New Contest Will Seek the Best "I'm Linux" Video

LinuxScribe writes "From Apple's ubiquitous 'I'm a Mac,' to Jerry Seinfeld, to Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' retort, operating system commercials have been flooding the airways. Except that Linux is the one OS that has been notably absent. Now the Linux Foundation is launching a video contest on their new video site to fill this void. The winner gets a trip to Tokyo next year to participate in the Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium, and some serious geek cred." The contest doesn't officially open until late January; the blog post has an email address to contact if you want to get a head start.

Comments

I vote for Rodney McKay

[Joe The Dragon]

I vote for Rodney McKay

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[davester666]

You think he most resembles an operating system?
Or the actor portraying him does it in a computer-like fashion?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[PolarBearFire]

You mean you want an arrogant obnoxious know-it-all fictional character to play the part of Linux?

Why can't we just pick a hot nekkid chick?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[robertjw]

Ok, Rodney McKay and his girlfriend Kaylee.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[yahooglesoft]

Rodney McKay is in dating with the doctor of Atlantis, Jennifer Come on geek, keep up with the episodes!

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[KarrdeSW]

Rodney McKay is in dating with the doctor of Atlantis, Jennifer Come on geek, keep up with the episodes!

The actress playing Jennifer is probably burned permanently into his mind because of Firefly, where her character was named Kaylee.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[timeOday]

Sorry dude the casting is done.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[tacarat]

Can we nominate just Kaylee instead?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Anonymous Coward]

The guy in the back right is FUCKING AWESOME. If they used him how could anyone say no to Linux?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Bootarn]

Indeed, the casting is done.

No trolling, just have a laugh.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Anonymous Coward]

not much of stretch right? arrogant, obnoxious, know it all...perfect match for linux users.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[dna_(c)(tm)(r)]

Ok, Rodney McKay and his girlfriend Kaylee.

You know it should be:

Hi, i'm a Mac

And I'm a PC

Hello gorgeous, I'm Natalie Portman

...

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[theaveng]

Natalie Portman's grown mildly obese. Try a different actress.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[theaveng]

I liked her better when she was a young teen woman on Davinci's Inquest, and walked around half naked and/or wrapped in nothing but a bedsheet.

(the geeks run off and google Davinci's Inquest)

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[McFadden]

You mean you want an arrogant obnoxious know-it-all fictional character to play the part of Linux?

Sounds spot on to me

(except for the fictional part - but I can see how you could have confused the average Linux user with their girlfriend)

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[sgbett]

I've heard of morbidly obese, but 'mildly' obese?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[EvilIdler]

I guess it means "lumpy", like grits.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[porl]

i think he more meant 'not skinny as a rake like the ice addicts i like to watch in my porn'

for fuck's sake. to say natalie portman is in *any* way overweight is fucking ridiculous. concerned about our own body image and projecting our insecurities on others are we??

porl

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[theaveng]

Well Natalie isn't as thin as she used to be.

There's no denying that. In my humble opinion, people who claim "having a BMI over 25 is okay" are in denial about their health (similar to those who living San Andreas claim an earthquake won't hurt them). Many recent science studies show even BMI=25 increases the risk of diabetes or cardiac arrest or stroke, and that medical doctors should be recommending a BMI of 22 or lower for maximum health.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[supernova_hq]

Damnit, 3 days ago I get 15 mod points, now that something seriously worth a mod gets posted, I got NOTHIN'!

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[calmofthestorm]

I'd take David Hewlett for the ad any day....but not playing the McKay persona. I actually (may be reading too much into this) get the feeling he's not good at playing self-centered charactors, his acting in the few times when McKay is a generous, loving person (The Shrine, alternate universe McKay, etc) seems far better to me than his normal McKay role.

His sister (same on air and in real life) would also be a good choice but I'd rather have him.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[calmofthestorm]

Um...BMI is a /terrible/ indicator of health. People like me have fairly low BMIs but most of that mass is fat, not muscle. Likewise, people with lots of muscle and little fat are misrepresented the other way. Still, a decent heuristic I guess.

I much prefer water displacement to determine fat/muscle ratios combined with other factors to determine fitness.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Hal_Porter]

You mean you want an arrogant obnoxious know-it-all fictional character to play the part of Linux?

Why can't we just pick a hot nekkid chick?

I think you'll find it is spelled naked. Also I'm not sure why immature, unclothed avians are warm. Your post is illogical in the extreme.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[savuporo]

Ok, so why not include the full comparison here ?

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed,

I'll admit I am not necessarily the epitome of physical health, I don't think I could do a marathon but I can jog a few miles without keeling over pretty easy, and my BMI is around 33.
In fact, since I've started a more rigorous exercise program a little over a year ago, its actually gone up from 29-30 to that, yet I've gone from XL to L clothes and lost 3 sizes off my pants.
My bad cholesterol is great, I don't have high blood pressure and my blood sugar is superb with a huge line of family diabetes including pretty much everyone but my father and one aunt - on both sides.

My doctor initially said that as well, your BMI is high, but everything seems good so I'm not going to worry about it.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Bandman]

Even my wife thinks Kaylee is adorable. I'd vote her in.

Re:I vote for Rodney McKay

[Bandman]

If you're a woman and you have breasts, you fail BMI.

If you're a man with bone size exceeding the average 1950's male, you fail BMI.

If you have long arms, or have worked to gain muscle mass, or had to pee really bad when you stood on the scale, you fail BMI.

It's ridiculous as a gauge of health, because the human body is varied in its form. Healthy people don't all look alike, and aren't all built the same. You can say that BMI is accurate unto itself, but that doesn't make it a good way to judge anything other than BMI. Saying someone is unhealthy because they don't fall into the right scale in BMI causes undue hardship.

http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2007/10/31/bmi-is-bullshit-now-with-photos/

Novell already did this

[Anthony_Cargile]

Novell has already done this in several viral videos, just do a youtube search. The Linux foundation no doubt has less funding than Novell, so they should partner up on this and get a commercial out together, since Novell not only has experience/material on this, but a viable pitch as well what with the woman being Linux and more creative/better than the PC/Mac representatives.

And honestly, why are they still beating this whole "I'm a $PLATFORM" bit death rather than creating a new pitch, as Apple will undoubtably do once everyone has parodied their commercial to death.

Re:Novell already did this

[plantman-the-womb-st]

I know this meme with the I'm a *insert* has gotten out of hand, but this whole concept reminds me of the fact that no one ever seems to remember that linux isn't an OS. Red Hat is, Debian is, Ubuntu is... nevertheless my idea was this:

(wannabe hipster walks up): I'm a Mac.

