Abbie Schubert paid more than $1,100 for a Dell laptop hoping to enroll in online classes at MATC.
[…]
Schubert says she ordered her laptop online at Dell.com expecting to buy your classic bread-and-butter computer.
She didn’t realize until the next morning her laptop defaulted to the Ubuntu operating system.
“It’s been a mess,” she said. “I regret ordering the computer.”
Schubert says she never heard of Ubuntu before learning that’s when she accidentally bought. 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.
[…]
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.
#28, I think canceling two semesters worth of classes because of this is reason enough.
I’m sorry, your too stupid to own a computer.
1) You don’t need a CD to set up verison DSL. At the most you have to go to it’s web interface and configure it.
2) There are other things that work like office like open office. At the very worst you can buy crossover office which works great on ubuntu.
Linux is not for the stupid or those unwilling to learn.
Linux is like a tool chest. Windows is like having a hammer, a screw driver and a pair of pliers. Some people just don’t know what to do with a chest full of tools.
I think she just didn’t want to do these courses and if she absolutely had to have Windows, she could have bought an old copy of XP or a new copy of Vista.
FTA:
“Verizon says it will dispatch a technician to try to assist her accessing the internet without using the Windows-only installation disk. Verizon says its high-speed internet does indeed support Ubuntu, but some advanced features and installation disks clearly don’t work with Linux.
MATC also says it promises to accept any of Schubert’s papers or class documents using whatever software she has installed.
Schubert’s computer came with Open Office, a word processing software package that is compatible with Microsoft Word. She says she wasn’t aware it was compatible. MATC promised to show her how to save documents in compatible formats so she could enroll in online courses again.”
$1,100 for ‘classic bread-and-butter computer’???
What’s even worse than the fact that she can’t use Ubuntu is the fact that the news station thought this was news worthy. I guess tech ignorance is bliss when it comes to news reporting.
If I had the time I would offer to help her, I have the same internet provider and live less than a half mile from her home.
Just a cotton pickin’ minute here! She ordered the computer “online from Dell.com”. She already had internet access!
Stupid broad!
Yeah, it must be a bullshit story. In my experience on the Dell website, you really have to search to find the purchase options to specify that you want Ubuntu Linux as your OS. All the defaults are set to Vista.
And even if you end up with an Ubuntu system, setup is as easy (if not even easier) than Windows Vista. I’ve had no real trouble introducing folks to Ubuntu, even when they insist they only know how to use WinXP. Ubuntu is easier for XP users to handle than Vista seems to be.
This is a no brainer, and if poor Abbie can’t figure out the basic operation of Ubuntu (point mouse, click choices) or OpenOffice, she herself may have no brain.
I dunno, but I gave a Linux laptop to a friend who never owned a computer. She needs it for the web, calendar, e-mail, and to type up documents. If my friend, who is the most computer illiterate person I know, can operate the Linux box I gave her six months ago with no problem whatsoever, this woman’s problem was not that she did not have windows on the machine. I believe many ‘geeks’ call it PEBKAC, or an ID-10-T error.
funny thing is…$1100 is the cost for their top-of-the-line laptop right now (w basic warranty), and not their bare-minimum one. even if you add in the 3-year warranty cost AND assume tax for Texas, she still wasn’t scraping the bottom of the barrel. so why pick Ubuntu?
someone probably sent her a link to the page, and she zombied her way through it. once you’re in the linux selection section of the dell ordering, it doesn’t give you Vista as an option.
still doesn’t sound strictly legit. I’m with the “partied too hard” line of thinking.
>I’m sorry, your too stupid to own a computer.
Now that’s funny.
If I got a laptop and it was running something I’d never seen before, I’d be upset about it. I can’t believe the people on here who think everyone should adapt to Linux instead of the other way around.
Sure you can set things up without the CD, or run OpenOffice and so on, but that’s not the same thing,
I hope that “Abbie Schubert” is an alias. Imagine being an HR person and googling this name to find this article in 2 or 3 years. I can’t fathom this person getting a job that requires a computer in any way. That includes the ones at McDonnalds.
“Oh.. this cash computer doesn’t have windows on it. I can’t order this guy’s bic mac”.
I’m not overly surprised that the “news” team called Ubuntu and operating system, I am however surprised that they didn’t at least ask the station’s IT guys about more than just “pronunciation”.
They admit in the article and the video that OpenOffice is compatible with Word documents, and that the fracking college was more than willing to help this girl.
I’m picturing that this girl just called mommy and daddy and one of them, not knowing anything about computers either, just called the tv station because no one in that family apparently knows how to take responsibility for themselves.
I have an HP laptop, and got hit with the irony bug after installing Ubuntu Studio for mobile audio recording. The sound card refused to make a peep. Did I blame HP for using that sound card? NO! (OK, I kind of did 😉 ) I blamed myself for not fully researching the unit I bought before attempting to do something with it.
Come on, no OS is suitable for everyone. Quit shoving. Yes, you with the penguin flag. Quit it.
That said, this problem that this girl has is not really a problem. You telling me she bought a wrong OS and then had to drop out because of that? Come on, this is BS. Go change the freaking thing.
