Study explains how retailers stop Linux from entering the market

<http://www.h-online.com/open/news/i...5.html>

<quote>
The Portuguese Open Source Business Association (ESOP) has published a
white paperPDF which aims to explain the problems laptop manufacturers
are facing when trying to introduce systems preloaded with Linux to
the market. The report, which is titled "Laptop retail oligopoly: the
unnoticed digital divide", analyses the current laptop market with the
help of game theory and concludes that it is "bound to a configuration
which is not efficient" and does not benefit consumers.

In another publicationPDF from January, the organisation had detailed
the sales failure experienced by an open source software bundle, which
included Linux, that was pre-installed on laptops locally built and
marketed in Portugal. The failure of Portuguese retailers to supply
these laptops led to the second study analysing that behaviour by the
market.

According to ESOP, the configuration of the retail channel for laptop
computers imposes a firewall that is very hard to breach for new
companies trying to sell innovative products. This is due to "a
disproportionate importance of branding and marketing among retailers,
which may prevent suppliers from delivering the best products at the
lowest price." The white paper states that in a different market,
Linux, which according to ESOP is well suited for desktop deployment
and which has an obvious price advantage, would be a natural choice
for suppliers to use when building their products. However, this is
negated by the small number of established players in both the retail
and supply field and the fact that established branding prevents newer
products from gaining entry.
</quote>

I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not
understanding the world.
-Richard Dawkins