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In October, MSI's Director of US Sales delivered an interesting statistic that Linux netbooks were returned four times more often than Windows versions. It didn't seem, perhaps, an unreasonable number, but it was a bit ambiguous what data it was pulled from. I had speculated it was perhaps a market-wide number, pulled from other netbook manufacturers (and incorporating MSI's sales data on Linux netbooks internationally, as a Linux version of the Wind has not yet been released in the US).
Apparently that wasn't the case. I just came across a Laptop Magazine interview from late last month with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen. Shen says four million EeePC netbooks have been sold this year, with models offering pre-installed Windows versions rolling out in the later quarters. He says ASUS has found the return rates for the Linux and Windows models are similar. He also said that Linux has been quite popular in the European market.
As JKOnTheRun is covering, Asus is now offering its Eee PC? 900A netbook for $299 at Best Buy outlets, breaking the $300 price barrier. (The A stands for the Intel Atom chip inside.) This system runs a 1.6-GHz Intel Atom chip, and comes with Linux pre-installed on the 4GB SSD drive, with 1GB of RAM.
At this price point, these systems could be attractive as holiday gifts and more, although we've been covering the fact that some people have been returning their netbooks after buying them sight unseen. Check out more from JKOnTheRun.
Laptop Magazine talked to MSI's Director of US Sales, Andy Tung about the future of netbooks. Tung discussed future netbook sales and releases -- and presented the statistic that Linux-based netbooks are four times more likely to be returned.
jkOnTheRun reasons that this isn't terribly surprising. Considering the low price of Linux netbooks, and their rarity at larger retailers that might allow new users to kick the tires, it seems that many new users leap, then look.
The return rate of Linux netbooks is pertinent to both netbook manufacturers and Linux users, and is not limited to FOSS acceptance -- or the bottom line.
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Using virtual desktops in Linux.....
Firefox extensions for improved download management.....
Many more useful Firefox extensions.....
Can Google Chrome build an ecosystem?.....
Matt Asay: Digg uses Firefox to extend its reach worldwide. This looks like a good Firefox extension that adds web-wide Digg notifications. And it comes from Digg's Kevin Rose. For many more useful Firefox extensions, see our superguide....
The Open Source Census shows that half of PCs in a giant survey contained free open source software. There is a good slideshow about the results here.....
Is Google trying to push more of its applications into Netbooks (such as the sub-$400 Asus Eee PC laptops)?.....
Speaking of Asus' Eee PC laptops, they're now on sale at Target for $299 and $349.....
