Ubuntu being sold retail by Best Buy. But will it stay?

The news is out that Best Buy is selling Ubuntu Linux retail for $19.95. It's a nice step forward for Ubuntu, but not for Linux. It used to be possible to buy Red Hat Linux and SUSE Linux retail. That's actually where I bought my first copy of SUSE Linux while working at Novell.

So, the real news isn't that it's being sold retail. The real news will be if it stays. Red Hat didn't see the value in keeping a retail distribution of Linux. Will Ubuntu?

[Penguinisto]

Funny enough, Canonical will ship you the same CDs for free if you go to their website and ask them to. IMHO, What they should have done is to ship Ubuntu in a box w/ a decent manual (not big, just precise and sueful), and sell it for the cost of the materials, the book, and 1 year of free phone tech support - call it $89.99 or so. The price range shows otherwise blind consumers that the thing is worth something (I know, strange, but ordinary consumers don't consider software valuable unless it has a somewhat good-sized pricetag on it - a perception thing), and it would provide the things that ordinary users would need the most - a helping hand towards transition.

[ArtInvent]

Well, the real real news would be if Best Buy is gonna do a lot of business selling for $20 something you can download for free in about 20 minutes and burn on a 5 cent CD.

[russkeller]

Ya know what I find funny. If it was sold for 100 bucks instead of 20 the public would probably take it more seriously. They can't wrap their heads around the idea that it's both free and quality. In normal life that just doesn't compute.

[feranick]

It's called visibility. It's true that you can download it for free, but honestly how many people actually know that? The casual shopper will find it in the store and might give it a try. I think this is a good thing. (As a side note, you get a manual together with the CD).

[amarkj]

How many "casual" shoppers will want to install Ubuntu on a computer?

[rcardona2k]

What games come with Ubuntu, again? Are there FOSS versions of Solitare, FreeCell and minesweeper? That's worth $20

[brass2themax]

This is a good way to get the word out about Ubuntu, but it also means BestBuy makes money on the deal, and it goes against everything the open source community stands for. It's a double-edged sword.

[carltonleesg]

As long as Canonical puts a flier in the box explaining that you can get newer versions for free by downloading from the internet or by requesting a mailer I think its a good thing.

("BestBuy makes money on the deal, and it goes against everything the open source community stands for.")

Nothing quite like being wrong!
I don't believe Best Buy is changing any code. The full source is available on the Internet. Minimal charges for distribution is happening.
All within community standards.

[slickuser]

LINUX SUCKS BIG TIME. Once everyone said its going to kill Microsoft and crap like that.

It didn't do a s&*#!!

Linux is for geeks!

[anon8mizer]

It's just a way to lure consumers to pay Best Buy's GeekSquad to install Ubuntu for them.

[bobsligh]

It's good to see it available in a retail location! I think it is just the correct time for it to be on the shelve for the general population. MS Vista dont have the best name for itself and this will be a welcome choice for consumers who don't want to hassle with all the MS registering and big business attitude. It's cheap it works and it will allow the public to go on line and do what ever is needed to do . I use it :o) I like it . Anyone who dont have it should get it and see for them selves!. down load it free or dont hassle with down load go to store and buy it . Cheers

[inachu]

If all flavors of Linux were on retail shelves I would buy them all just to get the experience of each. I bought Suse when it was on retail shelves and would love to see it back in retail again.

I would like to see a gaming version of linux made just for hardcore gamers.

[Seaspray0]

Ubuntu can be downloaded for free. But the funny thing... it's worth more than the $20. I'll even tell you how you can try it without "wiping out" your current operating system. Download software to create a virtual machine (even microsoft makes one you can use for free). It's not hard to use. Create a virtual machine and put ubuntu (or any other operating system of your choice) on it.

[bluemist9999]

It's definitely promising to see Ubuntu at Best Buy. But, as other posters observed, it can be very confusing for non-technical users. The most frequent question will be "Why won't XYZ run on Ubuntu?"

I would put a blunt warning on the box "You CANNOT use this with any PC programs --- only with the thousands of free programs available with Ubuntu"

While I know that, technically, that's a lie, it is less confusing to Joe Sixpack than trying to explain "Well, you can run these programs but not these other programs."

[rossstock]

If people walk into Best Buy and pay someone to install Ubuntu, then we're seeing real progress ... Vista is $4 gas -- it's hit a point where you're ready to do something different.

[gnomerules]

Most smart people won't buy Ubuntu at Best Buy. They'll shop at book stores instead. There are many books for Ubuntu or any other Linux distro, and most have a free install CD of the OS inside the book.