Posted: 8/3/2012 8:03:54 PM EDT
|
and you thought gun shops were the only places staffed by total jackasses...
I expect a certain level of nonsense from small independent computer sales/repair shops re: Linux (no profit margin selling Windows and AV software) but this is a new one. As plans for my build have been put off indefinitely I stopped in a small computer sales and repair shop near campus which was recommended to me by an acquaintance who's also a builder (and installer of Ubuntu on machines he fixes). I was looking to see what sort of used boxes he had. The second I said "Linux" this guy went off on the strangest tangent I'd ever heard: 1. That free desktop distros and software will disappear in 5 years because Apple and Windows will own all of it 2. That a malevolent genius will design a distro containing embedded malware 3. That computer hackers and malware writers only attack an operating system after the developers claim it's impervious to viruses. 4. That Microsoft owns 25% of Apple (MS actually bought 150M in non-voting stock and then sold it back at a profit) What a freakin' crackpot. 
|
|
That actually sounds like a lot of the MCSE's (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers) and Apple-product "users" that I know. It's amazing what passes for IT expertise nowadays––and this winner sounds like maybe he started out being brainwashed at Geek Squad and moved on up to that independent shop.
I'm still amazed every time I venture out to Best Buy to pick up an online order and see people getting reamed at the GS desk. I momentarily consider pointing out that isn't worth paying an extra $100 bucks for them to install "x" piece of software, then I realize it's just a form of technological Darwinism and leave it be. |
| The guy running this shop was probably in his mid-late 60's and from the looks of the place he's using it as a place to get away from his wife. No real signs that he was doing anything more than engage in sports betting on his one running desktop. Even if I had come in there with a Windows issue I'd have walked out. |
|
While one visit to one particular shop is not representative of every computer store...
With one exception every small operator or retailer (Staples) I've visited here has been less than forthright or downright hostile when it comes to the subject of Linux. I'm having trouble believing that lack of familiarity with the OS is the main issue. The real issue is reduced profit margins. Instead of selling you the computer and accepting it as an incremental sale that otherwise wouldn't be made they choose to berate your choice of OS or repeat a bunch of ridiculous rumors or tell outright lies (the gun shop comparison) such as the ones I heard earlier this week. These people are not listening to what the customer wants. That's poor salesmanship. Sales staff in big box stores are under a lot of pressure to upsell extended service plans, AV software and the like. Likewise the little guys who work on an even smaller profit margin. This I understand. I just get tired of these people refusing to deviate from the playbook. |
|
Microsoft "indoctrinated" Best Buy employees with anti-Linux "lies" prior to Win 7 release:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/06/microsoft-indoctrinates-best-buy-workers-with-anti-linux-lies/ Microsoft (MFST) is "indoctrinating" Best Buy (BBY) workers to sell its highly anticipated Windows 7 operating system using outright lies about the performance of open-source competitor Linux, according to Linux experts and at least one Best Buy employee who has seen the alleged Microsoft training slides. "Linux does not support many common applications and online services like iTunes, Zune, Quicken, Photoshop, and Office 2007," asserts one slide in the now-leaked Microsoft ExpertZone training module designed for Best Buy employees preparing to sell Windows 7, which will be released in October. Another slide calls the statement "Linux is safer than Windows," a "myth." But when I went into my local Best Buy on Houston Street in New York on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I was informed that the chain does not carry Linux-equipped laptops or net-books. So why would Microsoft be teaching Best Buy employees to counsel customers to avoid Linux? Why indeed. Some Linux experts are charging Microsoft with deliberately "indoctrinating" Best Buy employees to misinform the public about the relative merits of Windows 7 and Linux. Linux, they say, can do most everything Windows 7 can, and is actually cheaper and more reliable. And of course, Linux advocates point out the fact that their operating system is mostly immune to many of the bugs, spyware, and viruses that have caused so much havoc on Windows machines and servers around the world. "This is the usual thing that Microsoft does, but they've really taken it to an extreme now," Christopher Lemire, a Houston, Texas-based computer programmer told me in a phone interview. "They're