Woman Claims Ubuntu Kept Her From Online Classes

stonedcat writes "A Wisconsin woman has claimed that Dell computers and Ubuntu have kept her from going back to school via online classes. She says she has called Dell to request Windows instead however was talked out of it. Her current claim is that she was unaware that she couldn't install her Verizon online disk to access the Internet, nor could she use Microsoft Word to type up her papers."

This is a real problem

[daveschroeder (516195)]

Actually, this story did cause some criticism, which resulted in a followup story [wkowtv.com] (even calling it "Ubunto" once - nice). So more angry (or informative) letters from Linux-advocates aren't going to set the record straight [xkcd.com] at this point.

But it does raise a larger question about the adoption of Linux. How can the perception that Microsoft Windows and its trappings are effectively mandatory be overcome? Her computer can handle all of her needs: email, web browsing via Firefox, Microsoft Office-compatible documents via OpenOffice.org, and no need to "install" any Windows-only "Verizon High Speed Internet CD" to use Verizon DSL.

But since many Linux-advocates presumably want to see things like Ubuntu go mainstream, the answer can't be "this woman is a moron and the TV station is worse for covering it". Her problems, even if they seem ridiculous, were real enough to her. So how do you counter this kind of problem? (Some might say decent journalism could have helped here, but that's part and parcel of the perception problem.)

Re:This is a real problem

[db32 (862117)]

I don't blame the woman at all. Her complaints are entirely legitimate and are a direct result of marketing based education. NO ONE explains how anything fucking works these days. Its all "put the CD in and MAGIC!" So of course the populace has no fucking clue what is going on with how stuff works or even how to choose an alternative product. That is kind of the point of this style of marketing education. You don't want educated consumers, you want consumers that believe whatever you tell them.

I have had this battle on multiple occasions with my online classes trying to explain that I don't use Windows or MS Office. The difference is that I am an experienced user and I actually understand why the college is incorrect. They say it "requires Office XYZ" but what they mean is "you need to be able to create and edit Word compatible documents". Most users are going to take the statement "requires Office XYZ" literally because they don't understand the alternatives, and the people saying "requires Office XYZ" are probably even less likely to understand that there are even alternatives available.

It's a plant

[by Anonymous Coward]

1) You can't "accidentally" find an Ubuntu Dell.

2) Dell support would NEVER say "you don't want windows, Ubuntu works better for you".

3) She took FIVE MONTHS to complain

It's a fake.

Re:This is a real problem

[TheRealMindChild (743925)]

Once upon a time, you had to learn how to use a computer to use it. This was an inherent prerequisite to using a computer effectively for school and/or work. Nowadays, any bonehead thinks that a computer needs to do it all for them, and if it doesn't, it is a failing of the system. Could you imagine if your car mechanic came back to you and said "I can't fix your car. My new tools have a green rubber handle. I only know how to use tools with a black spongy handle"...

This is pretty awesome *for* linux.

[Maxo-Texas (864189)]

Because it is major egg on Verizon's face.

The larger the linux market segment gets, the less windows benefits from it's network effect.

As far as the word processor goes- she just needs a clue about Openoffice or some of the other fine WP's available.

Hopefully she isn't going into a technical degree area with this little knowledge of computers at that age.

CALL VERIZON INSTEAD OF THE NEWS!!!

[MightyYar (622222)]

As a result, with no internet and no Microsoft Word, Schubert dropped out of MATC's fall and spring semesters.

Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too.

Re:CALL VERIZON INSTEAD OF THE NEWS!!!

[couchslug (175151)]

[quote] Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too. [/quote]

Yeah, send the morons out to operate heavy equipment and then wonder why your underground fiber got cut...

No problem

[ianare (1132971)]

From TFA :

Verizon says it will dispatch a technician to try to assist her accessing the internet without using the Windows-only installation disk.

MATC also says it promises to accept any of Schubert's papers or class documents using whatever software she has installed.

So what's the fucking problem ?!?

Re:No problem

[MightyYar (622222)]

So what's the fucking problem ?!?

