Vegard Engen wrote, a while back:
> I think we should all get together and increase vendor/dealer awareness in
> these things too. Next time you're in a gadget/HW shop and see something nifty
> that you're not sure is supported by Linux, *ask* the dealer. If he doesn't
> know, ask if he can find out. Come to think about it, ask him whether or not
> you know the answer beforehand, it will help educate him. And if he doesn't
> know, educate him. Only in this way can we let them know that there is demand
> for Linux supported hardware.
I do this, too, at least when I have time and energy to spare.
I always get one of two responses: "Lin-WHAT? Huh? Duh", which is a
cue that there's really no point in asking any more questions, or
"I have no idea, and you're the first person who's ever asked me that."
A lot of us tend to be fatalistic about salesfolk (at least I am),
knowing that there's no chance that a salesperson will actually know
anything about Linux; so we don't even bother to ask. The problem
is, that reinforces the view that no one really uses Linux and there's
no point in stocking Linux-compatible products or hiring salespeople
who can answer questions about it.
So I think it's better to ask. Don't expect that you're going to get
any useful information out of it, but nevertheless be friendly and start
up a conversation, rather than being antagonistic (WHY DON"T YOU IDIOTS
KNOW ANYTHING?, which I have to admit is often what I'm thinking
inside). If you know something does work, mention it (and that you
bought it for that reason). Sometimes when I get response #2, I
comment that yes, a lot of us just don't bother to ask because
salespeople don't know the answer (perhaps implying that the particular
one I'm talking to at the moment may be better than those others).
If enough of us do that, in a friendly way, eventually the message
will start to get through.
My husband and I had a long conversation once with two CompUSA
salespeople that way -- someone had posted here that CompUSA was selling
Vaio laptops preloaded with Linux, so I went to ask about it; of course
our local store wasn't doing any such thing and had never heard of such
a thing, but it turned out that both salesmen were interested in Linux
and thinking about taking classes to learn more about it, and we had a
good long chat about OS merits.
...Akkana
_______________________________________________
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe, use the last form field at:
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/linux-usb-users