(up steps the old middle management guy): I'm a PC.

(scene FILLS with people, 200-300, all dressed in various profession/regional/ethnic attire): *in unison* We, are Ubuntu.

Novel may have info, but people don't pay attention to info. Get their attention with the bagel, then hit them with the book, it's the only way to keep them from eating the pages.

Re:Novell already did this

[AndGodSed]

I actually quite like that Idea.

Re:Novell already did this

[NightRain]

That's quite an awesome idea actually...

Re:Novell already did this

[ianare]

You have my vote.

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

In the UK at least, the MS advert is along these lines. People from all over the world and in lots of different professions* speak to camera and say, "I'm a PC" or somesuch.

*Wrestlers, astronauts, office workers, teacher in the third world, guy on a boat..

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm tempted to register or whatever to vote this up. It's totally Ubuntu's style, and pretty effective.

For some reason, it seems like it'd also work for some sort of habitat for humanity type thing also...

Re:Novell already did this

[Kent Recal]

Mmmmmm. Bagle!

Re:Novell already did this

[gzipped_tar]

--
Brian: You are individuals!

The mass: (in unison) Yes! we are individuals!

Brain: You are all different!

The mass: (in unison) Yes! We are different!

Man in the mass: I'm not.

Men around him: Shhhhh!
--

Sorry. Can't help.

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

...and you have my sword!

Re:Novell already did this

[Abreu]

...and my axe!

Re:Novell already did this

[GaryOlson]

(scene FILLS with people, 200-300, all dressed in various profession/regional/ethnic attire): *in unison* We, are Ubuntu.

With a minor change. Rather than statically standing there announcing who they are, the crowd should be active: riding a unicycle, one guy in chains doing a Houdini act, another person building a hot rod, a person painting an abstract portrait, etc. Rather than speaking in unison, they should all say something different but crescendo with the final word Linux in unison.

Re:Novell already did this

[ccandreva]

> Novell has already done this in several viral videos, just do a youtube search.

Or download then direct from Novell in MPEG or OGG:

http://www.novell.com/linux/meetlinux/

Re:Novell already did this

[Hognoxious]

Man in the mass: I'm not.

Is that man Spartacus?

Re:Novell already did this

[NiteShaed]

(scene FILLS with people, 200-300, all dressed in various profession/regional/ethnic attire): *in unison* We, are Ubuntu.

"You will be assimilated. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

Yeah, I know it's not what you were going for, first thing that sprang to my mind though.....

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmmmmm. Bagle!

What does a computer worm have to do with it?

Moron.

Re:Novell already did this

[ookabooka]

Yeah, I was thinkin more like an IT guy walking around an office on his first day.

IT guy walks into random cubicle and mutters to self "Oh! Linux." Then repeat for server room (Sun machines), multimedia/marketing dept (Macs). Then the bosses cell phone for giggles 'n shits. End with something catchy: "Linux, it's everywhere. Where are you?" Only slightly less 1984-ish :-p

Definitely should hit home on the fact that Linux is pervasive and available on essentially every platform.

Re:Novell already did this

[Risen888]

Funny, I had almost the same image in my head as I was walking to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Mine's a little different but pretty much the same theme:

Fifty hipster clones in a Starbucks: We're Macs.

Fifty PHBs in an depressing office lobby: We're PCs.

Alpha geek in a server room wearing a penguin pocket protector: I'm Linux.

College aged alterna-girl on a park bench with her laptop: I'm Linux.

Mother and two children in the living room: We're Linux.

(Montage speeds up, you get the idea, super-fast clips in the same vein speeding up and speeding up and speeding up, later in the scene people start reaching out and pulling in the Mac/PC clone-guys, they get in on the act, fast and faster until...)

Enormous mob of people (in Times Square or something): I AM LINUX.

Young hip kid (not the Mac) walks out of the crowd to the camera: You can be too.

Re:Novell already did this

[spisska]

I'm thinking something a little different. I would abandon the whole concept of trying to parody (or parrot) the Mac concept, and instead try to show what Linux is and what it's really good at.

Here's what I was thinking:

Open with a spectacular image from space, which pulls back to reveal an obervatory. Go through the telescope to the computers recording the readings:

System Name
Location
Base Distro, version (e.g. Debian 3.1)
Kernel version

Path continues through series of routers and hops, each flashes the above system stats. Continues through university network to research lab. Students in lab coats studying data, manipulating images from the observatory. Same stats:

System Name; Location; Base Distro, version (e.g. Debian 3.1); Kernel version

Path continues through routers/hops same as before, through a television news studio (stats as appropriate) and out to an LCD set in your average living room -- could be pretty well anywhere in the western world. It's showing the news we flew through before, which has the same backing image of space that keeps recurring. The anchor talks of 'astronomical discovery'. Show stats of TV:

System Name: Sony XXX LCD TV
Location: All over
Base system: custom kernel
Kernel version: 2.4.1, e.g.

Camera swings around living room to reveal a girl at a table (4th-6th grade). She's got various books and papers around her -- she's working on a project about space. She's also got an eee (or similar), which is open to the same image of the cosmos.

System Name: Asus eee PC 701
Location: The world
Base system: Ubuntu eee
Kernel version 2.6.24-generic

She's chatting with someone about the image -- 'wow, that's amazing' or some such. Camera goes back through the tubes, appropriately showing router stats, to a modern classroom in an unexpected place -- e.g. Africa or Central Asia, where a child is also looking at the image and chatting.

Continue through the tubes to other places around the world where the image pops up on a Linux system. Same system stats as appropriate.

Finish in Peru. It's night and there's a child looking at the same image on an OLPC, chat window open. He's sitting on a stunning cliffside with the ocean below.

System Name: OLPC XO-1
Location: SomeVillage, Peru
Base system: Red-Hat, Sugar
Kernel version: 2.6.?

He looks slowly from the screen up into the night sky. The camera zooms out and follows his gaze back out into space.

Fade to black.

Linux. There are no limits.
   

Re:Novell already did this

[im_thatoneguy]

Wow! This is TOTALLY different from Microsoft's "I'm a PC". Campaign!

