Linux-Windows netbook rivalry prompts questions
By John Lister
An analyst has questioned a much-repeated claim that Linux-based netbooks have a considerably higher return rate than their Windows counterparts. And a spokesman for the firm behind Linux distribution Ubuntu says returns would be lower if companies did a better job of setting Linux up.
The story which has appeared most often is that the return rate for Linux netbooks is four times higher than that of Windows models. While there are several separate reports which give figures along those lines, most stories stem from comments by Micro-Star International, producers of the Wind notebook.
Philip Solis of ABI Research says these figures are not necessarily representative. He says MSI did not properly scale down the Linux system to fit the smaller machine. According to Solis, another firm which did customize the system, Asus, has not found any notable difference in return rates between Linux and Windows.
Another factor at play is that experiences in the US do not necessarily reflect the worldwide picture. Computerworld reports that 96 percent of netbooks sold state-side run Windows, but internationally the figure drops to 75 percent. There also don’t seem to be as many stories of high return-rates for Linux machines outside the US.
That’s most likely because the cost of adding Windows to the machine is more of an issue in less wealthy countries, though it could also be that many buyers in some markets simply can’t afford a machine with high enough specs to run Windows. Solis also speculates that the Windows brand name may not carry so much weight in markets such as Asia, where price is more of a concern.
Gerry Carr of Canonical, the company behind commercial distributions of popular Linux system Ubuntu, says there isn’t much evidence to support the claims of high return rates. He also believes that many of the problems that do occur are down to manufacturers doing a poor job of customixing Linux to meet both the demands the machine involved and the needs and expectations of consumers.
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April 9th, 2009
If someone does an awful install of Linux on a netbook, of course people are going to return them. Same would apply to any other poorly conceived product.