OpenOffice.org Tries to Woo Dell 316
Rob writes "OpenOffice.org project members have written to Dell (pdf), hoping to persuade the company to adopt OpenOffice in response to customer demand. John McCreesh, OpenOffice.org marketing project lead, writes 'Let's have a conversation about how we could build an OpenOffice.org supplied by Dell product to give your customers what they are asking for.' Demand for open source products on Dell's IdeaStorm web site prompted the letter. A somewhat obvious question is raised: why isn't OpenOffice already available by default on new PC's and Workstations?"
A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:4, Insightful)
Here's why (Score:3, Insightful)
Because then customers would have less of an incentive to purchase MS Office. This gives MS a huge incentive to pressure Dell, et al, to not offer alternatives on a windows machine.
Seems fairly obvious to me.
Umm... (Score:3, Insightful)
Because your average home user buying an off the shelf PC (regardless of who it's from) has no idea what Open Office is. Even if you provided it as an option, given the choice between a (seemingly) free version of some MS product and Open Office, the average customer would take Open Office. Throw in the bit about most customers expecting to get support from the PC manufacturer for everything that's on there, and you have to talk about training your tech support folks on how to handle Open Office support calls.
Tech savy users and corporate customers are likely to blow the default image away and replace it with something tweaked to their choosing, so you wouldn't be saving them a tremendous amount of time by having it installed anyway.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
OpenOffice is freely available to anyone with an internet connection, and Dell simply doesn't see the business case for distributing and supporting it. Even if they tried to distribute with a support disclaimer there would still be a lot of calls to support about it. Also, Dell would have to distribute CDs with the source code since OpenOffice is GPL'd, etc, etc. None of it is a show-stopper, but why go through all the hassle with no reward? Distributing free software that they don't want to support (or don't think they can sell support on) doesn't make sense for Dell.
Yeah, it would be nice, but warm feelings and the respect of the
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yet they offer the incompatible (and amusingly named) Microsoft Works package. If they can offer Microsoft Works by default, why can't they offer OpenOffice as an option?
I believe that is the point the author is trying to make.
Because they can't up-sell you (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:5, Insightful)
Nothing in the GPL forbids Dell or anyone else for charging money for the software, so Dell wouldn't just "take a cut", they can set the price they like and take 100% of it rather than having to give some of it to Microsoft.
Re:Why? (Score:2, Insightful)
Or maybe it's because Dell can't make any money off OO?
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's actually not true. If Dell were to add an option on their website saying "OpenOffice $25", they would be allowed to charge the $25 to bundle OpenOffice with a Dell computer.
Technically true, but to bother supporting it they'd need a given threshold of their customers to choose it, and I'm guessing they don't think they will. Might also be afraid of the public backlash when some idiot consumer reporter at a TV station breaks the big story that Dell is charging customers for something they can download for free.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Insightful)
Even when the customer doesn't buy MS Office up front, you can be sure that MS pays Dell for every "60-day trial" version which comes installed on most PCs nowadays. Even if MS didn't unfairly retaliate, giving away OO would take away from subscribers buying or upgrading to paid MS Office so Dell would inevitably get less of a commission back from MS.
On the other hand adding a preloaded OO is unlikely to shift share to Dell so not much upside -- particularly, since the relatively small minority of users who consider this as a factor could easily download it themselves.
Plus supporting OO would add support costs.
So, while I would love personally to see more OO, I don't see the business case from Dell's perspective
Obvious? (Score:3, Insightful)
Obvious? What's obvious is that Dell can make a profit from MS Office. Frankly, if I were a business I would look to the profit aspect first.
Also consider tech support. I would think that Dell is going to get more support from MS than the OO people when it comes down to wide spread issues involving their product. Tech support is doubtlessly a large chunk of Dell's overhead. The better support from their software vendors the less that overhead will be. That's a big plus and anyone who's taken business-101 type classes can tell you this.
Not to mention that free software still has a stigma about it. This isn't likely to go away anytime soon.
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
If the average joe's computer came with a free word processor and spreadsheet, they no longer need to spend $250 and up on MS Office. Not only would Dell lose money from those lost software sales (which are far more profitable than the PC sales), but they would be hurting their #1 partner: Microsoft.