“Oh! I bought this laptop, and it doesn’t have Windows, and, oh no! I have to drop out of school! Now I’m scared! I cannot do anything, because I need Minesweeper! Solitaire! MS Paint!! Oh the humanity!!!”
#4,
Nerds tend to fail to close the deal because of the nice guy syndrome. Ive seen it over and over again, there is the girl willing ready and able, but the nerd fails to take the initiative and misses the opportunity.
Of course there are exceptions, but generally, the guy needs to take the lead, and nerds lack that quality.
The young lady must have different problems than what she is trying to tell us. Ubantu is a nice system. I tried it for awhile but did go back to WIN XP. If necessary though, I would have continued to use it. I suspect a friend recommended Ubuntu to her.
If she discovered that Open Office was on the laptop, she should have also discovered that it will open and save in Office formats. I still use OO even though I have a license for Office 2007 and have 2003 installed. I am thankful for the guys (and girls) at OO for making it available. And I do love that price.
I suspect something along the lines of using all her tuition to buy the laptop.
And yet, the linux fanbois still wonder why their precious OS hasn’t conquered the world.
Linux is literally the mirror image of OSX. While one is so easy to use you literally don’t need computer skills to use it; the other one is a nightmare for an end user.
I suppose the first Dell tech support Hell that she went through was the tour of India handoff play. The American Dell folks fixed her up with what she wanted. Has that happened to you? It has happened to me.
I’m with #4 on this one. If the pretty young lady had let nerds in her life, this tragedy would never have had to happen.
By the way, I think that station is way too fakey nicey-nice. It’s the only station that has ever put me on the air. They must have been so awed by my snarling for the camera that they keep airing the interview for days.
There are always some sort of prerequisite course(s), one needs to get into some class. This one should come with a “know what you’re getting yourself into, when ordering your 1st PC” prerequisite course. Or at least they should offer some technical counciling for PC newbies. Just as they have career counciling.
On second thought, this news item smacks of just plain old FUD against Linux. And you can guess who’s ultimately behind it. So one wonders just how true this story really is? And how well was it timed to effect Microsoft stock?
Most computer users don’t buy OSs, they buy brands. Even today, I would bet 75% of computer users have no idea that Windows is different then Mac. They know Mac is a different brand, but that’s it. Mention Linux and they will look at you like you have a second head.
The biggest retailer in the world couldn’t even move linux machines at less than $200.
The OS isn’t geared towards the average computer user. The market has long ago spoken.
If you like to make spaghetti by first growing wheat to mill into flour, so the noodles have that special appeal, then Linux is for you. If you prefer to spend twice the money for imported noodles from strange places with a lot of bragging rights to nothing special, then the Mac is your machine. If you just want a good plate of noodles like most other people eat, then your a Windows person. This girl doesn’t know how to cook and looked in the wrong cookbook because the chef she talked to was more interested in showing how much s/he knew rather than helping.
if you like making your own noodles and sauce, then Ubuntu/linux is fine. If you buy Kraft spaghetti kits for your consumption, then Microsoft products are for you. If you go to an expensive Itallian restaurant for your spaghetti, then get a Mac! you just need to know what suits your taste for computing.
As a side note, I have never heard of Ubuntu. I think that it’s ridiculous that she would drop out just because she couldn’t access the internet or Microsoft Word from her home. There are so many other ways she could get her studying done. Library, school library, friend’s house. She’s just being stubborn and spoiled on the luxury of technology at her home. There are plenty of students that don’t have the internet, let alone have a computer at their home.
All I can say is, “WOW!”
I run Windows at work and a mix at home: My Ubuntu 8.10 desktop (racked in as an my entertainment system to my analog TV and stereo), My Wife’s Acer XP media center laptop, my kids’ Averatec tablet running XP, and my WiBrain UMPC running Ubuntu 8.04 (proprietary drivers won’t let it go higher than there).
It sounds like my 7 year old and maybe my 4 year old know more about computers than this lady did when she bought her laptop.
Hopefully she decides to take that time off from college to learn Linux and then goes back. Really, it is a wonderful OS for anyone who is willing to “put their hands under the hood.”
L8R
Jamie
I kind of feel sorry for the people that are getting a bad impression of Linux. I have installed LinuxMint on my sister’s computer and she loves it. Though she realizes that it is not Windows XP, she likes having the entire Open Office Suite and the host of other programs such as CD/DVD Burning programs and her ability to send and receive her e-mail with ease with Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird. Though sometimes she calls me for some help or general questions, she says she is so glad that she has LinuxMint (Ubuntu) because she never has to worry about viruses. Dell is a very reputable company and I believe that they would have replaced her laptop in a heartbeep. Kind of makes you wonder what the real story here is?
To:
“Linux is not for the stupid or those unwilling to learn.
Linux is like a tool chest. Windows is like having a hammer, a screw driver and a pair of pliers. Some people just don’t know what to do with a chest full of tools.”
I say:
Why not buy and drive a Model-T ford? You’ll get all the ease of replacing any part with any tool you want. Good luck driving long haul.