really attacking Linux this time," said Lemire, a self-avowed open-source supporter who blogged about the Microsoft slides Saturday. "They're always coming up with new tactics." "It's just lies and indoctrination," Lemire said. "A lot of the features that show up in Microsoft products originated in Apple or Linux products," Lemire added, pointing to tabbed browsing, which appeared in Microsoft's Internet Explorer well after Firefox and Apple's Safari. Lemire also points to applications like Skype which is "the ultimate audio and video" solution for Linux, he says. Other pro-Linux bloggers blasted the slides as well. "Don't believe the corporate disinformation from Redmond and the Madison Ave. advertising executives," another pro-Linux blogger at Freedom and Linux wrote Saturday. "Linux does everything Microsoft does...except get infected on a routine basis by trojans and spyware and adware and viruses." The slides were leaked by a self-described Best Buy worker in Hamilton, Ohio, who posted them to his Photobucket account over the weekend under the handle "GodOfGrunts." I called the only Best Buy in Hamilton, but the employee who answered did not know anyone who went by that handle currently on shift. Thus, DailyFinance has not been able independently verify the authenticity of the leaked Microsoft slides. That effort is ongoing. A spokesperson for Microsoft's Worldwide Rapid Response Team, run by PR firm Waggener Edstrom, said Microsoft was "not able to offer confirmation of the authenticity of the slides at this time." In New York, however, Best Buy's own employees acknowledge that Windows machines are more vulnerable to viruses than Linux machines. "See, that's the thing with Linux," a Best Buy salesman, whom I will not identify in order to protect his job, told me. "With Linux, you don't have to worry about viruses and all that. With Windows, you absolutely have to get all the anti-virus software." And yet, on the Microsoft training slides, under a section entitled "Get the facts straight," Microsoft calls the statement "Linux is safer than Windows" a "myth." In fact, the slides must be viewed against the broader backdrop of the looming battle between Microsoft and its rivals –– including Apple and Google –– over the very future of computing itself. In essence, Microsoft is trying to prepare the battlefield for the day when Linux may present a viable threat to its stranglehold on the operating system market. That time is coming sooner than most people realize. "Linux for consumers is coming, and Microsoft wants to delay that while they figure out what their strategy is going to be," said one Linux programmer, who was granted anonymity because he spent several years working for Microsoft, and also so as not to damage his career prospects. The programmer called much of the content in the slides "puffery" but added that right now for the average user, Microsoft's operating systems are in fact easier to manage than Linux. "While not 100 percent true, most of the slides are mostly true right now for the average customer," he said. In particular, Microsoft is readying its defenses against the prospect of Chrome, Google's forthcoming web-based operating system –– a platform built on top of Linux. "How many of the statements in the slides will be true when Chrome appears?" the Linux programmer asked, somewhat rhetorically. So why is Microsoft training Best Buy employees to bad-mouth Linux? It's not about what's in the store today, it's about what's in consumers' minds when they return to the store in one year. And the last thing Microsoft wants is for consumers to consider Linux a viable alternative to Windows 7. Maybe my salesman at Best Buy didn't get the memo. Clarification: The second paragraph of this piece implies that Linux supports iTunes, Zune, Quicken, Photoshop, and Office 2007; while some Linux users can use those programs with the help of additional software, it is the case that Linux does not offer out-of-the-box, native support for these programs. The slide referred to in the second paragraph above is an an example of Microsoft's effort to discredit Linux, but not an example of a clear inaccuracy. |
|
Quoted:
and you thought gun shops were the only places staffed by total jackasses... I expect a certain level of nonsense from small independent computer sales/repair shops re: Linux (no profit margin selling Windows and AV software) but this is a new one. As plans for my build have been put off indefinitely I stopped in a small computer sales and repair shop near campus which was recommended to me by an acquaintance who's also a builder (and installer of Ubuntu on machines he fixes). I was looking to see what sort of used boxes he had. The second I said "Linux" this guy went off on the strangest tangent I'd ever heard: (snip) I guess that counteracts the anti-Microsoft people. I've encountered several "I won't usth Windowth" types at school. Sucks for them when we have to use VS for class. 