If people want to use OO.o, they can get it freely on the net without Dell getting involved. The "large number of customers" who want this are just a small fraction of the residential crowd, which itself accounts for maybe 10% of Dell's business. Their big fish is the corporate sector, where one sales pitch can net thousands of system orders. If one of those big guys wants OO.o, they will have a sysadmin to load it into the Ghost image, or they can pay Dell's solution integrators lots of money to do it for them. Either way, the home user doesn't get squat.
On a more general tune, I get irritated whenever some free software project whines about big-business partnerships. Those big partnerships exist because there's big money going back and forth. You have to pay to play, that's how it works in corporate america. The free software loudmouths are like a poor family with a retarded son, bitching because Mensa won't let them join. The reality is we don't need Dell, HP and friends to bundle Linux, OpenOffice, or any other free software, it's a losing battle. If/when free software truly exceeds Microsoft in functionality, ease of use and installation, and enterprise support, that's when the big guys will COME to us. We're not there yet.
Re:And a somewhat obvious answer already exists (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe our places of employment use MS formats. Maybe our customers use MS formats. Most people do. If your customers demand you send them MS office files, what are you going to do?
I often work from home. Without MS software on my home machine, I would not be able to do that. You work in a school, and persuaded them to change their IT policy and adopt an open alternative. That's great.I work for a multinational company employing tens of thousands of people. They are not going to change their IT policy just to suit little old me.
here's a possibility (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft Office is a lot more intelligent than people give it credit for.
B.O.R.I.N.G. (Score:0, Insightful)
Not only that, but customers aren't even demanding OOO: I would guess only 1-2% of customers have even heard of it. And why should they? If it breaks, is Lunis Tugballs going to come fix it? No? Didn't think so.
This is just a rehash of the Browser Wars, and nobody cared about that. The only winner was the consumer, becuase Netscape and their buggy POS brower were finally killed by a stable... and free!... and clearly superior alternative. Your web browser longs to be free, and that wasn't going to happen under Netscape.
Re:Yet... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:3, Insightful)
Dell might want to offer support for OpenOffice for a very good reason - because it makes them money. On the one hand selling Microsoft Office gives Dell a small profit (I presume that nearly all the money goes to Microsoft), and low support costs (they can't be zero, since people will call even if they are immediately redirected to Microsoft; still, they are low). On the other hand, the grandparent post was right - they can charge whatever they want for OpenOffice - even much less than MS Office - and still make a nice profit, because they pocket all of that profit themselves, only needing to spend on support. My guess is that this could be very profitable. It is probably not happening because (1) Dell are conservative, and this is a big change, and (2) possibly Microsoft would retaliate and raise prices for Windows and Office, phrased as 'reducing their discounts'.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Insightful)
Are you trying to tell me that Dell takes responsibility for Windows. Last time I checked, even Microsoft wouldn't take responsibility for that! Look at the EULA...
Look, Dell is huge. Running an FTP-site is something an individual like you and me can afford. In no way it will be a "major cost" for Dell. Also, xxx@dell.com wouldn't have to be an actual person. Ever heard of programs responding to email?
Good point. The only way for Dell to make money from openoffice, is if it's going to get Dell more customers. By the way, that's why Dell asks what the customers want.
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:1, Insightful)
Many people are immediately suspicious of software that is advertised as being 'free'; they appreciate things they've paid for themselves more than those they didn't.
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:5, Insightful)
MS Office is "free" with a Small Business Desktop from Dell, haven't you heard?
The sad reality seems to be that Dell thrives at Microsoft's pleasure and they'd be dumb to muck that up. To bad the DOJ had no teeth.
Re:Why? (Score:1, Insightful)
Furthermore, the GPL requires that the software distributor maintain the source for that exact version for a few years. Much easier to stick another CD-ROM into the box and remove all legal liability permanently.
Re:A somewhat obvious answer: (Score:3, Insightful)
Not to mention, they can add value to OpenOffice so that the Dell version is worth paying extra for, particularly by embedding all kinds of fancy widgets to direct Dell customers to Dell's certified business partners.