How Do You Advocate Linux in 5 Minutes?

xtracto writes "I just returned from buying certain Linux magazine. While looking at the 'Computing' stand in the library, and right after I grabbed a copy of the Linux magazine, a guy asked me if I used Linux. After that, the man told me he had tried to use Linux, but he had found it difficult. I told him the first things that came to my mind: that it depended on the distribution (he tried Kubuntu). I recommended him to look for a Linux User Group near his hometown (he told me he didn't live near a city). What would you tell these kinds of people? Not so long ago, and to my surprise, a relative who is completely computer illiterate started talking about Linux, but the general thought is that 'it is harder than Windows'. How do you advocate Linux to people who are more comfortable using Windows?"

Comments

You don't?

[casualsax3]

Linux is still not for everyone, and people need to come to terms with that. We need to stop trying to convert the masses - it's still too early. Build a truly better operating system and you won't have to spend so much time trying to sell people on a free product. Wait until "it just works" otherwise we're going to continue to turn people off.

Re:You don't?

[rbochan]

Linux is still not for everyone...

You've hit the nail right there. I'm as big a Linux advocate as any other /.'er, but I'll reiterate what I posted here a while back:
It's entirely situational. The key is no-pressure. It's their machine, and they shouldn't be forced into using something they're not comfortable with.

Re:You don't?

[trisweb]

And just like most Linux advocates, you just don't get it.

The iPod was not about its features, or its interface, or its design, or its marketing, it was ALL of those things understood and executed simultaneously by a company and a person who Just Got It.

It really makes me laugh when people say "This product has everything this one had and is $100 cheaper, why wasn't it more successful?" The fact is, it wasn't, that's the hard truth, and it's your job to figure out why. I'll give you a hint: it's not one thing, or two things, or even five things. You have to understand your product and your users on a much higher level than features and price.

So then think, gee, Linux is free and Windows and MacOS are hundreds of dollars, and they all offer exactly the same features... and take a hint. There's something wrong with Linux, and it's not just one thing. It's the whole philosophy that software is just its features and nothing more. Once you Get It, then you can talk about Marketing It.

Here's a start: Linux needs to tuck the command line under the carpet. Blasphemy! [Runs and hides]

But seriously, if you disagree with that, then Linux will never see widespread adoption, and your mentality is the reason.

Re:You don't?

[Sancho]

Too early? That excuse is only going to hold water for a little while longer. Distributions like Ubuntu already make installation and most use so absurdly simple that children[1] literally can do it. The next version of Ubuntu is expected to include things like accelerated graphics drivers (not open source) and other little spiffies that are currently 'hard' to get working. The last great barrier is wifi (both configuration and support), but that's coming along, too.

The problem is inertia. It doesn't matter much that Linux is ready for the desktop. What matters is that Windows has owned the desktop for over a decade. People are familiar with it, and no matter how irrational, when confronted with something /different/ but no /harder/, people cry that they can't do it.

I don't know what about Kubuntu was too hard for the gentleman in the Asker's story, but I'd be willing to bet that the problem was that it was unfamiliar. He probably didn't immediately know how to do the tasks that he normally does. Maybe his e-mail client wasn't already set up and his ISP couldn't help him, or maybe he couldn't find Internet Explorer and didn't know that Firefox was the alternative. But the fact is that he wasn't willing to try, and it's likely that he wasn't willing to try because he had his comfortable Windows desktop waiting for him back in his comfort zone. I'm not trying to say that there's something wrong with this man, but this (admittedly speculative) case is representative of the problem.

No, Linux is ready for the desktop. It's about as ready as it's going to get. It is no harder to use than Windows. It's the inertia issue advocates need to overcome, now, and that will be a harder battle.

Re:You don't?

[trisweb]

iRiver, most likely. It was the H320, 30Gb, FM tuner, Color scren, mp3/wma/ogg support. You might be able to find one still, I love mine, and it runs RockBox, which is awesome.

