ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange

Recently there have been quite a few news stories about the return rate for Linux netbooks, including Kristin Shoemaker's Linux Netbook Returns: Not Surprising, but Likely Avoidable. Those of us who work with Linux and open source tend to forget that often for the average American consumer, open source is still a relatively abstract concept.

If you don't work in IT, hate reading manuals, and only use computers for specific tasks, such as email, shopping, and paying bills online, you probably don't want to spend an evening figuring out why your printer won't work with your new Acer Aspire One. Kristin points out:

"More netbooks -- Linux, or otherwise -- in "standard" retail outlets could reduce the return rate, if only because buyers could see, feel, and try out, even just briefly, the hardware and the software. The product is tangible, the software is right there, and the abstract idea of "Linux" is given a solid form."

Many of the bloggers point out that retailers need to provide netbooks in stores where consumers can get hands-on experience with them before heading to the checkout counter. I hope the retailers are listening.

We haven't had Microsoft products in our house for years now, so my daughter is accustomed to a learning curve when trying new programs. She was delighted to receive an Acer Aspire One for her 12th birthday this week. She opened the box and was off and running. She hasn't cracked open the owner's manual even once, and hasn't needed any help from me to figure out how to use the built-in webcam, or anything else, for that matter. Her only comments have been that it's incredibly small (or as we like to call it – fun sized), the battery charge doesn't last long enough (although I don't think she has any concept of time), and "they sure seem to like penguins – they are in every game."

My offspring inherited my avoidance of reading manuals, but has had no problem figuring out her new netbook without the help of instructions. For that matter, it took less time for me to get the printer working on her netbook than it did when I got my Mac (and I didn't crack open a manual or get online help, either).

As the bloggers are pointing out, it's all about expectations. Consumers will have to be a little less lazy when researching their purchases, and they might even – gasp – have to read the manuals. And retailers need to do a better job of presenting these new products, too.

Probably, with a just a little tweaking in the mindset of consumers, and a better job of marketing these netbooks, return rates will drop noticeably. In these economic times, people are increasingly opening their minds to less-expensive alternatives, and netbooks are pocketbook friendly, in addition to being "fun sized."

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