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The Age of Aggressive Linux Advocacy Is Upon Us?
GonzoJohn writes "Jamie Harrison, founder of GBLUG in Glen Burnie, Maryland, has written an exclusive editorial for Linux Orbit about how he sees the state of Linux advocacy.
"Whether we want to admit it or not, Linux has entered a critical period in its development - a period that may, in fact, determine in fate forever.
Now that Linux is no longer a strange little niche Operating System, and has developed to the point where Microsoft actually feels threatened by its proliferation, the folks in Redmond are doing everything they can in the way of software design, legislation, regulation and control of the internet to snuff Linux out. The main reason that they have failed up to this point is that Linux has matured and grown in popularity, gaining public and private defenders in the consumer market and especially the corporate boardroom."
Read the editorial here" I don't think that I agree with all the points here - but it's an informative read if nothing else.
Well I actually do prefer to spell Micro$oft with a $ because the name "Microsoft" is trademarked, and I do not have permission to use it in this comment. So instead of interfering with their pissing grounds, I prefer to make an underlying statement when I address them.
I seemed to feel a tone of 'manifest destiny' in the article. Is it just me who believes that philosophy is completely irrelevant to Linux?
We don't NEED to gain market share. We don't NEED to singlehandedly supplant Windows in order to be successful. In fact, if Linux does supplant Windows, it's just going to become the next widely-hated major OS of the time, until someone else comes along and supplants Linux. Doesn't sound like fun to me.
What goals does the Linux community have, other than supplanting Windows? Hrm.... creating an autonymously stable and useful operating system. Showing the Windows world what it's like to build an OS that interoperates with the majority of standards out there. Tons of others.... Why do we feel this conquistador-like goal to take over the OS world? It seems bullish and idiotic to me. There are much better things we can accomplish, cooperatively, when we're not wasting our time trying to dominate. If we keep this up for too long, Linux really will be the next Windows, in all the worst ways.
.... um, i lost you after "0110100001101001".
Be active in the Linux community!
Sure. I'd like to contribute to linux by answering newbie questions (even though 90% of these can be found by a google search or the first 5 lines of the man page)
However what annoys me most is some GUI features of linux. I'd really like to help improving that. Now the problem is that I doen't speak C++, and I don't want to spend years learning it.
I would be able to make a drawing about possible improvements, but I do have the feeling that peaople that are not 31337 just won't be taken seriously by true coders.
So: Would there be a way for non-coders to make a contribution to GNU software?
I agree, and as I've mentioned OVER and OVER again, be polite and handhold those that wish to try it.
If you can't handle it, or have sudden urges to spout "RTFM!", then walk away and let someone who can be polite take over.
"Aggressive" can be misunderstood in this article title. Hemos doesn't mean to be "rudely aggressive", but to market the idea of Linux more often, but still politely.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
(Note: This is a repost of a post made in reply to another post under the "Is Linux Dead?" thread from a couple of weeks ago. The original post advocated more commercial-type advertising for Linux and was titled, "Advertising would help")
Wrong. Let me explain please.
First, please do know I'm one of the three (a rough guess) people on the planet who are deep geeks with a marketing background. Okay, that said, here's some info to graze upon.
In the marketing world all research for the past 100 years shows that the very best -- bar none -- type of advertising is, surprise, word of mouth. Nothing has every beat it, nothing ever will beat it. People will trust the opinions of people they know first hand over any advertisement. Why do you think there are so many ads which try to establish that type of trust relationship in the minds of the ad viewer? These types of testimonial ads are among the most successful types of ads, but pale in comparison with "word of mouth" in terms of pure clout with the target audience.
Linux is doing as good as it is (which is very good indeed) because of a number of factors: quality, cost, and -- ta da -- the number of in-the-know technical people (computer geeks) who say it's as good or better than the commercial stuff available. Word of mouth advertising by people who have the confidence of the people with whom they're talking.
Who do you think mom or grandma or little brother/sister is going to believe, Microsoft ads or you? If they have any experience with MS product over the past ten years then they're not going to be inclined to believe anything in a MS ad -- their personal experience tells them MS marketing is geared toward getting the money out of their pocket and MS product is not very good.
