Jim Richardson <warlock@xxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
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> On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:44:25 +0000,
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> ____/ Jeanette on Friday 30 November 2007 02:50 : \____
>>
>>> It would appear Dell Ubuntu sales are going well
>>>
>>> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/30/ubuntu_dell_sales/
>>>
>>>
>>> Dell agreed to ship PCs and laptops with the Ubuntu operating system
>>> after more than 130,000 people promoted the notion on the company's
>>> IdeaStorm web site. It would seem, however, that only a fraction of
>>> these zealots were willing to back their votes with cash.
>>>
>>> Dell has shipped close to 40,000 systems pre-installed with the Ubuntu
>>> flavor of Linux, according to multiple sources. By most accounts, that's
>>> a heck of a total for what remains more or less a fringe operating
>>> system. Ubuntu fans are urged to hold back their virtual quills of
>>> vitriol following that last sentence and remember that the OS trails
>>> major desktop and notebook OSes by quite a margin.
>>
>> Dell's estimate was 20,000 in one year. It has been just months and that number
>> has not been met (but doubled, with projection of quadrupling or more). On
>> numerous occasions Dell has said that it was very happy with the numbers, but
>> it just didn't give away the numbers (one source said 30,000 a couple of
>> months ago, so maybe it was a leak).
>>
>> I personally have 1 Dell box that runs only Linux, but was not sold with Linux.
>> Many Linux users can suit themselves and others simply switch.
>>
>> Dell should be very happy to have exceeded its expectation. These numbers are
>> by no means an indication of the scale of use of Free software, which by
>> nature is _not sold_.
>>
>> By the way, the phrasing or spin in The Reg is a case of sensationalism, so
>> don't mind the weird statements.
>>
>> Since Dell began selling Linux, merely every large OEM (and small ones too) has
>> begun selling Linux as well, so competition was born, which affects Dell's
>> numbers and will urge Dell to lower the prices further.
>>
>
>
> We generally buy Dell workstations for desktops, to get some service
> plan. Most of them run Linux, not Windows. But were sold as "windows"
> boxes. We are far from unusual in this.
>
Getting > 33% of leads converted to sales is a fantastic result for
Dell. Salesmen would typically expect a much lower rate than that, so
surely, Dell would have done.
Besides, 40,000 here and 40,000 there, and it doesn't take long to get
into the millions.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
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