Abbie Schubert’s Dell Ubuntu Blues: II
p2pnet news | Open Source:- Remember Abbie Schubert, the lady with Ubuntu-itis?
She bought a Dell laptop loaded with the Linux system and said she had to cancel two school sessions because she couldn’t figure out how to use it and therefore wasn’t able to go online, said p2pnet.
Her tale of woe was picked up by WKOW TV which reported, “Tens of thousands of people have read and commented on this story,” making it one of the most-read items in the station’s history.
Schubert says she never heard of Ubuntu until learning that she accidentally bought it, says WKOWTV, continuing she called Dell the next day and was told there was still time to change back to Windows.
But, “The person I was talking to said Ubuntu was great, college students loved it, it was compatible with everything I needed,” it has Schubert stating. “So she stuck with it but later found her Verizon High-Speed Internet CD wouldn’t load, so she couldn’t get online.”
Her problems, “drew several angry letters from Linux users to the television station, according to the station’s web site,” says Wired Campus, continuing »»»
Several insulted the student`s intelligence, and called the television station biased against Linux and technically inept. Perhaps it`s for the best that the young lady doesn`t attend college, said one of the letters to the station, I don`t think it would be a good fit for her.
Ms. Schubert told The Chronicle that reading such comments has been frustrating. I in no way intended to offend people who like the Ubuntu system, it`s just not what I wanted, she said. My issue is that I ordered this computer so that I could run with it, but I don`t want to spend more time and money learning how to learn a new operating system. I just think I was treated unfairly by Dell.
But Dell spokesman David Frink said Ubuntu isn’t a default option and, “customers must go out of their way to select it,” says the story.
He also pointed out when people choose Ubuntu, “Dell’s Web site warns them that the product is not Windows.”
On top of that, Schubert didn’t call Dell to complain, “until several months after her purchase, after the 30-day return period had lapsed,” Wired Campus has Frink stating.
However, two different Dell officials, “called Ms. Schubert,” and she now, “plans to take the online course this semester,” adds the post.
p2pnet – The Dell Ubuntu Blues, by Abbie Schubert, January 15, 2009
WKOW TV – Woman blames Dell for missing online classes, January 13, 2009
Wired Campus – Online Student’s Struggles With Linux Make Her an Online Celebrity, January 16, 2009
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January 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
how does an idiot who can’t figure out how to use a computer become top news?
(I am not pointing at p2pnet Jon, this story is everywhere, ‘oh woe is me’.. perhaps she shouldn’t go to college, she might have to figure that out too.)
January 19th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
“My issue is that I ordered this computer so that I could run with it, but I donât want to spend more time and money learning how to learn a new operating system.”
It’s entirely self explanatory. It requires no money and very little time. OpenOffice is identical to ms word in all the fundamental ways. Besides, if she had used ms office she should be familiar with the file->save menu; gawd, how difficult is it really?? It’s not rocket science, lol. In fact I’m pretty sure you could train a monkey to do it…
In regards to the cdrom for the network, well you don’t need that. There is a nice user friendly GUI to configure your network with. Most of the time it works without user intervention (using a pre-configured router which most people have these days). To be fair, it’s actually easier to setup ubuntu than it is with windows as there is no need to hunt the web searching for drivers (truly a god send).
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 am
“There is a nice user friendly GUI to configure your network with. Most of the time it works without user intervention (using a pre-configured router which most people have these days).”
That’s all well and good but the fact is some people have no idea what you are talking about. Linux is not known for being user friendly and while Ubuntu is improving on that problem, the problems of linuxs are still numerous. Many users don’t know how to configure much of anything on thier computer. The biggest mistake the tech industry makes is to ASSUME that people know what the hell they are doing or suppose to do or even how to find out how to do it.
February 21st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
If I ran Dell, I would swap her Ubuntu notebook for a Vista notebook.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
The thing there is that you REALLY need to go out of your way to order a linux-powered Dell laptop (I went through the process of searching them), there’s just no way you can “accidentally” order an ubuntu Dell laptop.
Also WTF do MATC REQUIRE M$ Office. Can’t they teach with Openoffice so that their students learn a suite that can be used (and uses the same UI) in all 3 major platforms. Or are they FORCED by M$ to only teach M$ products (not surprising, M$ uses drug dealer and mafia tactics in everything they do)?