You, the techincal person in-the-know, are in a great position compared with MS. You have a product with outstanding quality, an impossible-to-beat value-to-cost ratio and an entire, world-class army of other techies who are saying the same thing you are.
In my opinion, Gnu/Linux/OSS/Freeware advocates would do best to just keep doing what they've been doing. Don't focus on bashing MS, just make honest comparisons, be up front with newbies about the learning curve (harder to learn, easier to use) and focus on the benefits of the product when compared with the competition. You'll continue to win big!
Frankly, if I were leading a marketing push for Linux right now, I'd say that it's time for the little guy to be "on." Not the uber hackers (who do their own stuff so well) but all Linux users: Time for them to really focus on truely helping others understand the choices available and then helping them get going down the learning curve (which has become much shallower in the past year -- Gnome/KDE/OpenOffice.org -- hero-level work folks, congrats and thanks!)
So, if you want to help the world avoid continuus and expanding MS hell:
1. Join your local LUG or start one.
2. Learn how to make a simple press release and learn where to send copies for your area.
3. Offer some free evening classes to individuals and small businesses via the press releases (donate some time -- see next item.)
4. Make sure there are resources in your area for individuals/businesses (consultants, tutors, etc. -- if you're not seeing $$$ by now you're blind.)
5. Always remember that you serve yourself best when you do your best to help those you are targeting. This is the essense of quality! I know it sounds odd, but it works: The more helpful you are for your audience, the more rewards you'll see for yourself.
I coulda/shoulda/woulda been a preacher but that whole god thing really got it the way.
Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
I rather wish anyone who 'advocates Linux' never makes much of an impact in a corporate boardroom. Likewise, any MSFT 'advocate' who does the same should be equally ignored.
Whatever your view of each operating system, the end marker is that they are tools. And when you're selecting the right one you need to be independent, you need to consider all the alternatives, and most of all you need to be unbiased.
Its one thing to like Linux, its quite another to expect everyone else to. If Linux is the best OS for the job, go with it. If its not, don't. Choosing Linux just because you're been told its the best by some RMS wannabe might well be a very bad business decision.
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Do you also type $alvation Army?
Kind thoughts do not change the world
You can use the Microsoft tradename in your comments as you like.
Microsoft's right to the trademark only extends to the right to attach it to products being sold. It does not have the right to prevent the of their trademark in public discussions about their company or their products.
Besides, if you use the correct trademark "Microsoft", then the comments you make will be correctly associated with the correct trademark and not some fake moniker.
So, use "Microsoft". I try not to ever use MS, Micro$oft or any other false name.
It is the tradename that should carry the burden of the bad reputation causes by Microsoft's illegal acts. Not some other name.
NexuSys - Linux support by the best
The philosophies of Linux are not only relevant, but essential:
- Open Source. Whether you're a purist like RMS or not, the ability to [have someone working for you] see and occasionally modify source code is central to the value that Linux offers. It makes it possible to optimize the OS and core applications for specific hardware and purpose of the machine, customize the system to completely remove unused components for security reasons, etc.
- Open Protocols. Even when we don't have access to source code, we have well-established open standards for how programs providing certain services should communicate with other programs. This philosophy grew out of, and simultaneously made possible a corollary *nix tenet...
- Open Data Formats - Text Files. The configuration info for a program is held in an
.rc or .conf file that can be accessed just like any other file, not buried under layers of misdirection of GUIDs like {02468ACE-3F57-11AF-B579-08002D30DEFD} within a database stored in a proprietary format. This in turn makes possible another facet of the philosophy... - Interchangeable Parts. Don't like EMACS? Fine. Use vi, or a thousand other editors. They all manipulate text files, and once the file is created, your compiler, interpreter, or whatever really doesn't care. And this fits into another *nix philosophy...
- Small, Sharp Tools, or Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Most of the work to be done on a *nix system can be accomplished by combining specific tools in a shell script. Metaphors such as piping and command substitution make it unecessary to compile a custom application to do what can be accomplished via
Without these philosophies, there would be no reason to prefer Linux to any other OS[100% ISO 646 Compliant]
SVM, ERGO MONSTRO.