Why not linux?

Our understanding of personal computer is evolving at an ultra fast pace, the advent of mobile computing and the “tablet” revolution have changed the way we live and interact with each other, however, I don’t think that the “Tablet era” will last that long, still our home PC will survive if not prevail.

Let’s analyse a few major facts:

The so called recession has already had a wide impact on people from many different categories and background starting from the lower class and proceeding to the top.

We live in a particular time, time where our money has no longer the value it had 5 years ago’ and our wages no longer permit us to buy this and that or have dinner out twice a week.
In this particular time not everyone can afford buying what the big brands worldwide dictate is our need.

Let’s say that from this point of view most of the people living today in UK are facing the fact of asking themselves:

Can I afford this?

This general crisis, this financial breakdown, this “recession” or whatever we want to call it is still on and it is not going to end any time soon.

Now, speaking in terms of personal computing, what are the choices the average people will have?

Today, for many of us, when asked what is the best gadget they own, the answer is a mobile phone.

In recent years mobiles have gone through a massive metamorphosis changing from a simple object to make phone calls and send basic text messages in so called “smart” devices that act as a camera/camcorder/alarm/clock/weather station/radio/music and video player/navigator & GPS/web browser and so on, truly an alternative to a desktop PC or a laptop.

Sure it is all great stuff but there are limitations too, screen size is at the top, mobiles cannot compete with laptop and desktop PC on that, followed by the lack of a physical keyboard and a few more other glitches that make people thinking of a mobile phone more for a casual and “recreational” use rather than for “production”.

However, the reality is that mobiles are now so powerful that are starting to overtake some of our computers, it is also true that people spend more time on mobile than anything else.

Saying so, if a choice arises, (buy a new mobile or a tablet), most of the people would most certainly prefer to buy a new powerful and ultra portable mobile device with a screen size of 5” or higher rather than a chunky tablet which has the very same functions of our mobile if not less.

So Why have two of the same kind?

Most probably this very same people would like to switch to a more convenient device such as a laptop or a desktop computer with a full keyboard once reached the comfort of their home.

So we will have a great looking and fast processing mobile for all day out and an average good computer for home and business use.

The home computer could be both a desktop or a laptop and obviously can be used to edit and create Office documents and spreadsheets, also to edit photos, watch videos and for all the many other tasks as for the daily routine with the comfort of a full tactile keyboard, a web cam etc.

Where could a great UK retail chain be unique in all this?

What about being the first retail chain to sell Linux OS based computers for the masses? As we stand now, when we go to buy a laptop or desktop computer in stores such as PC World we are never asked what operating system we would like to have on it.

We have seen how well has the general public reacted to the now famous Raspberry Pi Linux based project board mini computer, not to mention the worldwide reaction to the Android Operating System which again has its roots from Linux, or Chrome OS, the Operating System on board of the Chromebooks made by Google….still a Linux derivative.

What makes Linux so magic?

The answer can vary. Many says it’s because is a free Operating System and literally free of charge, so no need to pay for it nor to pay to upgrade to newer versions, others says is the best reasonable Operating System almost completely free from Viruses.
Some others even like the fact that is a light OS and boots way faster than any other OS around, ultimately, it can run from a CD, (no need to install), and runs fine even in old low specs computers.

Among the hundreds of different flavours of Linux, (called “distros”), Ubuntu is the King of them and the most used for both private and commercial platforms.

Ubuntu is a great Operating System, is maintained by “Canonical”, a community of hard workers that develop and port software and drivers to Linux keeping it alive, Canonical has the done an amazing job on this and has frequent upgrades and patches to all its Ubuntu versions.

A sign that Canonical is doing the right thing is that big names such as HP, Dell and Intel and Lenovo have all partnered with Canonical.

In this days we hear about Canonical and Ubuntu also for their ingress into mobile phones and mobile OS platform, but today we are not here to talk about this, today we want to talk about Ubuntu OS as an alternative to Windows and Mac.

Among the free software that you can find on Ubuntu repositories are worth to mention Libre Office, (similar to Open Office), with which you can open and edit any word, excel, PDF, power point and more other documents formats. The Gimp is a image manipulation software similar to Adobe Photoshop, VLC is a video Player that plays almost any video and audio codec, Skype for VoIP calls, drop box for cloud based file storing and sharing, Firefox, Chrome, Opera web browser are all part of Ubuntu software. There is lots more software ready to download free from the “Ubuntu Software Centre”.

