On 2009‒01‒13, ABC’s WKOWTV posted a news story and article, where Abbie Schubert, a student enrolled in online courses at Madison Area Technical College bought a Dell computer with Ubuntu and blamed Dell, Ubuntu, and GNU–Linux for having to abandon her semesters. ABC writes:
She didn’t realize until the next morning her laptop defaulted to the Ubuntu operating system.
…
Her Verizon High-Speed Internet CD won’t load, so she can’t access the internet. She also can’t install Microsoft Word, which she says is a requirement for MATC’s online classes.
As a result, with no internet and no Microsoft Word, Schubert dropped out of MATC’s fall and spring semesters.
While first reading this article, I felt sympathetic for the student. I don’t anymore.
Ordering a PC with Ubuntu requires either awareness or negligence:
- On Dell’s front page, hover your cursor over the drop‐downs for
Desktops
or Laptops & Mini
and select the option for Open‐Source PCs
, despite the flashy image–links’ prominence. This brings you to Dell’s Ubuntu page.
- Ignore the warnings like
Not sure Open Source is for You?
and The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don’t get a Windows® operating system. If you’re here by mistake and you are looking for a Dell PC with Windows, please use the following link.
- Ignore the description, with its own warnings like
may not be compatible with the same software applications and hardware as Windows operating systems
.
- Go through the typical web‐based configuration process, explicitly clicking
Ubuntu
, not noticing the selection options for Operating System
, which again says Ubuntu
. Ignore the Review
screen which again says Ubuntu
and click continue anyways
. Add the item to your cart and again ignore the Ubuntu
.
- While confirming your purchase email, ignore the information.
Is that really insufficient notice? Then, Abbie Schubert’s particular case also requires the following:
- Not using alternatives, such as library computers (which her campus had).
- Not requesting help from her peers or the Linux community.
- Attempting to use wireless drivers in a CD explicitly for Windows.
Users accustomed to Windows find switching difficult, so I am sympathetic towards her confusion after the purchase. But I do object to her—or, more likely, only ABC’s—eagerness to blame Dell and Ubuntu.
The article itself rings of bias. For example:
[Ubuntu is] extremely popular with certain circles of computer users because it’s free.
Or perhaps because it is better? Even Dell makes buying computers with GNU–Linux difficult and more expensive; many if not most GNU–Linux users buy a PC with Windows and then install GNU–Linux.
Here is another:
But it is not Windows, and what works on Windows doesn’t always work on Ubuntu.
…and vice versa, perhaps?
At 1:35 of the Youtube movie, notice the ABC reporter: […] Ubuntu might look a lot like Windows, but it sure doesn’t act like it
accompanied by a carefully‐chosen screenshot of an error in Firefox.
ABC’s implicit and explicit accusations that Dell forced her to use Ubuntu likely border on slander.
She called Dell the very next day and says the representative told her there was still time to change back to Windows.
But she says Dell discouraged her.
“The person I was talking to said Ubuntu was great, college students loved it, it was compatible with everything I needed,” said Schubert.
The question arises: what conversation preceded that quote? I highly doubt the representative said that randomly.
ABC also writes:
She also says Dell claimed it was now too late to get Windows and any changes she made herself would void her warranty.
…perhaps because that is their policy?
“Claimed” overtly suggests misinformation or fabrication. Dell certainly does not have a reputation for sincerity and integrity, but ABC has a reputation for providing information that is deliberately misleading.
Whether Abbie Schubert deliberately created Microsoft’s new‐found marketing weapon or ABC warped her story for mass‐appeal (I find the latter more probable), her issues are a direct result of her choice in purchase.
I wish her luck in her next semester.
