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March 16th, 2007 05:00
support your customers by supporting open hardware
As an active member of the Linux and free software communities, I'm encouraged by Dell's renewed interest in supporting Linux as an operating system choice for Dell PC products. Our community is aware of the challenges that Dell and other OEMs face in bringing Linux to the mass market. Many of the same market dynamics that limit consumer choice also create disincentives for OEMs to do anything about it. Microsoft is going to continue their anticompetitive behavior. If they can't prevent OEMs from selling systems without Windows; if they can't impose harsh pricing penalties for those who do; and even if they are to be prevented from making advertising contributions to cooperative OEMs, they will simply move on to the next best way of funding their OEM advantage. It would be a disservice to Dell's shareholders for Dell to decline these Microsoft incentive programs.
The Linux community has grown leaps and bounds, but many of us still remember the last time that Dell caught the Linux fever and promised to bring consumers more choice, more competition, and more value. That was six years ago, and here we are again trying to guide Dell along a path that will ultimately lead to customer satisfaction, whether the customer wants Windows, Linux, or any other PC operating system. I filled out the survey, but the very questions on the survey lead me to believe that Dell is once again headed down a path that will lead to dissatisfaction and market failure. I don't want to see this happen again, for it would be as bad for Linux as it would be for Dell.
First, forget about providing paid support for Linux. We all know how poor Dell's software support is for Windows, so let's not go there with Linux. There are several Linux vendors with outstanding support services available at very reasonable prices. These companies pour money into Linux merely so that they can provide the best services for their customers, so leave the support to the folks that live and breathe Linux.
Next, it's nice that Dell is interested in ensuring that their products are Linux-compatible for those customers who wish to use it, but in the Linux world, hardware support is really a very simple matter, no matter which distribution we're talking about: if the hardware has open specifications, then it will be supported. The kernel development community has made it clear to hardware vendors that we will provide no-charge development and maintenance of quality device drivers so long as the vendor makes specifications available, even under NDA. We can ask nicely, we can bend over backwards, and we can attempt arduous reverse-engineering projects, but in the end, if the hardware vendor doesn't want to tell anybody (even Microsoft) how to operate their products, then there's nothing we can do. These companies are simply selling defective hardware, and you don't need to look much further than Vista to realize that closed specifications aren't just a problem for Linux.
The only way for Dell to ensure that its customers are able to use their products with their choice of software, with today's software and tomorrow's software, is to ensure that all of the hardware that Dell markets has open specifications. As long we have hardware whose functionality is documented, we can make it work. If we have hardware whose function is cloaked in secrecy, then we are at the mercy of the hardware vendors. I urge Dell to engage hardware vendors about providing open specifications. They should probably start with the graphics and wireless network vendors.
Dell obviously realizes the inconvenient truth that anyone can sell a Windows PC for razor-thin margins. Big screens and fast CPUs are always nice, but what consumers really want today is better software. We want reliable and efficient software that's easy and fun to use, and we want a comprehensive desktop experience right out of the box. While computers are getting faster and more capable than ever, we are still getting the same crufty and bare-bones selection of software we've been getting for well over a decade. It's frustrating, expensive, inefficient, and often unreliable. We want something better. We deserve something better. But there is nothing better because the hardware vendors won't tell anyone how their hardware works, and they won't provide magic black-box drivers for anything other than the dominant software platform.
I often say that free software is about choice. But in truth, everybody wants choice, and everybody wants to feel empowered. Dell exploded from a small system integrator to a multinational PC giant primarily by offering customers an unprecedented amount of choice in customizing their hardware. Thanks to Dell, finding the hardware that's right for the individual consumer is easier and more affordable than ever, with most other OEMs following Dell's lead in this respect. Now its time for Dell to do for software what it did for hardware. Give us an unprecedented amount of choice in what software we are able to use by giving us open hardware.
The Linux community has grown leaps and bounds, but many of us still remember the last time that Dell caught the Linux fever and promised to bring consumers more choice, more competition, and more value. That was six years ago, and here we are again trying to guide Dell along a path that will ultimately lead to customer satisfaction, whether the customer wants Windows, Linux, or any other PC operating system. I filled out the survey, but the very questions on the survey lead me to believe that Dell is once again headed down a path that will lead to dissatisfaction and market failure. I don't want to see this happen again, for it would be as bad for Linux as it would be for Dell.
First, forget about providing paid support for Linux. We all know how poor Dell's software support is for Windows, so let's not go there with Linux. There are several Linux vendors with outstanding support services available at very reasonable prices. These companies pour money into Linux merely so that they can provide the best services for their customers, so leave the support to the folks that live and breathe Linux.
Next, it's nice that Dell is interested in ensuring that their products are Linux-compatible for those customers who wish to use it, but in the Linux world, hardware support is really a very simple matter, no matter which distribution we're talking about: if the hardware has open specifications, then it will be supported. The kernel development community has made it clear to hardware vendors that we will provide no-charge development and maintenance of quality device drivers so long as the vendor makes specifications available, even under NDA. We can ask nicely, we can bend over backwards, and we can attempt arduous reverse-engineering projects, but in the end, if the hardware vendor doesn't want to tell anybody (even Microsoft) how to operate their products, then there's nothing we can do. These companies are simply selling defective hardware, and you don't need to look much further than Vista to realize that closed specifications aren't just a problem for Linux.
The only way for Dell to ensure that its customers are able to use their products with their choice of software, with today's software and tomorrow's software, is to ensure that all of the hardware that Dell markets has open specifications. As long we have hardware whose functionality is documented, we can make it work. If we have hardware whose function is cloaked in secrecy, then we are at the mercy of the hardware vendors. I urge Dell to engage hardware vendors about providing open specifications. They should probably start with the graphics and wireless network vendors.
Dell obviously realizes the inconvenient truth that anyone can sell a Windows PC for razor-thin margins. Big screens and fast CPUs are always nice, but what consumers really want today is better software. We want reliable and efficient software that's easy and fun to use, and we want a comprehensive desktop experience right out of the box. While computers are getting faster and more capable than ever, we are still getting the same crufty and bare-bones selection of software we've been getting for well over a decade. It's frustrating, expensive, inefficient, and often unreliable. We want something better. We deserve something better. But there is nothing better because the hardware vendors won't tell anyone how their hardware works, and they won't provide magic black-box drivers for anything other than the dominant software platform.
I often say that free software is about choice. But in truth, everybody wants choice, and everybody wants to feel empowered. Dell exploded from a small system integrator to a multinational PC giant primarily by offering customers an unprecedented amount of choice in customizing their hardware. Thanks to Dell, finding the hardware that's right for the individual consumer is easier and more affordable than ever, with most other OEMs following Dell's lead in this respect. Now its time for Dell to do for software what it did for hardware. Give us an unprecedented amount of choice in what software we are able to use by giving us open hardware.
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Teuniz
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March 24th, 2007 10:00