Re: OT: Linux on Walmart's systemless computers
On Monday 15 April 2002 05:46 am, Shawn McMahon wrote:
> begin ben quotation:
> > libertarian, but i've got to give credit where credit is deserved. the
> > next step is to for all of us who really give a shit to ensure that
> > walmart offers equivalent proportionate discounts wherever it markets
> > those machines, and, more, to encourage walmart to offer those savings to
> > everyone anywhere, all over the world.
>
> If they do that, they won't make a profit on the machines. If they
> don't make a profit, they will stop selling them, and this will be seen
> by the press as "further proof" that Linux can't make it.
>
> It is in our best interest that Wal-Mart make a profit on those
> machines. Selling them for less than they cost to build won't help us.
>
> Unless, of course, somebody convinces Wal-Mart to sideline in the
> "selling machines to geek charity cheap" business. They'd expect that
> to lose money, and wouldn't cancel things when it met those
> expectations. But somebody would have to fund that, and if you want it
> to run Debian you'd have to move fast, otherwise RedHat or SuSE would
> end up running the show, since they have their own money. The beauty
> is, if it's successful, you could possibly get RedHat to contribute,
> even if it were running Debian, because a rising Linux tide lifts all
> boats.
by that response, you really prove that you have no clue whatsover about what
drives the profit machine. it's not about raw cost versus median price. it's
about whatever price a given market can afford. economics 101. check out
holland, the netherlands, where--pre ec--because the dutch had no homegrown
auto industry, the u.s., the british, the japanese, and the germans were in
such intense competition to grab the market that cadillacs, jaguars,
toyotas, and bmw's were available through the 80's and 90's at prices
american, brit, japanese, and german dealers couldn't possibly match in their
own territory. sale by volume generates presence in the market. walmart, if
they're smart, stands to achieve the same, primarily because they are the
first to offer pc architecture independent of any cumbersome allegiance to
any prior licensing agreement. have you been paying any attention to the
market process that determines the quality of your life--that is, assuming
you live in the u.s? if so, are you really unaware of how much money you and
i and all of us pay to market coca-cola around the world, under the guise of
opening up foreign markets? the reason that u.s. manufacturers locate their
manmufacturing plants in other countries is because it costs less to do the
job over there, so that they can return higher premiums to their
shareholders, not so that they offer the product to you for less. wake the
fuck up. the more people take advantage of what walmart is offering, the
longer the offer will remain available, but once the offer seems to generate
independent revenue, the sooner it will be appropriated as a revenue earner.
get a grip, kid. most of your favorite stores are quite content to break
even. credit means way more than profit. always has, always will.
ben
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