This is a great idea if you want to further reinforce the idea that Linux is just a low cost community funded Microsoft. (OpenOffice vs. Office XP, Windows vs Linux, Firefox vs IE, Android vs Windows Mobile etc etc). When Open Source and linux goes hunting for ideas they usually shamelessly clone Microsoft products... for better or worse. SO yeah.. let's reinforce that stereotype by cloning Microsoft's ad campaign for Vista.

Re:Novell already did this

[Risen888]

Wow! This is TOTALLY different from Microsoft's "I'm a PC". Campaign!

Really? I didn't know, haven't seen them.

And Firefox is an IE clone, huh? Silly troll.

Re:Novell already did this

[DiegoBravo]

And in the credits a fat bearded guy yelling "I'm GNU/Linux".

Re:Novell already did this

[Weezul]

Yeah, Novell's three videos are way better than this contest will yield

Re:Novell already did this

[Hooya]

That's a pretty cool idea. Although, it would need to be slightly 'watered down' for the general public to understand what the stats are. Geeks would get it. Not sure the general public would. But overall, I think that's probably the best idea I've seen so far.

I would change the punch line though.

Re:Novell already did this

[supernova_hq]

Yeah, the punch line really reminds me of the Hummer commercials. But other than that, it sounds great.

Re:Novell already did this

[GeorgeS]

That sounds like a great idea!
I'd vote for it if we were voting.

Re:Novell already did this

[cp.tar]

As several other posters have said, bringing in a bunch of people representing just one distro would be misleading.
However, bringing in several people representing different distros might not be such a bad idea. So you get some college student for Ubuntu, an uber-geek for Gentoo, someone artsy for Sabayon, an engineer for Debian, and so on, and so forth. And definitely some guy wearing a fedora (preferably with an Anansi Boys reference).

Linux is not one OS for one kind of people; thus playing the diversity and versatility card might be just the thing we need.

Re:Novell already did this

[Markspark]

ofcourse it is! I thought it was common knowledge that there was no internet prior to Internet Exploder?

Re:Novell already did this

[cp.tar]

Add a Tux-shaped constellation and I'm sold.

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

...and muh dick n shit, honkies! This niggas gonna cut a bitch!

Re:Novell already did this

[Blakey Rat]

Can the router stats. People don't give a shit what runs routers, and in the majority of cases it'd be IOS anyway. Stick with what people actually care about.

Re:Novell already did this

[jshackney]

Actually, I think one of the better videos came out of IBM.

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

Then you don't know what an operating system is. Those are distributions, not operating systems.

Re:Novell already did this

[Nefarious Wheel]

(scene FILLS with people, 200-300, all dressed in various profession/regional/ethnic attire): *in unison* We, are Ubuntu.

Sorry, professional marketing flack here. You scare people away with a mob.

Much more useful to meme building would be a single person to focus in on.

So let's make it a trio, and move the drama away from the first two.

"Hi, I'm a Mac" + "Hi, I'm a PC" doing the basic Mac vs. PC posturing. Third guy at a desk, says nothing, just rapidly working through paperwork. Simple name plate on desk "Linux", stuffed Tux in the corner for brand identification. After a bit of meaningless byplay on the part of Mac & PC, they show their annoyance at Linux. "Hey!" says the nearest, tapping the desk of Linux. "You're not playing the game!" Linux smiles at them, then goes back to work without a word. Cap it with a tag line "Linux. Some people just want it to work."

Re:Novell already did this

[unTrainedUser]

Camera goes back through the tubes
 

But what if the tubes are clogged!?

Re:Novell already did this

[MrCreosote]

"I'm Linux"
"No, I'm Linux!"
"I'm Linux, and so is my wife"

Re:Novell already did this

[Mozk]

This is somewhat redundant, but you have a fucking great idea there. You might not be able to make a video out of it yourself, but try to push that idea where you can.

Re:Novell already did this

[ozphx]

So basically copying the MS ad?

Re:Novell already did this

[Ihmhi]

We, are Ubuntu.

You forgot the rest:

We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own and release it under the GPL. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.

Re:Novell already did this

[ClosedSource]

"Enormous mob of people (in Times Square or something): I AM LINUX."

Actually, they've gathered together because they couldn't get their wireless network cards to work and they have no other way to communicate.

Re:Novell already did this

[sagematt]

I wish I could give you an extra +1 Funny...

Re:Novell already did this

[JohnBailey]

Can the router stats. People don't give a shit what runs routers, and in the majority of cases it'd be IOS anyway. Stick with what people actually care about.

Ahh.. you mean porn and warez.. Not really suitable for a mainstream ad.

Re:Novell already did this

[diego.viola]

Neat idea, I really like it, I always though that Linux is like a universe, and that projects are like multiverses with their own worlds and populations.

I think it would be cool to represent this, and I think it would be nice if we can show the best of everything like Linux is.

We could show that Linux is everywhere, like in big and important server rooms (NASA, CERN, etc). and also show cool desktops such as KDE4, Compiz effects, etc. Children using OLCPs running Linux, mini laptops, etc. and also a representation of the future and community.

Great idea, might the best video win =D

Re:Novell already did this

[arminw]

....Linux. There are no limits...

Wow, that sounds like a great way to sell Linux to the masses. Now all you have to do is a) persuade some company such as Dell or HP to put Linux on all their computer systems they sell and b) persuade them to run your ads on every TV network and on many video web sites.

Then, maybe enough normal, non-geek computer buyers might buy enough such computers to make it worth for companies to spend all the money it would cost to run your fabulous ads you have come up with.

Re:Novell already did this

[paving-slab]

...no one ever seems to remember that linux isn't an OS. Red Hat is, Debian is, Ubuntu is...

Well, your nearly right. Linux isn't an OS, GNU/Linux is an OS. Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu etc. are distributions.

Re:Novell already did this

[WhiteHorse-The Origi]

and you can count on my phhbbblltttt(scuse me!).

Re:Novell already did this

[indi0144]

Sportacus? sure! Lazy Town scenery always remember me Gnome desktop, not trolling, I just find Gnome too "creamy" :)

Re:Novell already did this

[dkleinsc]

Might I suggest that in your ad (which sounds quite good to someone like me without professional marketing flack training) to include as part of the shots of the third guy some idea of how pretty his desk is? Or even a look at a computer screen he's using?

The reason for this is to make it look like it's easy to use, not just for geeks.

Re:Novell already did this

[JimFive]

I had a similar idea:

Put Linux in foreground on side of screen. PC/Mac in back on other side. Linux working through his in basket. PC/Mac meaningless chat. When Linux's inbox is empty he looks over at PC/Mac and says something like "I'm done, are you guys ready for lunch" PC/Mac look embarrased and go back to their desks with full in-baskets.