The problem is that this girl couldn't figure out how to call Verizon and the school herself. It sounds like Dell worked her over as well, but dropping out of school before calling their help desk is just crazy.

The follow-up is much more interesting...

[RotsiserMho (918539)]

At the end of the article is a link to a follow-up by the assistant news director. It's not quite an apology, but it demonstrates that someone in the Ubuntu community got through to someone at the news station: http://addins.wkowtv.com/blogs/behindthenews/ [wkowtv.com]

In other news...

[pato101 (851725)]

...a guy couldn't finish his work because a virus killed his Windows HP computer... and blames HP for it...

Idiocy

[Thanshin (1188877)]

A Wisconsin woman has claimed that General Motors has kept her from going back to school. She says she has called GM to request a bike instead however was talked out of it. Her current claim is that she was unaware that she couldn't drive.

So let me get this straight...

[thesolo (131008)]

She's enrolling at the Madison Area Technical College, and couldn't be bothered to read the specs on a laptop she ordered? Sorry, made me chuckle. It's not as though Dell hides what OS comes with each laptop!

Kidding aside, Dell should have just allowed her to return it for a Windows model if that's what she wanted. She clearly did not have the technical prowess to figure out how to configure her internet access without the walkthrough software.

Is her name John Dvorak?

[jollyreaper (513215)]

This sounds like one of his troll articles.

Newsflash!

[Qbertino (265505)]

Newsflash: Online student discovers that basic brain functions are required to run and operate a computer. Film at eleven.

This is likely to be MS astroturfing/fake news

[Qbertino (265505)]

I just posted a witty reply to this story. Reading TFA again it occured to me that this is most likely MS fake news and/or astroturfing. It requires quite a few clicks to actually customize a Laptop at Dell and have it come with Ubuntu rather than some MS Windows variant.
I'd say this might very well be fake news.

She's not college material.

[tjstork (137384)]

You know, I understand her point from the inconvenience, but in the larger sense of the word, I thought college was partially a test in determination and overcoming adversity. Not everything goes right when in school and those who make it through it overcome it, and those who do not, don't.

I know a guy who is getting his degree despite missing a finger and the use of an eye compliments of a tour in Iraq, all while trying to support a wife and son. I would think -he- has some problems to overcome.

  woman has a computer that's not what she expects? I would suggest that, if she has a paper due, get on the internet, find out what she has, learn quickly, and get something out the door. She might, well, learn something, and I thought that was what college was for!

Valid yet Stupid

[whisper_jeff (680366)]

While she may have a valid concern based on ignorance - she had problems using Ubuntu because she just didn't know how and that's something slashdotters should probably take seriously if they want people to adopt Ubuntu (or some other distro) - I do find her blaming Dell to be idiotic. It's one of the big problems we have with today's society-at-large. Rather than admit something might be one's own shortcoming ("I don't know what I'm doing with Ubuntu...") people try to find someone else to blame. It's all about where can I point the finger that isn't at me? So stupid.

I'm sick of this Linux attitude

[HockeyPuck (141947)]

I'm sick of the linux communities' attitude that she should have known linux was "internet capable" right out of the box; or that she could have opened up a document in OpenOffice. I think the community forgets that for the majority of internet users, they started out by getting a CD in the mail (AOL/Compuserve/Prodigy/Earthlink/Mindspring whatever) and that launched an application which had an integrated browser/email/news/stocks client. So she treated her internet access like a black box; big deal. Most people treat their cars like black boxes as well.

Someone handed her a Microsoft Word document; why should we blame her if she looked on her computer and *GASP* didn't see Microsoft Word. Is it possible that just maybe, he classes said as a requirement you needed MSWord for the class materials? Maybe there are spreadsheets that are handed out that have tons of formulas and macros in them; is the instructor going to worry about OO macro compatibility. No, and neither should she.

Dell should be ashamed for not allowing her computer to be returned, but the linux community should be ashamed as well. For assuming that all computer users are part IT Staff. Maybe we should expect the average /. user to be able to sit down at a 3270 terminal and configure the IOCDS or perform a datamigration with DFSMS on my zSeries. I mean, it's just a computer right, it must run rsync....

