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IBM's New Linux Advertising
Amit Shah writes "IBM is airing a commercial featuring Linux as reported on Economic Times. This could be the first major way to reach out to normal users and explain the benefits of open source and Linux. The ad says, "Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community""
That's the future. This is a great move by IBM, just to get the mindset to the masses. Eventually we'll get beyond copyright and patent, but this is a start--even if it's by a huge corporation.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
IBM ran a good commercial a while back where some cops were walking around a vacant server room while a PHB-type was explaining that all the servers had been stolen. Then the IT guy walks in and says, that they were not stolen but replaced with one linux server. The best part was as the commercial closed, one detective looks at the other and says: "What's a server?" - Classic :)
I hope these commercials will address one simple question... Why would I need Linux? Most users (non-techies), probably don't need to learn how to use Linux because Windows provides them with everything they need. Maybe they are targeting large companies, in this campaign, and hopefully they will realize the benefits of using Linux in the business world. For regular users(non-techies), I just don't see the point of using Linux.
Until it becomes easier to use, more compatible with hardware and less nerdy, the majority of computer users will just not use it. Look at MAC's. People are reluctant to use MAC's because in their eyes, its something that they are not used to.
Its great that IBM is marketing Linux, I'd certainly love to see my family and friends use it, but they are totally shut off to the idea.
They are comfortable with using Windows because they just dont have the interest in the learning curve Linux presents.
100% Insightful
A lot of well-educated business types as well as those who swill mass quantities of beer and scratch themselves on the couch watch football. This translates to a lot of financial decision-makers in the home.
I don't think it's that much of a stretch.
The Pigloo
The ad closes with the slogan "Linux. The Future is Open. IBM."
My jaw is wide open.
Ok, IBM wants to capitalize on Linux, IBM is a company, in the past IBM has been a corrupt monopoly trying to stranglehold their clients with the proprietary ties after fscking them in the first place.
But the memes passed by this particular advertisement are something radically different than those teached by conventional advertisements and pro-capitalist ethos (consume! consume! don't think about tomorrow! spend now!).
Really, this stuff is jaw-dropping. ;D)
It's not like the cluetrain stopping in front of IBM (now we only need an express train passing in Darl McBride's office like that Athlon vs Pentium III commercial), but it's like someone saying that the time is mature for an economy based on Free Software to be born and TRY to impose herself on a wide-open scale.
Not Eazel Gnome Nautilus and crap like that, not the dotcomboom of 121 different Linux distros, but a wide world collaborating on making better, documented, free, opensource and secure systems with minor tweakings among them just to make sure that they suit individual needs. (2414 different Gnu/Linux distros!!!
Hell, also Microsoft is committed to a large-scale opensource initiative.
And I also think that this particular advertisement is what we waited in order to say that GNU and Linux have won.
+ + + + :D (ok, that was a joke)
BSD, on the other hand, is dead...
"I am slashbot, hear me roar!"
"Makes life simpler". Right.
This is valid point; in fact, it's actually oozing validity. If Linux is going to be presented in mass advertising as a device for simplification, it had better damn well live up to that description.
Like as not, many people already consider things plenty simple with Windows, especially XP and Server 2003. If Linux is going to simplify that, there must be some readily demonstrable ways in which it does so. Disillusionment is typically quick to take hold in folks, and once it's settled, it's monolithic to overcome.
The coolest voice ever.
I appreciate what IBM is doing. The average computer user seems to think that Microsoft is all there is, when it come to an OS.
The general public needs to be informed that there ARE choice. Imagine if Microsoft were to actually start feeling the sting of lost sales. They might: Lower prices, improve customer service, and wow... focus on stablizing their software!
Urantian -- and proud of it!
Eventually we'll get beyond copyright and patent
::sigh:: I'd like to think you're just being idealistic and hoping people will develop respect for other people's work to the point where copyrights and patents are truly unnecessary. But instead I'll patiently remind you that copyleft is legally rooted in copyright.
this is a start--even if it's by a huge corporation
Answer me this: Who else can afford to pay for such ads?