Re:You don't?

[Bluesman]

Amen.

But I'd go further and say that the problem with Linux acutally is just one thing.

It's not the dominant operating system.

That one fact alone means a whole lot to the average person. They want something they can get help with from people they know, the want something they can replace easily, they want the dominant operating system. Just like most people want the dominant movie format, and will wait to get it.

90% market dominance isn't just a result of good marketing, it's the primary "feature" of windows. Nothing else will be able to offer that feature by definition.

What's going to have to happen is for Microsoft to either adopt Linux/open source (I tend to think this is actually likely in the long term future) or Linux is going to have to be so vastly superior to Windows for the average person so as to make the 90% market share "feature" irrelevant.

It's not going to happen through advocacy.

That said, my money's on virtualization. We'll probably all be running multiple OS's simultaneously before Windows loses 5% marketshare.

Don't tell... listen

[gbulmash]

The best way to advocate Linux is to ask some questions. What doesn't the guy like about Windows that's making him even consider Linux? What kinds of things does he do in Windows and what apps does he use? Why does he think Linux is harder than Windows?

When you know that, you know the selling points of Linux that you can spool out in 5 minutes. The biggest difficulty in evangelizing anything is when you talk at people instead of with them. If you ask questions, he'll provide you with all the talking points that will be most effective.

But it's worth mentioning... It all depends on the person's needs. Sometimes Windows will be the person's best option for a comfortable operating environment, because they have peripherals and software that Linux just doesn't have a good solution for supporting or replacing. If the guy's not ready for Linux or it's not ready for him, be honest. That way, when the situation changes, he's going to trust your advice and be ready to switch because of it.

- Greg

Simple

[JoshJ]

Tell them there's a free operating system that's better than Windows, that it's available for free, you can try it out on a cd before you install it "for real"- for free- and that it's extremely resistant to viruses and comes with a dizzying array of programs you can install- for free!
Then GIVE THEM an Ubuntu livedisc or install Debian/Fedora/Mandriva/whatever for them. No, don't tell them "go download it", that's not going to work.

Alternatively, you can send them to goodbye-microsoft.com by way of their "propaganda": http://goodbye-microsoft.com/propaganda.odt

Re:Simple

[DerekLyons]

Tell them there's a free operating system that's better than Windows, that it's available for free, you can try it out on a cd before you install it "for real"- for free- and that it's extremely resistant to viruses and comes with a dizzying array of programs you can install- for free!

Then tell them the rest of the story.... The 'free' software can cost you many hours of tracking down answers in obscure forums (and dealing with the scorn of the denizens thereof) in order to get basic functions (sound, video) to work. If there is a Windows program you absolutely must have - there may or may not be a Linux equivalent (back to Google and forum scorn to find it). You may or may not be able to import the data from Windows to Linux. You can spend hours (back to Google and forum scorn) trying to get a Windows program running under WINE - and still not have it work.
 
In the past nine odd years (I.E. since installing Windows 98), I've spent a grand total of about five hours sorting out configuration and driver problems. (Ten minutes when I installed Pirates!, five each for locating and installing the new drivers. Twenty minutes sorting out a USB problem with vendor tech support. The balance was trying to get help with an Open Source program which kept failing - and the best I got was 'when it breaks, reinstall it'.)
 
Properly installed and maintained (and the latter takes very little work if you practice safe hex) Windows installations Just Work. Free software? Well, it might work, it might not.

Better reason

[linvir]

Linux is like a religion for people who really ought to be putting their intelligence to better use than a religion. Stop wasting time thinking of ways to get your neighbours to accept Linux as their personal saviour from malware, and start teaching yourself C++ and get to work improving things.

Re:Better reason

[Curtman]

Stop wasting time thinking of ways to get your neighbours to accept Linux as their personal saviour from malware, and start teaching yourself C++ and get to work improving things.