Honestly Linux is awesome though. Free, stable, and can do whatever Windows or Mac OS can do. Especially with all the open source software that's FREE!!!! 
I still use Windows AND MS shit because, well they make good stuff. Apple I can't comment on cause I don't have any experience with them. But I tell you what, if I can find a developer job and they want me to work on Apple software by god I'll do it. 
Now ask my opinion of Linux in 6 months as I'm working on my own distro, as I'm sure I'm messing with "powers I surely do not understand"
|
|
Quoted:
I don't have much experience going to Computer Repair shops since I fix my own stuff and order from New Egg, but most of the guys i've dealt with while buying parts at those places would benefit from going outside from time to time... And definitely this. |
|
Quoted:
............... in 10 years of working on home / business computers we never had one person bring in a computer with linux on it. I've had one Linux system come in the door in the 8 years I've been doing my retirement hobby job of fixing PC's. The person who brought it in wanted me to put XP on it. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
............... in 10 years of working on home / business computers we never had one person bring in a computer with linux on it. I've had one Linux system come in the door in the 8 years I've been doing my retirement hobby job of fixing PC's. The person who brought it in wanted me to put XP on it. Been doing IT for over 20 years now and have never sold a Linux system, nor had one brought in for repair. |
|
I LOVE loons!
I get all of my best entertainment from them! I'd go back and tell him you're conflicted because Alex Jones told you that Linux is the only OS safe from "them". ETA - You could even accuse him of being in league with "them" for bonus points. You WERE going to record this, right? |
|
Quoted:
As someone who works for one of the larger distributions, I can say that linux is on the rise and there are some really exciting things to come. I think Valve's announcement will be just the tip of the iceberg. No question about it, I do believe that Linux is gaining popularity. I am using it more and more. But it is not mainstream, and the OP's bashing of a shop owner that doesn't know or care about a boutique segment is laughable. |
|
Quoted:
But it is not mainstream, and the OP's bashing of a shop owner that doesn't know or care about a boutique segment is laughable. It's not a mainstream desktop OS. With few exceptions everything I've done at work for the last 10 years has been linux related. The last 5 years has been linux exclusively. |
|
Quoted:
I LOVE loons! I get all of my best entertainment from them! I'd go back and tell him you're conflicted because Alex Jones told you that Linux is the only OS safe from "them". ETA - You could even accuse him of being in league with "them" for bonus points. You WERE going to record this, right? Hmmmmm..... 
|
|
Quoted: Quoted: As someone who works for one of the larger distributions, I can say that linux is on the rise and there are some really exciting things to come. I think Valve's announcement will be just the tip of the iceberg. No question about it, I do believe that Linux is gaining popularity. I am using it more and more. But it is not mainstream, and the OP's bashing of a shop owner that doesn't know or care about a boutique segment is laughable. He's being bashed because he's a moron saying stupid shit, not because he doesn't care about Linux. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I LOVE loons! I get all of my best entertainment from them! I'd go back and tell him you're conflicted because Alex Jones told you that Linux is the only OS safe from "them". ETA - You could even accuse him of being in league with "them" for bonus points. You WERE going to record this, right? Hmmmmm..... You KNOW you WANT to..... Be sure to record it (hint. hint!) |
|
Quoted:
While one visit to one particular shop is not representative of every computer store... With one exception every small operator or retailer (Staples) I've visited here has been less than forthright or downright hostile when it comes to the subject of Linux. I'm having trouble believing that lack of familiarity with the OS is the main issue. The real issue is reduced profit margins. Instead of selling you the computer and accepting it as an incremental sale that otherwise wouldn't be made they choose to berate your choice of OS or repeat a bunch of ridiculous rumors or tell outright lies (the gun shop comparison) such as the ones I heard earlier this week. These people are not listening to what the customer wants. That's poor salesmanship. Sales staff in big box stores are under a lot of pressure to upsell extended service plans, AV software and