Seems to me...

Story: I'm Ready To Pick a FightTotal Replies: 6
Author Content
salparadise

May 25, 2005
12:12 PM EDT
...that the idea has to be conveyed to people that distro's are a bit like car manufacturers. But Linux is the car in essence. The car has 4 wheels, an engine blah blah blah no matter whether it be a Ford or a Rolls Royce or a Nissan etc. No one who wants to learn to drive says "forget that, there's too many different cars to choose from" they just get on with it. Thus it is with Linux, it has a command line and a (more or less) universal set of commands and applications. Mostly the different distro's mean different icons and a different colour scheme, and, with distro's like SuSE and Mandriva, some sort of unified control center type interface. We already know this. We have to "advertise" in such a way as to make these things clear. Keep it positive, keep it free of anti-M$ rants. Many of us have strong feelings about M$, far various reasons, but we won't come over as well if people perceive it comes down to grudges and axe grinding.

It's in the interest of Microsoft to see as much disinformation spread as possible because they obviously profit from it.

I really do think the best way to reach a lot of people is to hire some space in a shopping center/mall/town hall and set a table or two up and get some Linux users along to show DVD playback and proper 3d games playing and internet etc etc etc. Just make sure you have stack of cd's ready to give away. If it works, hire a town hall and start a LUG. Or get the LUG's involved in the project from the start.

Word of mouth won't suffice in the short term, it's potentially too slow as a process. TV air time is stupidly expensive and owned (largely) by the same sort of global behemoth/s (rupert murdoch to name but one). They probably all know each other socially! One in the eye is worth two in the ear. Or put another way, what is seen working and "not all that difficult after all" is worth more than assurances and adverts. Carry a copy of that picture of Microsoft taken in the 70's (http://www.allfunpix.com/picspages/early_years.html) to counter accusations of the geekiness of Linux. Get a list of companies (and countries) that have made the switch. The community spirit of Linux may well offer a refreshing change to the isolationist, paranoid, fear filled world that some would have us believe we live in.

gus3

Mar 24, 2009
7:57 PM EDT
Uh, spam alert Scott/Sander/Carla/Tracy/whoever else is here!
tracyanne

Mar 24, 2009
8:01 PM EDT
I don't seem to have the ability to delete. Or even to block spammers.
Scott_Ruecker

Mar 24, 2009
8:03 PM EDT
Working on getting you and the others that power Tracy, I got it though.
tracyanne

Mar 24, 2009
8:03 PM EDT
On a Social board where i post the owner has an area called the Dungeon where spam and other stuff gets moved so members can have a laugh.
bigg

Mar 24, 2009
10:58 PM EDT
Four years between the original post and the first reply is probably a record for LXer.
Scott_Ruecker

Mar 25, 2009
12:46 AM EDT
You know, I think your right..lol

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