The problem with that approach I think, is that by the time you become a competent C++ programmer, you no longer have the ability to see things the same way a "newbie" does. I want tonnes and tonnes of options in my applications. Newbies are afraid of those options, and don't know what half of them mean. I've come to a point where I really don't care if the masses convert or not. I prefer that they did, and I would recommend that they do, but I know from experience that preaching only leads to a LOT of phone calls from people with the stupidest questions (to me). I will never push Linux on anyone again.

Re:Better reason

[paeanblack]

The problem with that approach I think, is that by the time you become a competent C++ programmer, you no longer have the ability to see things the same way a "newbie" does. I want tonnes and tonnes of options in my applications.

Being a competent programmer has almost no overlap with being a good user-interface designer. The problem is not "programmers can't think like newbies", it's "programmers think they can do UI because UI is just another part of the program." They can't.

Until the DE and app devs start realizing "oh shit, I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing with the interface, and I need to involve someone who does.", Linux won't ever crack the desktop market. XP and OSX are a decade ahead.

PS: Before you reply with "I'm a good programmer and a good UI designer", let me guess: you probably think you are a good driver too. These are just areas where people are notoriously inaccurate with self-assessment. Get a qualified second opinion.

Face it

[kosmosik]

Linux is not customer ready OS right now (like for grandpa or smth.). If it would it would be mainstream right now. But it isn't. The fact that it is not customer OS does not degrades its value. Linux (and other alternative free-as-in-speech unix OSes) has great value once you learn how to harvest it and make Linux to work for you.

So with that in mind Linux is an OS for professionals and hobbyists/hackers.

For professionals right now it is I think mandatory to know Linux in *some* way. Even just in way to see that Windows works better for you. But it is essential to know Linux in way that lets you make clear decision of what to use. But anyway nobody ever got fired for buying MS - or was he? ;)

For hobbyists Linux is a Must Have - if you are into computing and you like it you must try Linux since it may make nice things for you in some way or another. It does not mean that you need to dump Windows and go Linux exclusively - but it means that Linux has great potential and it is worth to use.

Linux advocacy has nothing to do with ease of use compared to Windows or whatever. If Windows is easier to use for you than go on - use it.

Re:The answer is right here

[techno-vampire]

Dunno if you can pull it off in 15 minutes...

It all depends on what you want to do. Do you want to sell them on Linux or are you willing to settle for getting them interested in it and start them thinking about switching? If the latter is enough, fifteen minutes should be more than enough.

Re:Easy

[josephdrivein]

Let it sell itself to the right customer.

I think that not everyone is ready to use linux. Let's face it: linux is not for everyone. You need to be smart. When most of people I know ask me about linux, I sedolm recommended to try it out because I know they can't even handle Windows XP. It's sad but it's true.

Re:Easy

[Aneurysm]

Hmmm, I disagree with this. My job is teaching adult education. I teach IT at my local college for adults and we cater for anyone who is 16+. The average age of my students however is 56 and I have students as old as 88.

It's fine to say "They just need someone else to do it for them." because I agree with you, it's true. However it's not practical. I have a large number of students who don't have anyone to look after their computers for them. In fact the major reason for the older people gettings computers is to keep in touch with family who live a long way away or abroad. The worst thing is they often have "a mate from the pub who knows computers". This person is nearly always a complete idiot and has no knowledge of computers but does however know how to reinstall Windows. This is what they beliee qualifies them as an expert.

Now imagine putting Linux in front of these people with no direct support. apt-get? emerge? rpm? How is that easier that sticking in a disc, having it run and clicking next 3 times. These are people who can barely use a mouse, will they know how to search for the correct software? They would rather (and are better off) going to a store and asking for the software, and being sold something that will match their needs AND is eay to install.

I have had more than a handful of students say they have lost several years of digital photos of their grandchildren because a friend formatted their computer and reinstalled Windows. When quizzed about the actual problem it's nearly always a very simple one. In one case it was the keyboard not putting the correct characters on screen (I am in the UK and the keyboard was set to a US layout).