I have run both windows and Linux in work environments and can tell you I prefer the last with no hesitation, no hassle and half of the money to pay for support.

Today IT managers worldwide are shifting their Microsoft NT /2000 / XP / 7 servers in to Linux distributions, at only the cost of the shipping of new machines to replace old and obsolete ones as the OS doesn’t require licensing and the maintenance is not even a third of that required by Microsoft windows based products.

Any emerging UK retailer in electronics could make history by being the first retailer to accept the fact that there is more than Windows and Mac, specially in this moment of crisis, when people have doubts on spending the precious savings, This retailer could stand out from the crowd and start selling it’s own line of inexpensive, high quality computers running Ubuntu Linux, this could be the good average home PC mentioned before, the one to have at home when not on mobile.

Ubuntu and Linux in general is an impressive and a very reliable Operating System and it doesn’t cost a penny, it can be copied on to disk, re installed, re distributed, it is free in the very sense of the word itself.

Ten years ago’ only “nerds” were using Ubuntu or other linux distros, five years ago’ already many universities and government agencies worldwide had adopted Linux. Today Linux and especially Ubuntu is widely used either for home and for business, already some some retailer have started selling online the so called “Ubuntu Machines”, among the others DELL has been offering Ubuntu pre loaded computers to buy on line since 2007.

What next?

Find an Asian manufacturer’s of good average computers and cut a deal to have three exclusive models for this new UK Retailer only and commit to buy large quantities to have the lowest price still maintaining a high quality product. Also agree with manufacturer’s on matters such as support, spares, unsold or returned goods

“The new UK Retailer PC Line has to offer amazing specs for incredibly low prices”

·         STUDENT EDITION

A 13″ display, 64 bit OS – laptop, intel core i3 processor, 4 GB Ram, Wi fi, blue-tooth, web cam, 500 GB sata hard drive, USB 3.0, VGA / HDMI for everyday tasks, running the latest Ubuntu Desktop Edition.

Target price to the public around 189 pounds

·         SERVER EDITION

A 15″ display 64 bit OS – desktop, intel core i5 processor, with gigabit Ethernet, 8 GB ram, USB 3.0, VGA / HDMI, 1TB Sata hard drive in combination with 256 GB SSD hard drive for the OS, DVD/RW, dual extraction fan cooling case for business environments running on the latest Ubuntu Server Edition.

Target price to the public around 349 pounds.

·         HARD CORE EDITION

A 17″ display, 64 bit OS – laptop, intel i7 core processor, 16 GB Ram, Wi Fi, blue-tooth, web cam, 500 GB SSD hard drive, USB 3.0, VGA / HDMI, DVD/RW and high specs video card for media workers and gamers alike, running the latest Ubuntu Desktop Edition.

Target price to the public around 499 pounds

Who is the target user / buyer? Anyone really, Ubuntu very friendly interface can be used from many different categories of people:

– primary / secondary schools can buy to teach computing from basics to art and media to children

– College and Universities students can buy an affordable Linux laptop for their studies

– Grown up Adults can buy a desktop version as a “family PC” and media player

– Small and medium business can buy a server edition for accountancy and everyday office tasks

To finish off I envision great reviews from magazines such as Tech Radar, PC World, Cnet, Wired, Engadget, PC Pro, BBC Technology, Computer Shopper and more.
This is very important as a good articles written by such names in news channels will be read by the masses through their mobile applications, paper magazines and web sites, not to mention it will create enormous interest and curiosity among the general public driving more people to their shops.

All the Linux hard core and general technology blogs & forums would mention such a great novelty as no one else has ever enter in this territory, thus creating even more “momentum” for the new UK Retailer establishment. As a side dish this new retailer would also sell accessories for the Linux PC line, (mouses, keyboards, web cams, joysticks and game pads, Wi Fi dongles, routers, etc.), this to maximise the sales, create more footpath and returning customers.

This new UK retailer would also have to organise a great advertising campaign through the usual media channels including a proper web site and the major social networks.

Who wants to be the Pioneer..?