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Best Buy's Geek Squad has certainly enjoyed its share of press in recent months. But I found some amusing things about some of their policies -- which were recently leaked to the public (thanks to a link found at Digg.com). The policies demonstrate that the "agents" are expected to make legal judgment calls regarding such applications as P2P options.

So, for instance, if the Geek Squad client was downloading a Linux distribution and happened to be using bittorrent, would this mean that Geek Squad's policy is then to advise the client that this could be an illegal application? Something is not right here. But wait, it gets worse.

A recent comment found buried in this link was enough to blow my mind as to how little they really understand the world they work in:

As for the Linux argument, Best Buy does not currently have corporate approval to use this tool. Suse and Knoppix, or whatever flavor you like, is free to consumers; it is not for commercial use. According to the GPL, if you read that, the software is not approved for commercial use without prior permission.

Taking the Geek Squad vision forward, sans restrictions

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Envision if you will, a viable alternative to Geek Squad built upon open source principles. Not restricted from using proprietary tools, mind you, just not restricted from using those of the open source variety. Impossible as it may seem, I believe that such a venture could do quite well. Taking this even further, consider what it would be like to maintain well set-up, semi-locked-down Linux boxes for previously frustrated Windows users.

By stopping the cycle of reactive IT damage control for the home and SoHo user, these individuals might finally see average users feeling less intimidated by their computers. It's sad, and in many cases, completely avoidable.

Buy once and forget it

Possibly the best option for those who are just DONE with trips to the repair shop is something like Zonbu. Their pricing is rather "abrupt" initially. But having a company that can literally disaster proof your email and documents, among other things that are important to the average family, soon becomes something that makes the price seem a lot less important. Many geeky Linux users dislike Zonbu because they feel that they can do much of what Zonbu has done themselves, without the fee -- Zonbu also has these individuals in check. And, like many Linux enthusiasts, remaining out there in the ozone with how non-geeks think, they fail to accept Zonbu's success as a good thing.

The value behind Zonbu is from the saved data and the time saved from having to outthink any mistakes that can be made with a traditional PC. Nothing to install, updates are automatic and thoroughly tested and I have personally tested this device for months -- it works as advertised. It's perfect for the typical family.

So when you figure the cost of that back-up service, which has remote assistance available as well, it comes out to roughly between $11 and $17 per month. Compare that to a year's worth of repair bills. Oh, and Zonbu has a three-year replacement promise on the hardware, included in the price. Replace it if needed without any hassle. I don't recall Geek Squad being able to match that.

Now some people, like myself, prefer a real PC. Some of these same users may even be interested in seeing if Linux is a match for them. Because as far as I am concerned, there is no reason why someone should ever have to call for a software/malware related incident. And with a pre-installed Linux box, properly locked down, there doesn't have to be.

Build it, then lock it down

For most people, I highly recommend locking down the Linux box at some level. Using Pessulus as a sudo (super user do) user, bundled with disabling the update manager (more on this later), you can have the client using a PC that is quite secure, does not present malware challenges and will not be broken by rogue updates either. And if network control is needed for the younger ones in the home, Ubuntu CE offers a direct download of their tweaked version of Dansguardian -- to make sure you have solid web content filtering in place.

Now like with the Zonbu box, there needs to be a resource available that people can call on should distribution updates need to be installed, new hardware added, etc. This is where that new business model comes in. By charging per incident or even better, an affordable subscription plan, you create a solid customer base while refraining from charging insanely high repair costs.

It should be noted that there is nothing wrong with charging per-incident prices that are true to industry standards, especially with hardware based-repair calls. However, if you are building and locking down your systems the right way, there will not be a call for software/upgrade related problems whatsoever.

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