Matter of perspective

[tempest69]

The Problem is that if I get a new computer, it doesnt "just work" even as someone with a reasonably computer saavy background. As such I am used to the garbage that needs to be done to make a machine work..

So With a new machine I might try and open up a pdf off the internet But then I get the message that Adobe isnt installed. But I know that Acorobat is a piece of Garbage, so I download Foxit to view PDF's.. But Microsoft has made it bloody impossible to view a pdf mwith an alternative viewer through IE, so I still download Acrobat anyway, and set foxit to be the readed for offline documents. Because acrobat takes 15 seconds to open a big pdf, and is responds like a slug.

Then I want to click on some quicktime peice of junk.. so it forces me to download the latest version of quicktime. Quicktime likes to have some quickloaded hanging out in memory that seems to chew clock cycles at random.. And while I would like to turn it off, VLC doesnt do a nice job of playing in-webpage-window movies.

Then there are those pages that dont show an address bar, the f-11 doesnt seem to work and so then you cant easily find some jacked popup without going through the bizarre path of ctrl-n, f-11 and then you can see and copy the address bar. Which is a total joke, because a popup should never have that level of control over a window.

The kicker is that I can get into a brand new car and have it work as well as I want it to work in 5 minutes. With a computer it takes it days to get it to a point where its comfortable.

Storm

Re:Don't worry, grandma...

[jZnat]

Yay! Let's all make baseless assumptions like it's 1995 all over again!

I'm sure there are tons of Linux users now who don't even know what dependency hell was like (or DLL hell for that matter) because that problem doesn't exist anymore. Find something else to troll about.

Just a small warning

[polemistes]

Whenever hardware comes with a Linux driver, it is a very bad sign. It usually means that the drivers are closed source binary files that has to be installed. It takes a lot of effort to make such drivers work well in an up to date Linux system. And the only only ones that can make updates are the hardware producers. I once bought a USB ISDN adapter. It claimed to include Linux drivers. And it actually did. But only for Linux kernel version 2.4.18. It has never been updated. Free Open Source drivers in Linux are generally included, and you don't have to install anything. It just works. Today and tomorrow and probably in ten years too. This is why a lot of people think Free and Open Source software is an important issue. It is a development model and a way of thinking that can make the world a lot simpler and more efficient, both for the end users, hardware and software producers. The flawed closed source development model is founded on the idea that you need to have total control over your customers if you want to be successful and make a lot of money. I hope and believe that this path will lead to a lot of dissatisfied customers and poverty.

Re:LiveCDs

[b4upoo]

Usually the live CD phase doesn't last too long as people want certain software that suits their own needs. Linux is not harder than Windows. But a Windows user usually will have a really hard time switching over. It's easier for a newbie that has never run Windows. For those that are making the switch the key is to cold turkey all use of Windows. This way the person will have to get the syntax or procedure right on Linux which they will not tend to do if they can boot into Windows to get around the stumbling point.
                    As for the live CDs Puppy and DSL are simply amazing. They are also one heck of a security tool as no computer is likely to ever get infested while running from a live CD.

Re:LiveCDs

[Fred_A]

Usually the live CD phase doesn't last too long as people want certain software that suits their own needs.

The thing is that just handing out a CD (I carry a few of the freely available professionally printed Ubuntu CDs for that purpose) *without* following on afterwards doesn't do much to help.

The Linux logic is way too different from that of Windows and new users first have to forget their Microsoft ways. And they will only do so if they are *very* motivated or if you show them how to do stuff. Those users obviously aren't tech savvy or else they probably wouldn't have much trouble with Windows or would have switched to something else on their own.

So if you give a CD to someone, follow up on it, offer assistance, if the person finds it intriguing, point him/her to a LUG or invest some of your time.

Or you might as well be handing out coasters.