The ad needs to reference the original Mac ads where the people are personification of the OS not the Microsoft ads where the people represent the users.
--
JimFive

Re:Novell already did this

[zdickinson]

Microsoft just did something similar. Showing a variety of people in various countries and job roles saying, "I'm Vista."

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

I know this meme with the I'm a *insert* has gotten out of hand, but this whole concept reminds me of the fact that no one ever seems to remember that linux isn't an OS. Red Hat is, Debian is, Ubuntu is... nevertheless my idea was this:

Actually, Linux IS the OS, what you have listed are particular distributions OF Linux....

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

Or, just replace him with a hot chick.

Re:Novell already did this

[Bandman]

And my hairy feet

(?)

Re:Novell already did this

[Bandman]

I'm in, as long as the Gentoo guy has a Type-R sticker on his case

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

So basically, don't copy Apple; copy Cisco.

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

No, linux is the kernel... try running linux all by itself...

Re:Novell already did this

[Anonymous Coward]

...They should all say something different but crescendo with the final word Linux in unison.

The point of saying Ubuntu is to differentiate the kernel from the OS. Linux is the kernel, Ubuntu is the OS. I know this gets annoying, but think DR-DOS, MS-DOS, and DOS.

Script

[symbolset]

(big)Hi, I'm a PC.

(med mac)Hi, I'm a mac.

(flea linux)I'm Linux!

(big pc)Let's talk about servers.

PC shrinks, mac grows, but Linux takes over 90% of the scale

(linux)Hey! Where did you guys go?

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry, that was just terrible.

Re:Script

[symbolset]

You're welcome. Maybe you would prefer the alternate version where PC has leprosy, and server share drops off.

Re:Script

[steveha]

I admit that unlike with these guys I don't easily work with the hardware you already have...

Oh come on, that's needlessly harsh, and not funny. It's not even correct. Does OS X work with the hardware I already own? Does Windows Vista?

Take an Ubuntu 8.04 install CD, and try booting it on "the hardware you already have". In my experience, it will Just Work on just about any computer from the past few years. (An Ubuntu 8.10 install CD will probably work also, but I have seen that fail to work on a laptop... some drivers issue. 8.04 is the "Long Term Support" version, and extra care was taken to make it stable, so that's slightly better for Just Working.)

Ubuntu will do a better job of Just Working on "the hardware you already have" than Windows Vista! 1 GB of RAM is plenty for Ubuntu, and while it might be enough for Vista, I have heard that it's not "plenty". (Supposedly you really want to have at least 2 GB.) Semi-lame graphics cards are fine for Ubuntu, including the desktop bling, where Vista will run in some kind of fallback mode unless your card supports programmable shaders.

If a user can be happy with just a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, email program, web browser (with Flash support), instant messenger, photo viewer, photo editor, music player, and a few light games such as a minesweeper game, then that user can be happy with Ubuntu, nearly out of the box. (For the music player, you will probably want to install the extra codecs such as MP3 that are not installed by default.)

An average user might not be able to install Ubuntu, but will be able to use it if an expert sets it up correctly. An average user might not be able to install Windows, either.

steveha

Re:Script

[Macthorpe]

I'd like to be the first to say - get a sense of humour? For all the fun poked at everything else around here (especially Vista), it makes it really sad to see somebody taking a joke against Linux way too seriously.

Lighten up.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

So, you call Apple and Microsoft a lot for customer service then? How's that working out for you?

And you're absolutely right about the hardware thing. Apple is very well known for playing nicely with 3rd party hardware. And Vista works like a dream on all my computers.

Re:Script

[evilviper]

"As long as you don't care about using all the software these guys use,

99% of computer users in the world don't care whether they can use program X. They just care that they can use SOME program to do Y. So your comment is really splitting hairs in an attempt to make Linux sound worse for no reason. You could equally well have gone the other way and said that you get rid of your "old software" because the "new software" is better, and free.

I admit that unlike with these guys I don't easily work with the hardware you already have...

A stitch in time... As I've said before, with Windows (or MacOS for that matter) sure, you get something that always sort-of minimally makes your hardware work, while you don't always get new hardware working that easily under Linux. Still, after you put that little bit of work into getting your hardware working, it won't spontaneously corrupt the drivers, lose the settings, etc. And you can do far, far more with whatever it is under Linux than you could possibly have under Windows (short of writing your own full-fledged programs from scratch).

Re:Script

[Americano]

99% of computer users in the world don't care whether they can use program X. They just care that they can use SOME program to do Y.

Actually, no. The vast majority of computer users that do not read /. on a regular basis equate "doing Y" with "program X." If you suddenly drop them in front of a completely unfamiliar interface and say, "But you can still do Y, you just have to adapt to a new interface & way of doing some/many/all things you used to do," you will meet with resistance, irritation, and frustration.

Reasonably sophisticated, computer-savvy users can adapt to new programs pretty quickly, and will even go out in search of a program that does things the way they want. The vast majority of users do not fall in this category. They have their status quo that they've learned to use, and they don't want it to change.

It's this fundamental misunderstanding of the willingness of an "average" computer user to change that fuels so much of Linux's struggle on the desktop.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

A joke that wasn't actually funny. And was trollishly annoying.

Re:Script

[Ma8thew]

Just like the iPhone is a failure due to its lack of Flash support.

Re:Script

[hairyfeet]

Lexmark freaking printers! I work with consumers and a good 85-90% of the time you walk into a customer's house and sitting there is a Lexmark all in one. Have you ever tried getting one of those bastards working in Linux? It is like bashing you head against a wall only not as productive. What I don't understand is how come they could come up with Ndiswrapper for Wireless and not for printers? Those wireless "cards" in most laptops are nothing but a wire and some firmware, same for the printers. All a Lexmark "printer" does is pass the buck to Windows, same with their scanner and fax.

But until there is a way I can just plug in a Lexmark printer and know it will just work there is no way I can carry Linux at my shop. It just ends up costing me more in headaches and support than its worth. I wish it were different, but here Lexmark is king and it ends up costing the consumer more to toss out their all in one and buy a more expensive Linux supported model than to just get a Windows box.

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[Anonymous Coward]

"Does OS X work with the hardware I already own?"
If that hardware was sold by Apple it will.

"Does Windows Vista?"
If your hardware isn't super obscure or ancient it will.

