Slashdot Mirror
How to Encourage Use of OSS?
Marc Light asks: "I repair computers as a side line cause I want to keep up on what's going on in the world of computer technicians. When someone comes to me with a problem, if I have to reinstall I first try to convince them to install Ubuntu. For now I only have 25% of success, mostly because they usually use an app. or some hardware that would complicate their experience too much. When I install Windows, I also install Firefox, OpenOffice, VLC, Winamp (not open source but if they eventually switch to Linux, XMMS won't scare them), and CDex to drive them off Windows Media Player and DRM. I then take 15 to 30 minutes free of charge to explain to them the basics of their new software. For my part, I mostly got positive response. I'd say 80% of it is positive feedback. My questions to Slashdot readers: Do you think that computer technicians can make a difference in the adoption of OSS? And if they're for OSS, should they try to put some pressure on their users/clients?"
The beautiful thing about OSS is that it's free. And you're not forced to use it (like Dell forces people to use Windows). Let's keep it that way.
Please only install this software on their machines if they give you permission. If their computer stops working soon after or they experience problems that they don't understand (file associations), they may just quietly blame it on those applications and tell that to all their friends and relatives.
My work here is dung.
You should suggest it, but don't try to convince them unless they ask for more information. Put together a sheet comparing the two operating systems and give them a live CD, but I would leave it at that. Besides, if they come back afterwards and say, I like this live CD, can you put it on the drive, you get more cashish.
Technicians can play a role in getting the word out on FOSS and you seem to be doing a good job with FF and OO. Just remember that you don't know how they use their computer and perhaps Linux just is not right for that user.
tinfoilmedia
Long ago I helped a guy rationalise his laptop; upgraded DOS, and Wordperfect (shows how long ago this was...). Then weeks later I get a call "I can't save my file! You've messed up my computer! It worked before!!! etc...". Turns out he was trying to use an illegal filename. So a problem he created that had nothing to do with what I had done, had become my problem. And this continued for months. It only takes a few people like that to sour you on the whole idea, and you revert to "Reformat and reinstall; call MS if it doesn't work". Beware those who nod and agree when you make suggestions, often they have no idea what is going on and will come back to you time and time again to ask the same question and drive you insane. Unless you're either a BOFH or Mahatma Gandhi, don't be a suggester.
If you really want to champion this movement, you have to recognize the problem before you can start to offer people solutions. You mention installing OSS apps that you seem to enjoy on everyone's machine.
While you may feel that this is doing them a world of good, what problem did you solve? Did they complain to you that they were sick of DRM? Did they complaining that they wish they hadn't bought MS Office and long for a free suite of editing and publishing tools? Was IE failing to fill its role in their lives?
For the average person, there are few problems with their computer experiences. If they have issues with security online or troubles coming up with the cash for MS Office, then you have definite problems that need solutions. And OSS is there for them, that's when it's your duty to step in and offer your services and free 15-30 minutes of time to explain how this new software works. Nobody wants to climb extra learning curves and, let's face it, commercial software products are usually years ahead of their OSS competitors.
A lot of open source applications are developed to satisfy a very specific problem. That is, they don't have a breadth of system requirements, just very very specific ones. They may come out fulfilling these few requirements far and above their competitors but they often lack the bells and whistles. For instance, I love CDex because it's simple and slimmed down with no DRM. Does this mean that my sister should also want to use it? No. She doesn't care or know what DRM is and my explanations bore her. Instead, she wants quick instant American gratification at the click of a button. iTunes gives this to her, CDex is ugly and foreign with no online tutorials or music store built into it.
So before you ask me how to encourage the use of OSS, you first need to tell me the problem that OSS needs to solve. I'm guessing for a lot of these people, there isn't one. Unfortunately, OSS is simply not for everyone.
If someone comes to you in distress with a problem, simply say, "you know, I use this app that
My work here is dung.
Why not? All they're trying to do is share something that they think is useful and good. It's entirely different from trying to convert someone religiously--it's not like we're saying "If you don't use this software instead, you're going to HELL!!!". It's just saying "Hey, in case you're interested, there is software that's free, useful, and developed cooperatively for the fun of it, instead of by companies." There's nothing wrong with it.
I know it can be awkward sometimes, and I'm not really comfortable just shoving it into people's faces, but there's nothing wrong with offering it.
ttuttle is a rankmaniac
If this guy is getting 25% of the people he deals with like he says then I have a hard time beliving that there isn't some heavy pressure here. These aren't the average
These are people who are calling someone else to fix their computer because they can't.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with a waiter recommending something either. In fact, they usually do in a subtle way via "Tonight's special is . . ."
"Fix" is such an ambiguous word sometimes when it comes to computers, isn't it? It isn't like a flat tire because often I hear "Can you fix my computer and make that never happen again?" or something to that effect. If they are sincere about that last part, can you really put Windows back on their computer? I usually reply with "I can't guarantee you something like that won't happen again, but I can offer you something that will come as close as possible to that. I want you to understand that going this path is a bit different from what you are used to, but it shouldn't take long to feel right at home."
If they are interested, I explain further. It is with a tag line like this that you find out how serious they are about "make it never happen again" because as soon as they learn their favorite piece of software probably won't work (it might with Wine, but no guarantee), you find out what is really important.
I would argue that as a technician, your job is not only to "fix" the problem, but to offer them a solution. Reinstalling Windows is a fix. Installing Linux is a solution. Not all solutions in the world offer one to one options. Sometimes, some things must be given up to truly solve a problem.
That's right. And it sounds like rather than fix the problems, he suggests open source alternatives to the software they're already using and comfortable with? That's just ridiculous. I suspect that this is a case of the customers going along with it because "the computer guy said it was better" and not because they even care about something like Windows DRM. I like open source software, but the evangelism--even if it's conducted with a minimum of pressure--is misplaced, unnecessary, and a huge turn-off to most people who aren't part of the tech crowd. According to this guy's rough stats, 75% or about 3 out of every 4 people say "no" anyway.
At least he is just turning his customers onto open source alternatives on the same platform, and in that sense what he's doing is fairly harmless. For instance, if you install Firefox on someone's Windows machine, and they discover they don't like it as much as you thought they might, at least they still have that trusty IE icon to click whenever they need to browse.
I've heard horror stories of young, presumptuous techs who promise to "fix" a computer, and then proceed to nuke somebody's Windows 95B OEM / Office 97 installation that they've been using for years, and install Ubuntu with OpenOffice. If they worked for my company, I would promptly fire them.
When most people only know windows, their tendency will be to compare other OSs to Windows. Same for MS Office and office suites. Crying foul when its compared to MS, or referring to everything people use as "crap" isn't going to win people over.
I know the more socialist segments (note, segments, not everyone) of the FOSS crowd doesn't like having to compete on merits instead of idealogy, but until FOSS can beat the MS platform on merits, FOSS won't gain general acceptance.
Here's a small lesson the FOSS community needs to learn: Insulting prospective customers doesn't do anything to win them over. This means not referring to MS products as "crap". This means not holding a holier-than-thou attitude when a noob comes to a forum and asks for help. This means keeping your documentation up to date and not assuming everyone will "figure it out" because they have access to all the source code.
Average Joe wants a computer that works. Telling Joe that what he's been happy with for the last X years is "crap" and that $LinuxDistributionOfTheWeek is "better" puts Joe on the defensive right away. Joe needs to be able to ask "how do I get XYZ to work" in a forum without being told to "go RTFM and come back when you know something" when the manual hasn't been updated for 4 releases and no longer applies, or worse, there's multiple versions of the manual and he has to figure out which one he needs.