The other day MSI’s Andy Tung told Laptop Magazine that netbooks running Linux were returned 4 times more often than netbooks running Windows. I took that admission with a grain of salt, because MSI is just one of a number of companies pushing Linux-based netbooks. And MSI is loading SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop on its MSI Wind U90 netbooks, while other companies like Acer, Dell, and Asus have chosen different distributions like Ubuntu, Linpus Linux Lite, and Xandros. So it was hard to tell if MSI’s figure was representative of anything other than MSI netbooks.

But Laptop Mag decided to follow up by asking Canonical’s marketing manager Gerry Carr about the situtation with Ubuntu-based netbooks. And Carr says that while he doesn’t have figures for Windows XP return rates, he does believe that netbooks running open source operating systems are returned more often than netbooks running Windows.

I wouldn’t go reading too much into this. It doesn’t mean that Linux isn’t as good or better than Windows in many ways. All it means is that people are returning netbooks running Linux more often than those that run an OS they’re probably more familar with. There could be any number of reasons for this.

  1. Some manufacturers may not be doing a great job of customizing their Linux distros to work with the hardware. For example, the MSI Wind U90’s webcam reportedly doesn’t work with SUSE.
  2. Netbook makers and retailers might not be doing as good a job as possible of letting people know that some netbooks run Linux, which is different from Windows. If you read the product description too quickly, or even look at a KDE 3.5-based menu system, you might not even realize that a netbook doesn’t run Windows until you get it home and discover that it doesn’t run Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger. Sure, there are alternatives, but many people just want their computers to run the software they’re used to.
  3. Some folks may even pick up a computer knowing that it runs an OS they’re not used to, but figuring it won’t be too difficult to learn, only to be stymied by little differences like the fact that you can’t necessarily install software the way you’re used to, or that you have to jump through some hoops you’re not familar with to install restricted source software like Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos.

So what’s the solution? Is it to offer Windows as the only option for netbooks? Of course not. But netbook makers who want to offer Linux as a low cost but powerful alternative to Windows need to do a better job of making sure the hardware is supported and that most of the features you want to work just work out of the box. And they need to do a better job of providing new and prospective customers with the information they’ll need to make the transition from Windows or OS X to Linux.

On the one hand, Asus and Acer have both decided to pre-load their netbooks with “easy” versions of their preferred Linux distributions. Users are greeted with a series of large easy to understand buttons and menus for launching internet, office, and other apps. But installing new applications or even keeping software up to date is much trickier.

I don’t see why Asus, Acer, Dell, MSI, and other companies offering Linux netbooks don’t include a short instruction manual in the box explaining some of the differences between Linux and Windows and providing a list of basic commands for whatever Linux distribution you’re using. There should also be help pages on the manufacturer website and/or links to community resources like Ubuntu.com and the Ubuntu Forums.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

6 replies on “MSI, Canonical: Linux-based netbooks returned more often”

  1. I might add that the only reason I am buying a Win XP machine is that it will be my primary computer. My Dell Inspiron 700m never worked right, so I’m going to toss it finally. Therfore, my ‘home computer’ will be one of these netbooks. If it wasn’t going to be my primary I might have gone for a Linux machine. Faster loading form SSD, less bloat, and just using Linux is attractive, but I have legacy software I’d like to run so I’m leaning to a Win XP machine.

  2. I will probably get a netbook with WindozeXP. Not only because Linux versions are often not offered in my country, but also because I expect to play a few Windoze games (that may not work well with Wine under Linux) on the machine. But for everything else beside gaming, I will employ a Linux LiveUSB to boot the machine. Linux FTW!

    1. sorry for saying that but buying a netbook to play games is just something really stupid. Get a PS3 with the same money and you will be able to play better games at full speed and full graphics. Paying 300-500 $ for netbook will be a disaster cause you wont be able to play games of the last 4-5 years at least. We are talking for a 1.6Ghz CPU and graphic cards that are low performance… Think again.

  3. Also, netbooks with Linux are outselling netbooks with Windows XP – so returns that are higher are to be expected – for a true descriptor we need sales to return ratio.

  4. For myself I will buy a Netbook with WIn XP, but for Christmas I was planning to buy my neice a Linpus Linux Lite Netbook for TWO reasons. Firstly, I don’t want her downloading tons of Win-apps to the hardware on a whim. Secondly, I want her to have some understanding of another OS, exploring her first computer in the same way I had to explore my first computrer in 1984. Maybe my plan is bonkers but if nothing else I’ll get a kids review of the device.

Comments are closed.