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- inactive, on 07/08/2008, -18/+1060"Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates." - Ubuntu.com
- oddworld19, on 07/08/2008, -8/+876WORST GAME EVER!!!!
- Lane, on 07/08/2008, -12/+796Woo Hoo! this sounds awesome!! I just spent an extra $17 so it would be over-nighted! I can't believe it's so much cheaper than windows!
- tian2992, on 07/08/2008, -25/+485You know, it is actually legal to charge for Free (as in freedom) software. Read the GNU; as long as they provide the source, it is fine.
Still, really shoddy practice - inactive, on 07/08/2008, -0/+382Don't forget the extended warranty.
- neko, on 07/08/2008, -8/+278Funny, ... but it means people are seeing some value in it. Let them shell out $20 for it. They'll still be getting value for their money, even if they later find out they could have just _asked_nicely_ and have a free1 Free2 pressed CD delivered to their door.
- houndeyex, on 07/08/2008, -2/+266Hey, at least you're getting the COMPLETE EDITION. Not some ripoff online *****.
- stkindawierd, on 07/08/2008, -11/+250I think this is great. People have a perceived value of things, and it a capitalist society value is communicated through dollars. Best Buy does not cater to the profoundly tech-savvy Linux user, it caters to the average American who has probably never heard of Linux and does not know how to download and burn their own ISO, much less work in the terminal. As a result the perceived value is that operating systems are expensive to write and hard to install and configure, so there are $$ involved. Regardless of the reality, the perception to most people will be that Best Buy is charging a reasonable price.
If the average person who has this perception was to see Ubuntu for free and Windows for a fee then they will feel that they are getting more for their money with Windows, since no one can produce something comparable for free, right? In this sense Best Buy is doing Ubuntu a favor by establishing a market value relative to competitors. If consumers do in fact buy it at Best Buy's price then it proves the non-tech-savvy market perceives value in Linux.
Check out this article. http://digg.com/linux_unix/Linux_alternatives_to_A ... The author had this exact perception, but regarding Apple's Aperture and its Linux competition. The perception was that since Aperture is a commercial product there could not possibly be an open source and free alternative that could compete. To his surprise there is!
I only hope that Best Buy effectively communicates that the end user is not paying for the software (because it is free), but is actually paying for the services offered by Best Buy to install and configure it. - thehemi, on 07/08/2008, -10/+211Best Buy should give away retail shelf space for free, too?
- wanderson, on 07/08/2008, -1/+189You guys really need to read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html
"Many people believe that the spirit of the GNU project is that you should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you should charge as little as possible — just enough to cover the cost. Actually we encourage people who redistribute free software to charge as much as they wish or can. If this seems surprising to you, please read on." - Shocky, on 07/08/2008, -4/+174I want to read on, but your comment just stopped.
- SteelFrog, on 07/08/2008, -2/+164Can I use the Pricematch Guarantee on this?
- mynameistux, on 07/08/2008, -3/+151how dare you call it freeware, is open s...
never mind, too hard to explain. - inactive, on 07/08/2008, -3/+146I hope to god that you're joking. If you're not....you're an idiot.
- serend, on 07/08/2008, -1/+138It has always been legal to sell the media. The GPL explicitly states you can charge for delivery fees / processing fees and for the media its self, but the software on the media is of no charge.
- inactive, on 07/08/2008, -0/+127you read digg?
- virtualsnyper, on 07/08/2008, -8/+123what does it say about me if I actually get this reference...?
- jhandfield, on 07/08/2008, -1/+114Media costs, labor costs (CD presses have to eat, too!), shipping costs, markup for the manufacturer (ValuSoft), markup for the retailer (Best Buy)...
I would find it hard to argue that it's a bad thing to have Ubuntu out in retail outlets, even if it costs money. Think of how many more people might be exposed to it now that wouldn't have ever even known it existed before. - omarqaz7, on 07/08/2008, -1/+114I think you mean the GPL...
- Calibur, on 07/08/2008, -1/+108So... geek squad CAN install this? are they sure ? it requires a double click or two.
- ZeNiTH456, on 07/08/2008, -7/+107This might be a good idea for someone on dialup and doesn't know anyone on broadband who can burn a dvd for them.
I bought redhat years ago at BB because I didn't want to spend weeks to download on a 24k connection. - metaphyze, on 07/08/2008, -1/+90Sure. Sure. But at this price who can resist? I bought TWO!
- phoenixp3k, on 07/08/2008, -3/+90When you get to the Get Ubuntu page. You can BUY the OS and it's 12.99$ on Amazon.com / On Canonical Store the install DVD is £ 6.00
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/purchase - KillerSiafu, on 07/08/2008, -0/+85Finally zoidberg! You're becoming a crafty consumer!
- wolferz, on 07/08/2008, -7/+83Why would they want to? This is one more kind of idiocy that is holding Linux back.
Let me break it down for you. The average user doesn't know the difference between a modem and a computer. They con't know the difference between a cd and a dvd other than one is for music and the other is for video. They don't know the difference between downloading and installing.
Yes they could go online and download the ISO image. Of course first they need to know that the iso image is what they want... something that isn't always clearly marked. Then they have to burn it... but most just assume you can double click it like other downloads and, when that fails, don't know what else to do. When they find out that they have to burn it many will burn it as a file on the cd, rather than as an image to a cd.