Just like with cars, some people are mechanics, some people just change oil and filters and others just drive the car. It's a shame the linux community can't understand the same thing about computers.

Re:Expected

[samtihen (798412)]

Well, I was going to go into a tirade about how stupid the girl is, but the reality is that she called to explain the mixup and Dell somehow convinced her to keep Ubuntu. Dell, if someone calls and says they got a Ubuntu computer by mistake, just have them ship it back. It isn't worth it.

Re:Expected

[by Anonymous Coward]

Believe it or not, our linux enthusiasts here are as enthusiastic as many slashdot posters.

That she needs and deserves Windows probably escaped the rep...

Thank you for your suggestion

[DragonHawk (21256)]

"Dell, if someone calls and says they got a Ubuntu computer by mistake, just have them ship it back. "

We'll get right on that.

Sincerely,

All of Dell (we all read Slashdot, but just share this one account)

Re:Expected

[mark72005 (1233572)]

Don't they include OpenOffice with these?

If the Dell support rep could have just given her two or three helpful tips, she could have probably been fine. OpenOffice is a perfect replacement for Word. I don't know about her Verizon situation, but I'm sure there is a workaround for that.

The problem is, as I've been flamed for before, Linux is still nowhere near the point where a non-techie will consider adopting it. Although it's much better than it was even a few years ago, it's still not an idiot-friendly OS where things 'just work', compared to what people are used to.

Re:Expected

[Keeper Of Keys (928206)]

Although it's much better than it was even a few years ago, it's still not an idiot-friendly OS where things 'just work'

Judging by the number of support calls I get from friends, nor is Windows.

Re:Expected

[ShieldW0lf (601553)]

The problem is, as I've been flamed for before, Linux is still nowhere near the point where a non-techie will consider adopting it. Although it's much better than it was even a few years ago, it's still not an idiot-friendly OS where things 'just work', compared to what people are used to.

My 8 year old uses it just fine.

The woman is an airhead. Airheads regularly fail to critically examine what they're doing, then blame others for their lack of success. It's a personality flaw, and nothing anyone does is going to provide anything more than a very temporary fix. So, attempting to solve the problems of people like this woman by changing the operating system are doomed to failure.

Re:Expected

[MacColossus (932054)]

I have used Verizon wireless usb adapters on my Mac without VZaccess. I just plugged it in and it worked. My understanding is Linux has similar drivers available and it just works on there as well. VZaccess is not required.

Re:Expected

[TheSovereign (1317091)]

I don't agree. Literally anyone who had even a slight clue about her predicament would have been able to load windows on the system. contrary to the article this doesn't void your dell guarantee. This person chose to leave school instead of getting her problem fixed, which, in my opinion is simply an excuse for her mental shortcomings, then again if she were intelligent in the least she could have gotten her internet connection to work in the first place.

Re:Expected

[Ohio Calvinist (895750)]

If someone is willing to pay $20/unit (community college) to $100-200/unit (public university) and hundreds of dollars for books, she could have either forked up the $90 or so bucks they charge for Windows, taken it somewhere and let them do it, or taken CIS 100 "Intro to the Internet" or CIS 101 "Computer Applications" and figured how to do it herself. With all the money it costs to attend school at some of the most affordable colleges, getting her computer fixed (even though it didn't need "fixing") is a drop in the bucket. Granted, I know some folks are pretty against the wall financially, but she should have developed better problem solving and critical thinking skills than what she obviously has not seemed to developed, well before university.

Re:Expected

[jbolden (176878)]

Most likely she asked questions like "can I do papers in Ubuntu" and they told her how.

Dell is making a play to be a major Ubuntu reseller on Netbooks. Their tech support has to learn how to provide end user support for Ubuntu. Not just say "use windows".

And frankly this story doesn't smell right to me.

Re:Expected

[sucker_muts (776572)]

Part of the problem is that she did not understand it's possible to configure internet access without that Verizon cdrom, and she could easily work with OpenOffice instead of Word. Verizon even offered to send a technician to help with the connection, and the school said it has no problems with people using different software when following their couses.