-Justin
That's enough posting for now lads, there're trolls afoot.
Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community.
;). Doesn't foregive IBM from coming up with a slogan that muddys the already murky question of "What is up with the GNU community?"
Nice slogan. Makes me want to put my hand over my heart and stare knowingly toward the horizon.
What's it got to do with Linux though? Data sharing seems to have more to do with databases and web services, neither of which are explicitly Linux oriented traits. It seems to me it's not data, but functionality that's shared in the Linux community.
It's something like this: we both need to build a house. I'm going to need a ladder and a saw, you're going to need a ladder and a saw. If you build the ladder, and share it with me, I'll build the saw and share it with you. It doesn't mean we're going to tell each other what's inside the house, what's going on with the house, etc. No data is shared, just the tools for organizing and arranging it. Sharing the TOOLS makes a community. Sharing data makes, I dunno, an RIAA lawsuit?
I know, I know. The slogan is meant to strike at executives who make snap decisions and watch golf on the weekends. After all, they're the only ones not using OSS already
Hey freaks: now you're ju
I think the point of the ads is that Linux is for everybody, not just the geeks.
For great justice.
This could be the first major way to reach out to normal users and explain the benefits of open source and Linux
This is a very tough sell, IMO. I'll also add that lumping the two together--"open source" and "Linux"--maybe isn't a good idea.
With perfect honesty, as someone who has used and programmed various OSes and hardware, the differences between Linux and Windows are few. Both are hugely complex from the user's point of view, and both are arguably incomprehensible on the source level. (Remember, you can't just talk about the Linux kernel, but the entire package including XFree86, drivers, the window manager, KDE, etc.) So it's not like either one is a clear winner in terms of ease-of-use or architectural cleanliness. It used to be that Linux was more stable, but with Windows 2000 that's no longer true. UNIX-alikes are generally more virus resistant than Windows, but that's a tough reason to insist that someone change all of his or her work habits and software. Remember, too, that patches for the recent Windows virii were available before infections started. Proper system administration (sadly!) plays a big role in security.
On the "open source" angle, I think that too much of an association with Linux is hurting the term. The Linux kernel is open source, yes, but we need to stop acting like you have to have one in order to have the other. There is a lot of open source software for Windows, for example. The "Chandler" email program, which is attempting to replace Outlook and Exchange, is going to run under Windows. Heck, Emacs and gcc both run under Windows. So do all of the GNU utilities. And Perl. And Python. And Tk.
As much as we all like to think we have the inside track on the superior OS--and, indeed, it may still be slightly superior--it's a case of it not being so far and away superior that it's clearly so.
" This is a great move by IBM, just to get the mindset to the masses."
It ain't that great. The ad doesn't even say what Linux is.
Call me cynical but an 'ad' that doesn't tell you what it's advertising isn't an ad. The people who already know about Linux are the only ones who are going to get anything from it.
(Note: I'd agree with your point if simply the commercial was better at getting the idea across.)
Everyone in the IT community has heard of Linux, but most people know it as a community effort. The commercial is targeted at corporate buyers, and seeks to enhance Linux's image by associating the operating system with a well-known, respected company (IBM).
This isn't the 1950s. Big businesses use commercials nowadays to build brands, not sell products. Consider the most well-known commercials, like Apple's "1984" ad and Coca-Cola's "Mean Joe Green" spot from the '70s. Memorable campaigns don't drill product data into your head.
For more information, click here.
Actually, this is a very smart way to do it. I've seen a lot of 'series' adverts do it.
This advert is just the 'seeder'. It lays the foundation on which the other adverts with more information are going to rely on.
No one can explain the entire 'linux' thing in 30 seconds, however, a series of 30 second adverts, with a new one each successive month - all of a sudden every person and their pet turns into an 'expert.