"Take an Ubuntu 8.04 install CD, and try booting it on "the hardware you already have". In my experience, it will Just Work on just about any computer from the past few years."
No it doesn't. Every now and then I try Ubuntu only to come away disappointed. Coincidentally the last version I tried was 8.04. Video, audio and wireless were all broken. Messed around with getting the video to work for a while and gave up after an hour. It might have been possible to fix but I don't have the time to waste on it.

"1 GB of RAM is plenty for Ubuntu, and while it might be enough for Vista, I have heard that it's not "plenty"."
It's plenty if you disable all of the eyecandy crap. Better yet, just use XP. That will run fine with only 128MB of RAM.

"Semi-lame graphics cards are fine for Ubuntu, including the desktop bling, where Vista will run in some kind of fallback mode unless your card supports programmable shaders."
Most video cards made in the past 5 years have pixel shader support, even integrated Intel chips. That "fallback" mode is just Vista with Aero disabled, not some crippled mode like you are trying to make it out to be. Again, you can run XP if you really want to.

"If a user can be happy with just a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, email program, web browser (with Flash support), instant messenger, photo viewer, photo editor, music player, and a few light games such as a minesweeper game, then that user can be happy with Ubuntu, nearly out of the box."
Windows give a wider selection and more features for all of those things. Flash support might be an amazing feature on Linux, but it's not a selling point to anyone who has had it under Windows for the past decade. Instant messenger applications on Linux lack voice and video support. Photo viewers and photo editors for Linux are crap. Windows give more selection for music players and games.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Does OS X work with the hardware I already own?

That depends. Do you own a Mac? Even if you don't, it isn't supposed to, vast hardware support isn't a selling point. It isn't one for Windows either (third party support is, there's a difference). Linux people like to boast that Linux supports evrything under the sun, and it's common to see it used as a selling point, pointing out that it isn't true is fair game.

Ubuntu will do a better job of Just Working on "the hardware you already have" than Windows Vista! 1 GB of RAM is plenty for Ubuntu, and while it might be enough for Vista, I have heard that it's not "plenty".

Vista is partly designed to sell new hardware, the high requirements help with that. Vista is pitched as something that comes with/is for a new computer, not to replace the one you have. It's marketing. Microsoft never claimed that Vista would run on old hardware. Even the fact that aero can be turned off and Vista can be slimmed down (I've nLite'd Vista down to a 500mb install that runs fine on 256mb of ram, on a vm, anyway) is a moot point, since it was never pitched as something that will or is even intended to run on the hardware you already have. Pointing out that it won't run on 5 year old hardware is just pointing out the obvious.

Linux is mostly pitched as something that'll add a few years to older hardware, and that's great. It's a good selling point, but implying that it somehow makes it better than vista on that basis is just silly.

That being said, I should hope that Ubuntu, being built for it, doesn something Vista isn't designed to do better than Vista does. Anything else would be a total embarassment. It's like prattling on about airplanes being better at flying than submarines. Way to point out the obvious.

If a user can be happy with just a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, email program, web browser (with Flash support), instant messenger, photo viewer, photo editor, music player, and a few light games such as a minesweeper game, then that user can be happy with Ubuntu,

Chances are they already have that on what they're already running. It's more an argument to stay with XP or 2k or whatever it is they already have, than an argument to switch to Linux. "Good enough" just isn't a selling point, especially when you're trying to 'sell' something that does exactly what they already have does. There needs to be a significant advantage. OS X and Windows have this. Show a regular user how easily and accessibly they can do more, and they'll want to do more. Show them how easy it is to take what they already do, and they'll jump at it. That's why there's a market for things that fall under the 'prosumer' line, midway between consumer and professional. There's a great old one liner I used to hear from people pitching Sun or IBM back in the day "Good enough isn't good enough".

(For the music player, you will probably want to install the extra codecs such as MP3 that are not installed by default.)

There's no good reason why they should have to. And no, license restrictions aren't a good enough reason. The end user doesn't care, they only care that MediaPlayer and iTunes do it out-of-the-box, and it's an extra step for them to take on the basis of some explaination incomprehensibe to them that they don't really care about one way or another. Honestly, there's no good reason why a distribution targeting the desktop, which is backed a company, like Ubuntu is, shouldn't just bite the bullet and pay the license fees.

An average user might not be able to install Ubuntu, but will be able to use it if an expert sets it up correctly.

An expert shouldn't be required, and if it is, then Ubuntu has failed.

An average user might not be able to install Windows, either.

That's a moot point, since the average user doesn't have to worry about it.

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[hairyfeet]

And don't forget the problem of finding programs to do Y in Linux. Windows users are used to nice shiny boxes with pretty screenshots that have bullet points and make it easy to find something to do what they want. If you want Windows users to use Linux then finding programs need to be a LOT more visual, maybe a nice one or two line description with a couple of screenshots and a "Learn more" button in the package manager.

If you want to switch over Windows users(which I still haven't figured out WHY Linux guys would want a bunch of Windows users on Linux) then everything needs to be visual and GUI oriented and there should NEVER be a need to call on the CLI. Most Windows users don't even know Windows HAS a CLI and they certainly don't want to learn how to use one.

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[Your.Master]

Very few jokes here are funny, but if you cannot detect that this was a joke, whether or not it's funny, then you lack a sense of humour.

Re:Script

[laddiebuck]

What's that they say about not feeding the trolls? Oh well, I'll bite.

Here's an alternative script: Groceries. First, PC guy walks into a Walmart, checks out with a huge stack of purchases (all shrinkwrapped), leaving behind wads of dollars on the counter. Cut to home, where three days later he's surrounded by shrinkwrap, packaging, instruction manuals, and is poring over the manual for his carrots. Next, Mac guy walks into something more trendy, maybe Trader Joe's, still leaves wads of dollars on the counter, but real produce. Cut to home, he's happily cooking dinner. Third, the Linux guy is sitting on his couch at home. Suddenly, he thinks of dinner (it appears over his head like a cartoon thought-bulb). In a flash, hey presto, a three-course meal is spread out in front of his couch, and he tucks in immediately.

For those who have not had the pleasure of using a modern Linux system, the metaphor is package management.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Oops, sorry. Please disregard my post above. It was meant to be in response to a different post, one that was actually a troll.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting. I wrote the "not funny, trollish" comment above, and I did not write the "Oops, sorry" post immediately above.

Who would bother to impersonate an anonymous coward?

Eh, even I don't really care.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Ubuntu does not do enough to make me happy.