Too bad the woman did not look for answers but simply blamed Dell instead out of ignorance. :(

Re:Expected

[capnkr (1153623)]

No, this is the sort of thing which makes "Idiocracy" [wikipedia.org] seem to be an insightful and predictive documentary...

Re:Expected

[PalmKiller (174161)]

Verizon is one issue here, their tech support can and should support her connecting via any os, she should be suing them if anyone. Open office would suffice for the papers, someone should just help her out. Hey, did she try the geek squad (/me ducks). But really, pay a lawyer to sue people when she could just use the money to pay for someone to support her, shes just in it for the money, or she is incredibly lost. Thats the american way though, throw a bunch of money at a lawyer, rather than look for a solution to the problem.

Re:Until the point at Windows doesn't "just work"

[Telvin_3d (855514)]

If the computer doesn't do what she needs it to do in the first place, why does better security matter? She could put a rock on the desk, call it a computer and be just as productive and free from computer viruses.

Re:Expected

[Nebu (566313)]

maybe we just can't expect everyone to finish college, some people are just not bright. serioulsy, do you want this person to be a doctor or manage your finances if she can't be bothered to click on the "network" icon in the top right corner of the screen? what kind of problem solving skills does she have.

IMHO, knowing enough about computers to set up a network (even with OS guidance) is not strongly correlated with medical or financial advisory skills.

For all I care, the doctor/financial advisor can be a luddite, using pen and paper for all his/her records, as long as they do the job well.

Re:Expected

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus (1223518)]

I just wonder how she ended up ordering an Ubuntu box. Dell doesn't store them at the bottom of the filing cabinet in the disused room marked "beware of the leopard" anymore; but I've never once been led astray, or even seen a link that might lead me astray, on Dell's ordering pages.

Re:Expected

[hardburn (141468)]

It's a local tech college. They're pretty good as local tech colleges go, but they're as Microsoft-centric as anywhere else.

Long ago, I served time on the help desk at the library there. Mac OSX was still relatively new, and the library had gotten some shiny new Macs in with OSX preinstalled (of course, PCs outnumbered Macs about 10:1). For some reason, all of them were reinstalled with OS 9 a few days after they came in. One of our regular Mac users was very irate at us, but of course us help desk folks had nothing to do with it.

Re:Expected

[be951 (772934)]

That's called bait and switch, and it's a swindle.

Um, no. Nothing here suggests that she ordered a Windows machine and got Ubuntu instead. She either didn't pay close enough attention, or did not understand enough about computers to know the difference. That's not a swindle. That's user error.

Re:it figures,

[Shakrai (717556)]

why are the cute ones always dumb?

Take comfort in Judge Judy's quote: Beauty fades, but dumb is forever.

Re:it figures,

[Spazztastic (814296)]

why are the cute ones always dumb?

Take comfort in Judge Judy's quote: Beauty fades, but dumb is forever.

Or Ron White's line: You can't fix stupid.

Re:it figures,

[Todd Fisher (680265)]

Or Forrest Gump's line: Lieutenant Dannnn! Ice Cream!

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[MightyYar (622222)]

This woman is beyond stupid, though. She dropped out of school because she couldn't figure out how to make her computer work. And then, apparently, her solution to this life crisis wasn't to ask someone knowledgeable about computers - it was to call the local news!

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[morgan_greywolf (835522)]

Thank you. Rather than arguing about saying "Linux isn't for everyone" can we all just agree that in this case "college isn't for everyone?"

Thanks.

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[sxltrex (198448)]

She dropped out of school because she couldn't figure out how to make her computer work.

Dude, it's even better than that. She dropped out of technical college because she couldn't figure out how to make her computer work.

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Her lack of computer finesse isn't the funny thing here for me. I saw the newscast on this. She had two problems: She didn't have MS Office, and her Verizon internet disc tried to run it's startup.exe. She just has to save her papers in .doc format, and have a Verizon tech crew come out and fix her internet. It took the news anchorman two (2) phone calls to fix this for her.. so what attempt is there to mock? She probably just slacked off for her classes and used Dell as as excuse.