the like. Likewise the little guys who work on an even smaller profit margin. This I understand. I just get tired of these people refusing to deviate from the playbook. This kind of reminds me of a co-worker's recent experience at Office Max. He needed a new laptop since his old one will be unusable after the police finally release it to him. It was stolen and found tossed in the grass the day after a heavy rain. The police won't release it to him because the serial # didn't match his box, which he thinks was cause by Geek Squad putting it in the wrong box after he took it to them for something. The police want to wait a "reasonable" amount of time to see if someone else comes in with a matching serial #, but they won't do anything to dry out the laptop (like put it in a bag of rice) until their "reasonable" amount of time was ended. Getting back on track, he bought a Toshiba laptop and the sales person kept pushing him to buy anti-virus software. When he told the sales person that he uses the Norton software provided to Comcast customers for free, the sales person tried to tell him that Comcast's Norton software only protected against threats on Comcast pages and that he needed additional anti-virus software to protect against threats from non-Comcast sources. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
While one visit to one particular shop is not representative of every computer store... With one exception every small operator or retailer (Staples) I've visited here has been less than forthright or downright hostile when it comes to the subject of Linux. I'm having trouble believing that lack of familiarity with the OS is the main issue. The real issue is reduced profit margins. Instead of selling you the computer and accepting it as an incremental sale that otherwise wouldn't be made they choose to berate your choice of OS or repeat a bunch of ridiculous rumors or tell outright lies (the gun shop comparison) such as the ones I heard earlier this week. These people are not listening to what the customer wants. That's poor salesmanship. Sales staff in big box stores are under a lot of pressure to upsell extended service plans, AV software and the like. Likewise the little guys who work on an even smaller profit margin. This I understand. I just get tired of these people refusing to deviate from the playbook. This kind of reminds me of a co-worker's recent experience at Office Max. He needed a new laptop since his old one will be unusable after the police finally release it to him. It was stolen and found tossed in the grass the day after a heavy rain. The police won't release it to him because the serial # didn't match his box, which he thinks was cause by Geek Squad putting it in the wrong box after he took it to them for something. The police want to wait a "reasonable" amount of time to see if someone else comes in with a matching serial #, but they won't do anything to dry out the laptop (like put it in a bag of rice) until their "reasonable" amount of time was ended. Getting back on track, he bought a Toshiba laptop and the sales person kept pushing him to buy anti-virus software. When he told the sales person that he uses the Norton software provided to Comcast customers for free, the sales person tried to tell him that Comcast's Norton software only protected against threats on Comcast pages and that he needed additional anti-virus software to protect against threats from non-Comcast sources. Can't say they lack imagination, anyways. There's a reason I largely ignore anything Best Buy employees tell me about anything computer-related. |
|
Best Buy employees? I just punch 'em in the face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYk0dQrz3uc |
|
Quoted:
Best Buy employees? I just punch 'em in the face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYk0dQrz3uc Now that's FUNNY! |
|
Quoted:
Best Buy employees? I just punch 'em in the face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYk0dQrz3uc I had the same experience last week at Best Buy. Set out to buy a copy of Windows 7 and decided I'd just buy a cheap PC instead. This was after they told me they wanted me to wait in line to be let into the computer section. I ended up buying an el cheapo HP at Wally World instead. |
|
Man goes ballistic at Best Buy, smashes iPad he's trying to return because "the muffugga told me the wi-fi be FREE!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wqf7TTV2Iw Now that his thread has been completely hijacked...
|
|
Quoted:
Man goes ballistic at Best Buy, smashes iPad he's trying to return because "the muffugga told me the wi-fi be FREE!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wqf7TTV2Iw Now that his thread has been completely hijacked... LMAO. I don't condone it, but I understand. 
|