Then do what lots of other married men do when they aren't getting enough to make them happy: pay for it.

:-)

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[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, you're trying to take credit for my comments? I was the one who posted the comment about being trollishly annoying by mistake but whatever.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Linux is mostly pitched as something that'll add a few years to older hardware, and that's great. It's a good selling point, but implying that it somehow makes it better than vista on that basis is just silly.

Sez you. I don't pitch Linux that way.

I've played a bit with Vista, and I use Ubuntu every day. Ubuntu is snappier and better than Vista, IMHO. If you need to run Windows software like QuickBooks, you don't care, because Ubuntu is a non-starter. I work in software development, and Ubuntu meets my needs better than Windows. (Vista sucks enough that it wouldn't be hard for Ubuntu to be "better" in many ways, but it's not really ready for anyone already invested in Windows.)

Honestly, there's no good reason why a distribution targeting the desktop, which is backed a company, like Ubuntu is, shouldn't just bite the bullet and pay the license fees.

They give Ubuntu away for free. Can they afford to pay the fees? (Maybe they can. There are free-as-in-beer MP3 players, so maybe the licensing fees aren't prohibitive.)

An expert shouldn't be required [to install Ubuntu], and if it is, then Ubuntu has failed.

Has Windows failed because an non-computer-geek cannot install it?

By the way, I have installed most versions of Windows (except Vista), starting back in the 3.x days, and I have installed Ubuntu. Ubuntu is easier to install, not harder.

That's a moot point, since the average user doesn't have to worry about it.

True. But irrelevant with respect to whether our "Linux" avatar should hang his head in shame and slink away for having lame hardware support.

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[aussie_a]

it will Just Work on just about any computer from the past few years.

Doesn't work on mine, and its 2 years old, and it wasn't exactly cutting edge then (closer to 3-5 years old).

Alright, I'll admit it does work after some fiddling and tweaking to get things to work (like speakers), if you don't mind your internet being 5x slower then on XP.

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[aussie_a]

Have a black man enter a town full of rednecks. None of his relationships work with anyone. Must be his fault, right?

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[roguetrick]

I wrote this entire diatribe!

Nah just foolin'.... or am I?

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[Anonymous Coward]

Jesus, slashdot what are you doing to me. You made me want to reply "Of course its his fault, just like linux a black man never works." I'm not racist at all. FUCK!

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[Anonymous Coward]

just use XP. That will run fine with only 128MB of RAM.

Aren't you quite slow, my estonian friend?

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[Alex Belits]

/. != /b/

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[Alex Belits]

INTERNET being slower?

Really?

Don't forget to get a paycheck from your "viral marketing" company, and thank you for your stupidity.

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[aussie_a]

Wow, someone doesn't have a positive experience with Linux so they MUST be getting paid.

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[thetoadwarrior]

I'm glad you posted this because I'm outta toilet paper and needed something to wipe with.

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[Anonymous Coward]

You guys sooo missed the obvious answer:

windows loser: "hi, i'm a pc"
mac douchebag: "hi, i'm a mac"

all of a sudden wall-e zooms in, smashes them down into a cube of trash, and jams the garbage into his wall-e stomach.

wall-e: "hi, i'm linux."

eva: "wall-e, get rid of that garbage, will ya?"

the ad ends with a shot of loser + d.b. getting thrown out into space along with the rest of the trash. the final frames show eva giving wall-e a kiss.

conclusion:
nothing says linux like robot love.

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[Alex Belits]

Yeah, Linux makes their Comcast cable modem slow.

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[Anonymous Coward]

No, but they do make shit networking drivers.

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[ketilwaa]

I recently bought a Lexmark laser, colour, duplex printer with official Linux support. Granted, it's a network printer. Works great with my Ubuntu 8.10. 8.04 needed some foomatic updates, then works great. Just saying that not all Lexmark models are Linux unfriendly.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Ok, let's stop having a dick swinging contest and tell it like it really is. Linux is used for hacking Windows...plain and simple. Everything that Linux was meant to do (i.e. hacking Windows) can be done from the CLI.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Do you really think that printers that are chaper than the ink they come with are a reason not to use linux? Just buy a new one when the ink runs out.

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[Alex Belits]

For which devices Linux drivers are slower than Windows counterparts?

Broadcom (and pretty much only Broadcom -- the company that seems to be hell-bent on releasing Windows-only products) wireless card running with ndiswrapper will be less reliable and break laptops' power management, but it won't be any slower. Anything that is not wireless, is likely to be fully supported on Linux (even if it's Broadcom).

If you don't know that, you shouldn't talk about Linux at all.

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[rohan972]

I still haven't figured out WHY Linux guys would want a bunch of Windows users on Linux

I don't know about others, but my reasons:
1) To make it worthwhile for hardware vendors to make their devices work easily. I don't buy hardware all that often but today for the first time I saw a pic of tux on a box in a store with "Linux compatible" on it, relevant kernel version on the back. Makes it a heap easier than taking notes from a HCL to the shop or taking notes in the shop then going home and checking the products for compatibility before going out and buying.

2) To make it less feasible for government agencies such as the tax office to make their software/services available to windows users only. For several years I've been running my countries tax software in wine, this year it was broken. Government should not be requiring me to purchase from a particular vendor to access online tax services, but I know they will not act on principle but only if the numbers are too large for them to ignore. Even the business registration site claims that firefox won't work (even though it does) and recommends IE or netscape. It gives a download link for netscape that gives a 404.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Linux has "good selling points"? Only a dumbass would BUY Linux.

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[Bert64]

No real customer service?
This is the biggest myth against linux out there...

With linux, customer service is optional, you can buy it if you want, while many people on slashdot are competent enough to get by without it and would benefit from saving the cost... What level of support do you get when you buy commercial software? it's usually pretty lousy or nonexistent, and decent support costs more.

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[Tony Hoyle]

For the linux guy it would be hey presto, a box of seeds and a baby chicken appear, and he has to get farming.

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[Bert64]

Here most people seem to have HP printers, and support for HP devices including the all in ones is actually better on linux than it is on windows or osx... HP publish open source drivers for unix which still run on the latest distributions, whereas many of their older closed source drivers no longer work on current versions of windows or osx (my scanner for instance, only has ppc drivers for osx 10.4)...

Lexmark having lousy linux support is the reason i won't even consider their devices, and will recommend HP to anyone i know.

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[Bert64]

Ubuntu will work on hardware which was sold with it, just like anything else...