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[TheLinuxSRC (683475)]

And yet here is a normal person, trying to use it, and finding it frustrating and causing her problems, and people mock her attempt.

According to the story she somehow accidentally ordered the laptop with Ubuntu. I am not sure how she managed that because I have to *search* Dell's site to find their Linux offerings, but I digress and that is irrelevant anyway.

What is relevant is that she received a laptop configured in a manner she was unfamiliar with. She should have just returned the laptop if it was sent this way in error. My point is, she didn't attempt to use it (Ubuntu) in any sort of meaningful way. She *assumed* the laptop had Windows installed. She is familiar with Windows. She attempted running a disk that requires Windows and then looked for the MS Office icons and couldn't find them and then she gave up. Again, if what she ordered was a Windows machine, the blame falls squarely on Dell and Dell should make it right. If she did order the laptop with Ubuntu and ignored all of the warnings about how this order does not have Windows and Windows software will not run on Linux etc.... then the blame is fully hers.

This has nothing to do with Windows vs. Linux as she never made a conscious choice to use Linux. She also didn't make much effort in using Ubuntu. In fact, if she has to miss *two* semesters of school because of this, it screams to me that she was looking for a reason to not go to school and this is the perfect excuse in her mind.

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[meist3r (1061628)]

And yet here is a normal person, trying to use it, and finding it frustrating and causing her problems, and people mock her attempt.

"Normal" is a very flexible definition depending on whoever sets the boundaries between normal and stupid. In my opinion a very stupid woman spoke to a very stupid Dell rep who wasn't able to tell her how to start OpenOffice (for fucks sake Applications/Office/Writer -how hard is that?) and relied on very stupid Verizon that can't produce an Ubuntu Linux installer for their silly software package.

I had a similar problem with my sister-in-law. Gave them a Ubuntu machine and she kept trying to install some ISPs network setup disc. Eventually I went over to their house and got the network running with half a dozen clicks by reading the (incredibly stupid) manual section that was about half a page long with pictures. She didn't even bother to read beyond section 1. Install software ... section 2 would have said "Set up without disc like this:"

THAT is the problem, not that people can't use Linux ... they want to be so stupid that they simply won't be able to. Anyone should be able to read, it's your responsibility as owner of the fucking machine to understand at least a bit of how it works. It's this "I don't get the first page in the book so I stop reading" attitude. If you don't WANT to do gain that knowledge you will have these kinds of silly idiot problems all the way. So "I am stupid" and "I don't want to know" are two different things and significant ones indeed. Sometimes a book starts making sense only after you've read it even without knowing what the first couple pages meant.

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[elrous0 (869638)]

We geeks tend to live in a bit of an echo chamber and so we can lose perspective on just how ignorant and computer illiterate the average citizen is. Just the response "A few google searches by her would have revealed..." is just one example. There are a LOT of people (probably the *majority* of people) out there who have no idea what a "google search" is. Most of the people that I work with (and these are college-educated people, mind you), don't know what a browser is (they refer to Internet Explorer as "the internet"). And no, I'm not joking (I wish I was).

Re:Humor? Entertainment?

[Soruk (225361)]

A few google searches by her...

How would she do that if she doesn't know how to connect?

Re:Exactly

[by Anonymous Coward]

You've obviously never used Verizon DSL. Their system requires a login/password which is generated via their Windows-only software when you're setting things up. Once you have that you no longer need Windows to connect to the internet, but you do need to that once to get the system & modem set up.

Seriously. No joke.

I presume you can set that stuff up over the phone if you have a Mac or something, but that's probably non-obvious for someone who accidentally orders a Linux laptop.

And, also, Firefox cannot necessarily handle all of her "browsing needs". It's not always Firefox's fault, but there's a reason I have IE Tab set up for a handful of sites and it's not because I'm a web developer.

Re:Huh?

[LingNoi (1066278)]

Still not as bad as the women who doesn't understand that -5 is higher then -8.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1022757_cool_cash_card_confusion [manchester...news.co.uk]

What's depressing is that the clerk was fooled into believing she won too which means there is more then one idiot out there.