Justin Smith, head of team Computer Centers USA
We are an independent computer shop in Fort Myers, FL. We do all sorts of service and sales of new and used PCs. Our store recently went through a change in ownership. The former owner used to use Windows for every PC we built, and sometimes 'forgot to mention' the cost of Windows when quoting a new PC for someone, only to have them forced to pay the not insignifigant 'blood money,' for without it they wouldn't be able to use this new computer they just shelled out hundreds to thousands of dollars for, right?
The old owner didn't know much about Linux, but did know thqat alternative operating systems existed, and that they were free, but then ofcourse he wouldn't sell another copy of windows, now would he?
When the new owner moved in he got rid of almost all of the old staff and brought ina lost of new people. Included in the people he brought in were people who were big supporters of the Free Software movement, including myself. We have now started offering and even advertising the availability of a number of Linux operating systems. We have also started to try and get everyone to purchase a support contract from us as opposed to having to pay for labor by the hour, which at $85 to $95 / hour can add up. Even if your computer only needs to come to us once a year, the amount paid that one time more often than not exceeds the amount the service contract would be. We start the contracts at $18 / month, which comes to $216 / year, all labor included. In the pay by the hour when something breaks system, the labor alone can often exceed that if your computer needs something serious fixed. The hardware pales in comparison to the cost of labor, and of course the service contracts do not apply to hardware, although if you purchase a PC we built, we warranty the hardware for 3 years automatically, so the model of the service contract ends up being better for both us and our customers.
The introduction of various distributions of Linux to our offerings for operating systems on new PCs in addition to the addition of technicians not only passionate about Free Software, but also very skilled in servicing Linux machines and our service contracts have somewhat evened the playing field. Finally, the customer has a choice and is not stuck hoping their computer doesn't break down because they can't afford to get it fixed. Never again, in our shop at least will a customer be surprised with the price of Windows when trying to pick up their PC and being caught completely unaware, expecting it to be automatically included.
What these customers do not realize and what we try to inform them of is that they do not need Windows, and that it is not included 'free' when they purchase an E-Machine, Gateway, etc... the cost of Windows is already factored into the cost of their PC. Though the bigger companies may have to pay less for the license than we do, almost every time an average consumer buys a PC they are, knowingly or not, paying for Windows, forced to pay Microsoft because they believe there to be no alternative.
What we aim to do is simple, we get so many customers who have no idea they even have a choice, and on the off-chance that they had heard of linux before, they think that they can't do what they need to do with it either because, "You need to be some sort of computer genius to use that, doncha?" or "Oh yeah, it may be free, but it can't do what Windows to do.
We still have to support Windows based computers and we still offer Windows on new builds, but we do everything we can to make sure that every customer we get at least knows that they have a choice, a very viable and inexpensive choice, as a matter of fact. We just want to make sure that everyone who's computer we service, and everyone we sell something to at least knows what is out there, and that they can do if not everything, almost everything in Linux (sometimes better) that they could using Windows.
We will have special demos and give out free live cds on Free Software Day, along with other things that are in the works. [More to come on the actual event]
But it is not really about Free Software Day, is it? No, it is about Free Software, and making sure the general public, or at the very least, our customers know about it, just that they know that they do have a choice. If they still want to use Windows, we do not push our beliefs on anyone, we just want everyone to know that it's out there, and we do our part to ensure that.
Email: <justin AT SPAMFREE computercentersusa DOT com>
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