I tried 32bit ubuntu on a machine recently and it was totally broken, i tried the corresponding 64bit version and everything worked out of the box... I can only imagine they figured noone would want to run 32bit on a machine with 4gb ram, the 64bit version offers other advantages too and is far more mature than the 64bit windows variants.

I have yet to find a picture viewer on windows that's as good as xv, it lets me zoom to fill the screen (yes properly fill the screen, no gui elements anywhere) while retaining the aspect ratio with a single keypress which is extremely useful. I use xv on mac too, instead of whatever native viewers there might be.

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[Dulcise]

B43 has massively improved support for Broadcom wireless.

  You shouldn't have any trouble with Broadcom wireless now.

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[Planesdragon]

If a user can be happy with just a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, email program, web browser (with Flash support), instant messenger, photo viewer, photo editor, music player, and a few light games such as a minesweeper game, then that user can be happy with Ubuntu, nearly out of the box. (For the music player, you will probably want to install the extra codecs such as MP3 that are not installed by default.)

A personal computer is used for four things.

1: "Personal Computing" (word processing, budgeting, banking, etc.)
2: Communications (e-mail, chat, web browser)
3: Media (DVD, MP3, iTunes, CD Rips)
4: Games

Ubuntu can do 1 if you don't care about having to convert files., 2 unless you have something really bizzare, and 3 if you're lucky. Not bad at all for any platform, especially a free one.

But you can't do #3 out of the box. In fact, you can't do 3 without paying money or breaking the law.

Sorry, Linux isn't ready for the 2008 desktop. If it were still 1998 (or 1988) you'd have it all locked up.

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[Bert64]

Internet slower? Linux downloads things much faster than xp did, not least of all because tcp window scaling is turned on by default (vista has it on by default too)... Also i believe consumer versions of windows have artificially low limits on the number of usable sockets, which has a negative impact on things like bittorrent, especially on fast connections...

If you want to change these things on windows, you have to hack around with the registry, which is hardly "easy"... you don't even get any inline comments and you have to use special registry editing tools, you can't just open up your preferred text editor and edit a file that has nice comments explaining what things do.

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[Anonymous Coward]

IrfanView crushes XV in features and it's free.

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[machine321]

Hi, I'm OpenBSD. Now STFU and RTFM.

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[EvilIdler]

Preview in OS X does fullscreen, too. It's called "Slideshow" in the menu/toolbar.

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[EvilIdler]

It makes sense that way, too. Companies which produce commercial software are in the business of producing software. Open source companies are in the business of support, so they would know their stuff.

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[laffer1]

The first step in adoption of open source is getting users on free (or Free) software in their favorite OS. We're gaining ground in things like browsers and word processors, albeit slowly.

We need to pick target areas and create software that is missing from *NIX. Then we need to work (a lot) on usability and documentation.

Finally, we need to make this software work better (and faster) in open source operating systems to entice users over. As slow as vista is, this is somewhat done for us with each release of WIndows.

Now the really hard part is marketing. Each app needs good marketing to let users know there are alternatives. If we get them started with firefox, open office or whatever from the beginning, they will insist on it in the future. In fact, the IT department at the company I just started at uses all open source apps to save money. The only thing they do buy is Windows. Servers are Linux. Since the IT department got them on this, they won't consider pay alternatives that they don't know how to use.

In terms of a Linux ad campaign, you would need to either push linux for servers and point out the market share. This could hurt microsoft quite a bit if the numbers are in your favor. You could go on the winner angle. I know my aunt only buys windows because she thinks it's the most popular. What I don't know what to do is to show that Linux is better on the desktop. Some people believe it is now, I am not so sure. I suppose the apple approach to showing users what they can do with a Linux machine is a good start. perhaps point out that that eee pc, and other systems of that type often come with linux. You're already using it and don't know it! That is a good start. Talk about how it is used on cell phones, in Tivo, etc. Maybe users will like it better if they realize Linux is all around them just as windows is.

Marketing Linux is hard, marketing BSD is damn near impossible. At least you guys have binary blobs for video now. I'd rather not need them, but it's a reality. (yes i know about nvidia + freebsd) Then there's flash, air, acrobat, and many other commercial apps...

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[Bert64]

OSX preview does full screen, but not maximum zoom while retaining aspect ratio, it zooms in steps, so it's more troublesome to use than xv...

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[WWWWolf]

I work with consumers and a good 85-90% of the time you walk into a customer's house and sitting there is a Lexmark all in one. Have you ever tried getting one of those bastards working in Linux?

Mythologians claim there was an age when Lexmark printers actually printed something, but rational people dismiss such superstitions as highly unlikely. Most people who own one seem to be saying "oh, the printer side died, I'm just using the scanner". =)

I've just told people to buy HP lasers instead if they want something that's compatible with many OSes/different OS versions, and not have problems all the time. (And for what it's worth, the one time I tried using a Lexmark all-in-one scanner in Ubuntu, it worked pretty fine in SANE. I think.)

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[Bert64]

I don't want loads of features, i just want a simple unbloated program that lets me easily crop and zoom, with an interface that gets out of the way and just lets me view the images... My experience with irfanview found it nowhere near as simple and effective as xv...
Also xv is cross platform, so i can run it on whatever system i have in front of me at the time, irfanview is not.

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[Anonymous Coward]

and are willing to deal with no real customer service

Yeah, because Windows customer service is just so amazing! Only yesterday my PC was crashing for no obvious reason, and I phoned up Microsoft and they sent someone over to my house to fix it, all for free.

Not.

Actually I don't even know if you can get support from Microsoft. I certainly don't know anyone who's ever done so. Generally they phone up the company who sold them the PC, who tell them to buy a new one. Or they get in some local IT technician who just reformats the whole thing because he doesn't know how to fix it, and leaves them with a computer that's lost all their programs and all their personal settings. If they're lucky they still have some of their data. But they're happy, and even give him money, because they think that's just how things have to be ...

If you want help fixing Windows, you basically have to ask volunteers on the Internet. At which point, you're in exactly the same position as you would be with Linux. So, why do people think Windows has a support advantage? Beats me.

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[1u3hr]

I'll admit it does work after some fiddling and tweaking to get things to work (like speakers), if you don't mind your internet being 5x slower then on XP.

OK, I know audio can be a hassle, but Internet? In my experience, once you get it working, it works 100%. Just how are you measuring "5x slower"?

