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.
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.
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.
It's entirely situational.
Yes--If they have older hardware and a Win9x system that's no longer supported.
I do 2 or 3 conversions like this a month. Usually it's a 300-450 Mhz box with 64 meg of ram or so. It ran 9x well enough, but it would be godawful running most of the 'Desktop Environment' based distros available today. I have a customized Debian package list with a set of light weight packages and WM. Total install space, with apps, is just under 300 megs. I've successfully installed it on everything from a Cyrix 133/32 meg to a P-II 450/64 meg. Every person I've done that for has been thrilled. They can do everything they were able to before (email, surf, word process, etc.) and not have to have the machine bogged down by anti-virus, anti-spyware, and application-based firewalls running all the time. And to top it off, the OS is updatable and supported.
No--If they're using AOL/some other proprietary connection software.
It's a god damn shame that after all this time, that AOL still hasn't come up with a software package for Linux, considering that their entire backend is *nix based. The 'AOL dialers' available for Linux are just that - dialers, and those used to using AOL aren't getting the same experience that they want. Some ISP dialers (i.e. Earthlink) are nothing more than just a standard DUN connection with some unnecessary eyecandy and other overhead... those can usually be set up pretty easily.
FYI - winmodems are the tools of the devil. ISA sound cards and and serial mice are nothing compared to those damned things.
Maybe--If they're on a highspeed line and have no idea about security measures with Microsoft Windows.
This is a pretty typical case. I've wow'd enough clients with the likes of Knoppix and they've been interested enough to at least dual-boot. More often than not, they tend to stick with the Linux side of the machine because the machine runs so much faster. Unless they're heavy gamers, they pretty rarely boot back into Microsoft Windows.
The key is no-pressure. It's their machine, and they shouldn't be forced into using something they're not comfortable with. I'm not a salesman, and I don't intend to be. I run Linux on a couple of laptops (P-II 233 Mhz/128 meg and a P-III 700/384 meg), and I carry whichever one most closely matches the client's machine, and let them play with it while I'm working on theirs to showcase its usability. They're always aghast when I tell them that all the software is _free_, and then show them the 15,000+ listings available in the repositories. Dual-booting is a damn nice option and allows people to try it out to their hearts' content and not have to commit to anything.
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
I don't look at it as trying to convert them I look at it as making them legal. I refuse to install pirated applications. Most of the time when I re build for a home customer they have duplicated install cd's from a friend, child and so fourth. They dont have an MS office license or a photoshop license.
I tell them that I wont help them break the law and then tell them I have free alternatives they can try legally if it doesnt work I will be more than happy to assist them in purchasing and installing the software they want legaly. Normally with the cost of MS office everyone is willing to give it a try.
My load is
Open Office
Firefox
Seamonkey
Picasa2
paint.net
foxit reader
pdfcreator
iTunes
Quicktime
I know its not all OSS but it the load I find gives the most people what they want. Very rarely do I get called back to install MS office, and I have never come back to find an illegal copy of MS office after I load the OSS alternatives.
You seem to have no experience with this at all. Please actually try or at least do research on the things you're talking about.
I installed Ubuntu on my sister's computer when she saw XGL running on mine and asked about it. She has a GeForce 2, which works with the legacy drivers in the repository. It does not break with kernel updates as you say it does. With Ubuntu's update manager she can perform updates by herself. She doesn't have a DVD drive on her computer, but on mine DVDs play fine, and even ignore region encoding (unlike Windows players). She thinks Shockwave games are stupid, like most people. Streaming video works fine. Her iPod Shuffle works well with Rhythmbox. Everything she wants to do is easily done, and she doesn't have to deal with the problems of Windows98 (which is what she used to have).
Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
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.