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Best Buy to sell boxed version of Ubuntu Linux
If you happen to walk into a Best Buy this week you may spot some new software peeking out from the shelves, as Canonical recently announced it has entered into an agreement with the retail chain to sell boxed copies of its popular Ubuntu operating system at stores across the nation.
For the low price of $19.99 you’ll get a copy the Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 Linux distribution. Of course, the exact same version is available at no charge from Ubuntu’s web site and you can even get it on CD from Amazon.com at $12.95, but the Best Buy offering includes 60 days of phone support and an installation guide. With this, Canonical hopes to reach users who are unaware of Ubuntu, cannot download the software, or need a helping hand with the process of installing an operating system.
This is not the first time a Linux distribution has been available as a boxed product, though, as both Red Hat and SUSE Linux have been available at retail stores in the past to no avail. Whether Ubuntu’s user-friendliness and relatively low price point will help it succeed where others have failed remains to be seen.
For the low price of $19.99 you’ll get a copy the Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 Linux distribution. Of course, the exact same version is available at no charge from Ubuntu’s web site and you can even get it on CD from Amazon.com at $12.95, but the Best Buy offering includes 60 days of phone support and an installation guide. With this, Canonical hopes to reach users who are unaware of Ubuntu, cannot download the software, or need a helping hand with the process of installing an operating system.
This is not the first time a Linux distribution has been available as a boxed product, though, as both Red Hat and SUSE Linux have been available at retail stores in the past to no avail. Whether Ubuntu’s user-friendliness and relatively low price point will help it succeed where others have failed remains to be seen.
User Comments (5)
Post a comment| nirkon on July 10, 2008 11:05 AM | You can get the CD for free as well... you don't need to buy one from Amazon. Just go on their site and order a free CD (it will take a while)... but I did get mine after like 5 weeks... It wasn't big on my agenda to install Ubuntu so I had no problem 'waiting' that long 
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| rlycl on July 10, 2008 6:14 PM | Originally posted by nirkon: It wasn't big on my agenda to install Ubuntu so I had no problem 'waiting' that long As a bonus you will receive 60 day phone support and Installation Manual. Call in a phone support call to the alternative and you will spend more than 20 dollars for that call alone.
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| nirkon on July 11, 2008 2:32 AM | Originally posted by rlycl: I would think that it would be evident that the store version wouldn't be for those not minding the wait. Plus the fact alone that Best Buy is going to give the public a 20 dollar alternative to that other mainstream OS should generate some serious interest. No more Virii, no more browser hijackers, no more beta testing an operating system after purchasing the final release.... Too many benefits to name. As a bonus you will receive 60 day phone support and Installation Manual. Call in a phone support call to the alternative and you will spend more than 20 dollars for that call alone. Not relating to the fact you have to pay for it. I am using Ubuntu right now as I am typing this message, I have been a windows user for a long long while... and well there were a handful of problems after I first installed this OS (Also I heard from some users that the kernal that ubuntu 8.04 uses has some freezes and the problem has not been fixed). At first I didn't know how to partition the drive because the Ubuntu partitioner was very confusing. After about 3 reinstallations I finally got the partitions I wanted. Then, I had some trouble with flash, nvidia drivers, and audio (as well as the fact that if you launch an application that has the capability of playing Audio, you can not use another program at the same time to play anything, for example, I listened to some music using that RythmBox music player, I then stopped the music so I could watch a youtube video, but to no avail, no sound, not until I quit rythmbox and restarted Firefox, I did find a work around for it... but its defiantly NOT something an average user can do) The phone support will probably be the life-saver for most people.. although in my opinion getting the OS to run at least for very basic usages shouldn't be that much of a hassle.
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| Julio on July 11, 2008 3:03 AM | The added phone support is a mandatory inclusion to justify the box price. That said, the big news here is the kind of exposure Ubuntu will receive as a result. Now to see if those will sell... Best Buy is known to relegate its PC software and games shelves to less relevant areas of the store.
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| nirkon on July 11, 2008 4:12 AM | Originally posted by Julio: The added phone support is a mandatory inclusion to justify the box price. That said, the big news here is the kind of exposure Ubuntu will receive as a result. Now to see if those will sell... Best Buy is known to relegate its PC software and games shelves to less relevant areas of the store. Yup, I think you're right, funnily enough, I bet that having ubuntu at a store for a price will encourage people who have never heard of it and want to try it out to actually go to ubuntu's website and download their copy! (which is still good news )
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