Recently I tried to purchase the Japanese version of TurboLinux Server 10 but in the process ran into nothing but dead ends. TurboLinux is reported to be the most popular distribution in Asia and is based in Japan. Although their primary website is in Japanese at http://www.turbolinux.co.jp, they do have an English version available through a US website http://www.turbolinux.com.
The US website offers only English versions of TurboLinux, and their online store is simply a redirect to their US distributor BlueSquad. Additionally, Distrowatch indicates that the distributor Source One Network is leading vendor.
Finding that neither BlueSquad nor Source One offered the Japanese version of the product either online or by direct contact with their Sales, I decided to just call the mothership itself. That was a futile effort since the phone number listed for their US office in San Francisco is completely wrong. Three times I called to verify the number while pissing off who ever was picking up each time.
Great, so their phone number is misprinted. What next? Well, I sent a fax to their fax number requesting a call back, and I submitted their online feedback form. Twenty four hours later and no response from either.
What really irks me is that the US TurboLinux office is at 600 Townsend St and the Adobe (former Macromedia) office is 601 Townsend St. directly across the street!! But here I am in the Adobe office in Newton, MA and unless I could coerce a colleague in San Fran to take a short stroll I was out of luck.
Almost... My last resort was to co-opt my Japanese collegue down the hall to navigate the Japanese TurboLinux Website. With his help, we were able to successfully make a purchase after much wheel-spinning and wasted time.
|