Regards.
Ok advertising linux is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that there is no distro "friendly" enough for the "normal" masses. A good example is the fact that the majority of people like Windows (any version) and Mac OS (any version) over Linux for 1 reason and 1 reason only.
GUI
The majority of people - read: every person outside of the Programming, Development, and IT fields who use a computer for Accounting, Business, Graphics, Presentations, Email, Web Browsing, etc... want to be able to click and drag and NEVER use a command line. Although KDE/Gnome/Etc... allows people some of these features, they don't allow the installation of hardware (ok Mandrake has the Hard Drake thing, but when I tried it didnt work worth shit and I was still stuck dloading and installing Alsa drivers via the command line)
THE MASSES DO NOT WANT TO TYPE IN SHIT LIKE THIS:
bzip2 -d -c alsa-driver-0.5.10b.tar.bz2 | tar -xvf -
Take this example of me and my friend. My friend whos going to school for programming created a program called UrlToys. It's free, written in Pearl and can run on Linux, Windows, and OS X. It's a great program. BUT it runs out of a command prompt ONLY. Therefore I have to "type" commands in for it work.
There is me who likes to test out his programs. The first thing that comes ot mind is i'd rather use a software like Packrat because I can copy and paste into the desired field and then click a couple buttons and it does the same thing.
As someone who comes from a graphic design background, I like pretty shit and want my computer to make things EASIER for me. I dont want to feel like i'm writing a program just so I can grab some porn picks off a site. I want someone else to program shit for me and let me get back to work, whcih in MY case is making pretty shit - NOT fucking with a command prompt.
Ave Molech Setting
With perfect honesty, as someone who has used and programmed various OSes and hardware, the differences between Linux and Windows are few. Both are hugely complex from the user's point of view, and both are arguably incomprehensible on the source level. (Remember, you can't just talk about the Linux kernel, but the entire package including XFree86, drivers, the window manager, KDE, etc.) So it's not like either one is a clear winner in terms of ease-of-use or architectural cleanliness. It used to be that Linux was more stable, but with Windows 2000 that's no longer true.
Well, my system uptimes tell a different story. But you don't have to trust my figures - take a look at Netcraft uptimes. These aren't the highest uptimes of all - almost without exception, the best uptimes are held by BSD derivatives (around 5 years). For the most popular sites, Linux tends to knock in around 100+ days. Windows 2000 knocks around in the high-20's, low 30's.
Have a nice day.
Toby Haynes
Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.
no linux msblaster worms
no linux visual basic for applications cracks
no trains, planes or automobiles stopped by linux viruses, worms or trojans
no linux DRM media players
no linux license fees
no linux authorization codes when you change hardware
no forced upgrade cycle
no having to hunt down 50 cds when trying to rebuild a machine
Fine. Get the masses to understand, and, more importantly, care about all that and then there's a shot.
The coolest voice ever.
To reply to each of your points:
Any competent sysadmin already had their systems patched against that one. :-)
So, according to you, then, most MS sysadmins aren't competent, because a shitload of businesses were brought down by msblaster (CNX, Air Canada, DMV in several states, etc.) Mind you,we already knew that
When was the last new threat that was directly a result of Visual Basic scripting? By "new" I mean within the last three months or so.
today here To quote:
Who says you have to use WMP if you use Windows?
Most of the Windows-based players will have to contend w. any DRM that's integrated at the OS level.
Gross exaggeration, obviously. And like in #1, any competent sysadmin should always know where their original discs are.
So that's why so many companies had to repurchase licenses (because administering licenses is a major headache for them, and staff changes make it harder), and it doesn't negate my point, which is that it can take dozens (or on developer machines, 50 or more) disk swaps to set everything up under Windows.
Come on, that was TOO easy.
The same way that a Ferrari is a copy of a Ford. Linux used parts of Minix for development, but only loosely "copied" Unix (definitely not Minix).
