceptions, especially if it’s whether or not she can go to school over something as trivial as a choice in operating system.
Lastly, was it really necessary to drop out of an entire year’s worth of classes? Seriously, she could have gone down to Best Buy and bought Windows Vista for $239. She even could have had Geek Squad install it for her so she wouldn’t have to worry about it. Even if installation costed her $100, that’s drastically better than the time and money lost in dropping out of school. Seriously, why would you not? So, you made a mistake? So what? If the worst mistake you ever made was buying a laptop with the wrong OS and had to spend an extra few hundred dollars to get the right OS you’ll come out much better than everyone else on this planet. It’s much like the person who swerves their car at 60+mph to miss a squirrel they may or may not have actually hit only to wrap the car around a tree and kill everyone on board. Sure, the squirrel is safe, but was it really worth it?
Okay, I’m done ranting. But seriously, let’s stop and place the blame where blame is due. Buy the tool that is right for the job. If you’re going to spend a lot of money on a piece of equipment, take the time to make sure it’s the right one.
Tags: dell, ubuntu
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Comments (2) :
Jan 16th, 2009
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January 16th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Ah, but sir, your analogy is flawed. A more accurate analogy would be if you needed a screw driver but bought a saw and ended up cutting yourself. Since using Ubuntu is like going down a slide of razors into a vat of alcohol. Ok seriously, I agree with you, even in my altered analogy you wouldn’t lay blame on the store nor the saw because it didn’t do what you bought it for. The only way the user might not be at fault is if Dell (or Ubuntu, for that matter) is making some kind of claim that the machine will work exactly like a Windows box and the user was completely mislead. This is very unlikely and even in this case the user should take some personal responsibility to research for what they are going to use this computer.
January 16th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Haha wow that’s a harsh view of Ubuntu. Some might say the same of Windows
I’m glad to hear there’s at least someone else in this world with a bit of sense of responsibility for their own actions..