Blank CDs cost money. Burning the cds takes man hours. Packaging CDs cost money in materials and man hours. It cost companies money to make Ubuntu available on cd.
Simply put this is another example of Linux users being unable to comprehend the limitations of the average user... never mind their needs. This is what makes each time a Linux fanboy calls Linux "desktop ready" so freaking laughable and pathetic.
Then there is the obvious fact that this gives Ubuntu exposure to the general public that it wouldn't get normally. Also a good thing... but as usual Open Source fanboys are showing up to say it's bad based entirely on ideological ***** that doesn't actually matter.
Linux has been being sold in stores ever since 1998 at least... though it is never advertised and rarely suggested by the salesmen. I purchased my first copy of Linux (Redhat 5.0) from a local software store for a lot more than 15 bux.
No matter how many different ways I look at this it remains a good thing. Get over yourselves for god sake and stop trying to hold Linux back with your petty bs. - L4WL3RS34L, on 07/08/2008, -1/+70To those that don't get it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gl2/2554310312/sizes/ ... - alpharaptor, on 07/08/2008, -3/+65the software is free, the cd's and box aren't
- abbathdoom, on 07/08/2008, -3/+62What is "Complete Edition"? Could this include legal codecs or something?
- dregin, on 07/08/2008, -0/+55And it is.... from ubuntu.com.
- akkibaba, on 07/08/2008, -0/+53Ubuntu.com will snail mail you a free CD. All you have to do is to go to www.ubuntu.com
- JamesDiggem, on 07/08/2008, -2/+55The real crime here is the damn 129.00 install fee!
- Phocion55, on 07/08/2008, -0/+52Excessive exposure to the Interwebs
- paradexes, on 07/08/2008, -0/+51The important thing is that Ubuntu is getting mainstream attention, at an extremely cheap pricepoint vs windows. Free makes best buy no money. But if they have an incentive to pit Windows against Linux this is it.
- mrrothstein, on 07/08/2008, -2/+51Does best buy offer a price match guarantee?
- n0odles, on 07/08/2008, -42/+91Ripping off customers as usual.
- drastik21, on 07/08/2008, -4/+53you prob don't have a gf
- intangible, on 07/08/2008, -0/+49Why buy one when you can buy two at twice the price?!
- inactive, on 07/08/2008, -4/+52Many people still judge software according to the maxim "you get what you pay for," and thus dismiss Linux by default purely based on the fact that it's "free". Maybe those same people will actually derive more value from it - and appreciation for it - if they pay money for it.
Edit: just saw stkindawierd's comment above me that says pretty much the same thing. My bad :( - Firehed, on 07/08/2008, -3/+49If you're going to be a pedant, it's the GNU GPL.
- noahhoward, on 07/08/2008, -3/+48"Publisher ValuSoft"
What? - paradigmx, on 07/08/2008, -3/+46It costs Best Buy money to pay their employees, it cost them to provide shelf space that could have been used for Windows Vista which would have made them more money, it costs them money to ship the OS.
$19.95 really is not a bad price all things considered.
the Install fee is a bit ludicrous, but people who know what they're doing won't need to pay that, and the people who don't know will notice that it costs less to buy Ubuntu and have them install it, then it would be to buy Windows Vista and have them install it - SpeedStix, on 07/08/2008, -2/+45oo.. that double click is tricky.. They might have to charge an extra 50$ per click.
- dchaosdx, on 07/08/2008, -10/+52Everyone here seems to think that since Ubuntu gives it away for free, that means that Best Buy, a BRICK AND MORTAR store, should GIVE their shelf space away, when they could put Windows, or some other PROFITABLE software in it's place? Best Buy is a business, i.e. they don't do things for free. Take a business class people.
- TheRealToma, on 07/08/2008, -3/+42No they cant. Its a freely distributable format, hence you can find LOADS of CDs on ebay and the like. Best thing you can do is stick up a little sign in the store with a message "Legally free to download. www.ubuntu.com"
and write a review on the site mentioning it as a legal free download. Unless, the BB version comes with a HowTo guide with Ubuntu. Then it might be worth it. - MacEnvy, on 07/08/2008, -1/+38That's the part that makes perfect sense - after all, have you ever seen Geek Squad? They charge $60 per hour, and since it'll take them 2 hours to install it (because they're Geek Squad) that's $120. The extra $9.99 is the "please don't steal my porn" fee for the data transfer from your old computer.
- intangible, on 07/08/2008, -1/+37*whoosh*
- trogdor282, on 07/08/2008, -2/+38Red Hat Linux was on store shelves for years - there's some dumb people out there that think free=worthless, and paying $20 makes them feel better.
- 83457, on 07/08/2008, -5/+40I'm confused. Isn't there an entire industry built around services and support of open source software? And Best Buy is doing something wrong how? As long as they aren't misleading customers then what's the problem?
- phibit, on 07/08/2008, -1/+36Them calling it "Complete Edition" is technically completely true. It's ***** marketing, but it's true.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't come with extra codecs, but maybe you can get the Geek Squad to install them (with the add/remove interface) for only $459.99. - Altotus, on 07/08/2008, -1/+35Well, funnier still, that Best Buy sees some value in it. Best Buy is not exactly part of the technological cognoscenti. For them to even put Ubuntu on the shelf, much less figure out that it isn't some sort of personal hygiene product, is truly amazing.
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