It’s great when things “just work”.  But technology doesn’t always do this.

Companies which invest all their efforts in a Windows version of something, will justify their actions by stating that the majority of their customers use Windows.  It would seem that I have been a victim of this point-of-view whilst trying to install the Epson XP-800 printer for Linux.

Broken links on web-pages, then a long wait whilst trying to download the driver itself (the i368 driver is available here http://www.chocksaway.com/epson-inkjet-printer-201208w_1.0.0-1lsb3.2_i386.deb).  It then took ages to print a single page (I was not impressed).

Epson, please improve your service-delivery for downloading any type of driver for your products (which you support).

Service delivery is important.  It applies to small and large companies.  It allows small companies to compete (http://chocksaway.com/blog/?p=321 may be of interest) with larger competitors.

If you support something which is niche (such as Linux), the service delivery should have the same attention-to-detail as the “main-stream option”.

Service _is the key here.  Service does not always mean profit, but rather _things which (just) work.  The National Health Service (NHS), the BBC, train lines (which are not main-lines) provide an essential service.  The Internet is based on tools and infrastructure which have been developed by not-for-profit initiatives, which “successfully deliver”.

I am not being altruistic.  Profit is the bottom line for the majority of business.  But producing, delivering, and supporting the niche as well as the main-stream will be noticed by enthusiasts, and give you added traction in your market-place.