Joe
Joe Batt Solid Design
Which in this context I believe means:
Thing belonging to the common public, no one person may rule over it.
-- You can be a geeklord too
The nice thing about the commercial is that it's advertising an ideology. It's going to be hard for Microsoft to come back with something that says. "Sharing information is bad. Building community is wrong." Unlike they did with their We Have the Way Out campaign which was mostly aimed at Sun, what with the purple paint and all. In the end, it's advantageous to IBM as well: use Linux, promote open exchange of information, make our lives and yours a hell of a lot easier in the end. I'd say that IBM has pulled a good trick out of the old hat this time.
Only a fool would be short-sighted enough to not to see the danger of using (supporting) Microsoft protocols, especially over the Internet.
.Net and DRM protocols.
In the Halloween Document, a Microsoft strategist wrote:
> OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server applications because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple protocols. By extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we can deny OSS projects entry into the market.
Or consider this evidence in the Java case:
> Microsoft's Executive Vice President, Paul Maritz, outlined Microsoft's strategy to win the browser war with Netscape and simultaneously "neutralize Java" by "tying" the "user interface" and "APIs" "back to Windows,"
This quote also shows us how Microsoft operates:
> at this point its [sic] not good to create MORE noise around our win32 java classes. Instead we should just quietly grow j++ share and assume that people will take advantage of our classes without ever realizing they are building win32-only java apps."
And then there's this little gem:
> "Subversion has always been our best tactic," John Ludwig, Microsoft's vice president in charge of Java development, wrote. "It leaves the competition confused, and they don't know what to shoot at anymore."
Perhaps this quote sums it up the best:
> "This is really the core of Microsoft's business," Gartner Research Director Chris LeTocq said. "Microsoft is in business to leverage APIs. That's a key element of the successful market share it has."
If you haven't understood the point, then here it is...
If you continue to accept the ASF format, then you are encouraging websites to use it.
But it's still a protocol that is controlled by Microsoft.
In the future, Microsoft will:
1. Upgrade ASF to an incompatible format.
2. Start enforcing their ownership of ASF by restricting its use to Microsoft platforms (as GIFs started to be enforced).
3. Lock up ASF using Microsoft
And the websites that are using ASF will go along blindly. Why? Because no one has been complaining to them about their use of ASF, so they have no reason to avoid Microsoft's "improvements."
And at that point, the content of those websites will become unavailable to you unless you are running Windows XP.
It really annoys me when people fail to protect themselves, and everyone else, because they are too lazy or short-sighted to put up with a little temporary inconvenience. Are you hoping that someone else will do the work of protecting your freedom? Well, don't.
It's up to you. If you want the Internet to remain free, then stop supporting Microsoft protocols.
Any OS should be administered by a competent system admin who patches and/or disables services as necessary to avoid exploitation.
Riiight! Like that's ever going to happen.
When most people buy a computer, they are buying an appliance. They couldn't care less about administering it. It should just "work". Plug in the power, plug in the internet, and away we go. So, until we have machines that are self adminning out of the box, we are going to have problems.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
Seriously. Think about it. This is against everything M$ stands for.
Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community kinda puts the damper on M$'s attempts to own the whole damn community, now doesn't it.
What IBM has done is to put word into people's heads.
"Linux. The future is open."
If I didn't know what it was and was intrigued by the ad, I'd look it up just like I've done for other things:
- Who's that guy that played in that movie with that other guy?
- How does that CVT on the new Honda Civic Hybrid work?
- What other recipes are there for making jello shots?
Most people seem to know this nowdays and IBM knows people know they can look it up on the net. Their approach was to make you want to know more, "What is this Linux thing?" Maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but I'm pretty sure it will work for a lot of people.Just ask any Lisp programmer.
I think it is clear that data is used in a broad sense, where it includes information, knowledge and skills, a lot of which is embedded in the Linux kernal.