So a Man Walks Into a Bar and Asks for an Ubuntu on the Rocks

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Earlier today, I had to go to IT Square in Laksi to do some banking. Knowing what a geek that I am, and since  there are ten branches closer than the IT Square one, you'd be forgiven for assuming that I went to bank there as an excuse for computer shopping, but you'd be wrong. I was required to go to that specific branch. After the baning, though, my gf and I walked around a little.

She was checking out laptop bags, and my attention went to the Acer display just outside the bag store. To my shock, there was a low-end laptop (about USD400) with a localized version of Ubuntu on the computer. There was a special Acer desktop background, and the menus were in Thai.  The next computer had the same system. Hmmm. The specs described the computer as having Linpus Linux installed (pictured above), but the system was definitely Ubuntu. There were about twelve models on display, but some of them weren't on.

"Do all these computers have the same operating system?" I asked.
"These two have Windows 7," the clerk answered.

Those two computers were the high-end ones, at least 50% more expensive than any other model on display. The actual OS installed was Windows 7 Home Premium.

What's the punchline to this joke?

"But we can install Linux on those two for you if you prefer," the clerk added with a smile. "It's Open Source."

My, how times have changed! Six years ago, there were Linux computers on display everywhere, but the salespeople knew nothing about it and encouraged everyone to pay the extra money to have Windows installed.

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