Slashdot Mirror
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?"
Best way to advocate for anything, really. "Try Linux and I'll give you oral sex!" works wonders. I haven't had anyone refuse to try Linux yet.
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
Start a happiness pandemic
Very few. And those who put in bug reports about usability issues are usually either ignored or shouted down, especially if they don't include a patch to fix it. I'm sure this will get marked as Flamebait, but I've tried submitting usability bugs several times to different projects with no results.
Only programmers are respected in the open source world. If you can point out a usability problem like "Gnome apps don't alphabetize files in the Open dialog right" but you can't write code to fix it, you're sunk.
Oh, and I didn't make that up. Gnome apps *don't* alphabetize files right. You'd think that in the year 2007 being able to alphabetize a list of files is a solved problem, but not in the Linux world.
Comment of the year
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.
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.
"!"
Sorry but a BSOD is not "just normal Windows". There is something wrong either with this system or his hardware. If it is hardware then Linux (or any OS you run on the system) may also fail to work because of it. If it is Windows itself there is most likely a simple fix. Most likely is a buggy driver.
Windows is not perfect however stating it is "normal" for a complete system crash is not true these days.
Now back to your post I agree with you, Live CDs are great. I have given around 50-60 to people in the past 2 years or so. Almost everyone thinks it is impressive you can run it without needing to install it (those you don't do not understand what an operating system is). Sadly I do not think any of them stuck with Linux. The reasons are common (hardware support, applications, complexity). I have never tried to force anyone to use Linux. Use what you like IMHO. I try and support Linux as much as I can but it is very difficult when everything in Windows 'Just Works(tm)'.
A lot of people see computers as a tool to do something, like a drill or a BBQ. A drill makes holes, a BBQ cooks food, a computer surfs the internet and does word processing. They don't have to build the drill from small parts to drill a hole, they don't have to rub two sticks together to get fire for the BBQ and so they don't want to have to work on their computer to get it to surf the internet.
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.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
You know, it's been ten years since I moved from my Amiga to Linux, but those two sentences still piss me off.
I'd like the Slashdot audience to know that the (traitor) parent poster is in no way representative for us ex-Amiga users. We still foam at the mouth.