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[Anonymous Coward]

Linux is mostly pitched as something that'll add a few years to older hardware

Actually it's mostly pitched as something that'll provide significant cost savings on large server installations. But yes, in the minority of cases where it's being pitched to home users, people do often suggest installing it on old hardware.

And this is probably one of the most harmful things that is ever done to Linux. People hear that Linux is competitive with Vista, and they hear that it works well on older hardware, and they put two and two together and come up with very unrealistic expectations. Much better to try Linux on new hardware, and see what it can do when it's given the right resources.

An average user might not be able to install Ubuntu, but will be able to use it if an expert sets it up correctly.

An expert shouldn't be required, and if it is, then Ubuntu has failed.

An average user might not be able to install Windows, either.

That's a moot point, since the average user doesn't have to worry about it.

So... it's OK for Windows to require an expert to install it, but not OK for Linux to be the same? Nice double standards you have there.

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[Haeleth]

But you can't do #3 out of the box. In fact, you can't do 3 without paying money or breaking the law.

You can do half of it: CD ripping is built into all consumer-oriented Linux distributions, and Fluendo's fully-licensed MP3 codec is a free download. Bingo, not one penny spent, not one law broken, and about 90% of most people's multimedia needs are already taken care of!

If you're lucky enough to live somewhere without software patents, you can get free codecs for anything else. If not, then Fluendo's remaining fully-licensed codecs are cheap enough. And consumer-oriented distros make it very easy to get them. Or you could just buy a commercial edition that comes with them.

So you can't play DVDs out of the box? Well, that's just like Microsoft Windows XP, then, which also can't play DVDs out of the box. And, you know, most people who want to watch DVDs have this thing plugged into their TV called a "DVD player".

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[Anonymous Coward]

Oh come on, that's needlessly harsh, and not funny. It's not even correct. Does OS X work with the hardware I already own? Does Windows Vista?

Vista, yes. OSX, no, but you knew that already.

Take an Ubuntu 8.04 install CD, and try booting it on "the hardware you already have". In my experience, it will Just Work on just about any computer from the past few years. (An Ubuntu 8.10 install CD will probably work also, but I have seen that fail to work on a laptop... some drivers issue. 8.04 is the "Long Term Support" version, and extra care was taken to make it stable, so that's slightly better for Just Working.)/quote>

I have to be somewhat picky about which version of Ubuntu will work.
Vista will work with just about any hardware that's less than 4 years old. XP is even better about it.

Semi-lame graphics cards are fine for Ubuntu, including the desktop bling, where Vista will run in some kind of fallback mode unless your card supports programmable shaders.

You know, Compiz/Beryl don't work in a lot of cards out there because the drivers are crap (but you knew that already). Now you're just full of shit.
Besides, you can use third-party window managers and desktop decorations in Vista, like Windowblinds, for example.

If a user can be happy with just a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, email program, web browser (with Flash support), instant messenger, photo viewer, photo editor, music player, and a few light games such as a minesweeper game, then that user can be happy with Ubuntu, nearly out of the box. (For the music player, you will probably want to install the extra codecs such as MP3 that are not installed by default.)

You know, you described a Vista box, although I bolded the parts that won't work in Ubuntu out-of-the-box but will work in linux.
Firefox still has the dreaded 2-sec-playback-then-video-stops bug, so Flash support is still iffy.
And the codecs are a deal-breaker for most people that want stuff to *JUST WORK* out of the box.

An average user might not be able to install Ubuntu, but will be able to use it if an expert sets it up correctly.

You know, somehow I think you need to check your arguments for consistency.
Now you need an expert to set up a Ubuntu box? So much for simplicity.

An average user might not be able to install Windows, either.

I'll bet you the average user would be able to install Vista in a regular PC, with all the hardware supported out of the box and without having to find a so-called 'expert'. For every troubled Vista install, there are about 100 Linux installs that just failed.

Of course, you won't believe this, but it's the sad truth. There's a reason why no one cares about the "year of the desktop Linux" bullshit anymore.

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[Antique Geekmeister]

As soon as you get Theo de Raadt off my leg.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Disregard all of this, I suck cocks.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Oh come on, that's needlessly harsh, and not funny. It's not even correct. Does OS X work with the hardware I already own? Does Windows Vista?

How the fuck would we know? You haven't even told us what hardware you already own, Moron.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, because Windows customer service is just so amazing! Only yesterday my PC was crashing for no obvious reason, and I phoned up Microsoft and they sent someone over to my house to fix it, all for free.

Not.

Right, because you can do that with Ubuntu or any other Linux distro.

Not.

Actually I don't even know if you can get support from Microsoft. I certainly don't know anyone who's ever done so.

Just because you don't know if it can be done, or know anyone that has done it, doesn't mean it's not available (which it is). They even give you free support with Vista SP1 via phone, email, or online chat. Really, no joke.
Right here.

Of course, if you bough a PC with Windows installed, your first line of support will be the vendor, just like if it was a dell with Ubuntu installed.

But don't let facts get in the way of your bias!

If you want help fixing Windows, you basically have to ask volunteers on the Internet. At which point, you're in exactly the same position as you would be with Linux. So, why do people think Windows has a support advantage? Beats me.

Because it does. Simple as that.

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[dotgain]

Dear god how I wish that were still true.

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[laddiebuck]

As I said, those who have not used a modern Linux system shouldn't comment.

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[evilviper]

The vast majority of computer users that do not read /. on a regular basis equate "doing Y" with "program X."

Yes, they DO equate them, but that is simply out of ignorance of alternatives, not some serious personal preference.

If you suddenly drop them in front of a completely unfamiliar interface and say, "But you can still do Y, you just have to adapt to a new interface & way of doing some/many/all things you used to do," you will meet with resistance, irritation, and frustration.

And yet, Open Office has been incredibly successful at replacing Microsoft Office... ie. You have no idea what you're talking about.

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[bitrex]

Unfortunately I had to stop using Ubuntu because the only thing I could get my 2 HP inkjets to do under the OS was print blank pages extremely slowly.

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[cp.tar]

It would definitely be an improvement if all programs were semantically tagged in the package manager. Another pane with a screenshot or two, as well as some information about the program would indeed be a nice addition.

Now, who do we suggest that to?

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

Until Linux can run Flash as quickly as Windows, it's dead. The End.

The average user just cares whether Flash is "fast enough". No-one cares whether the CPU is 100% or not, as long as the video works and is smooth.

I've been using Flash 10 on Ubuntu 8.10 and it seems much better than Flash 9 was.

Yeah, yeah. It's adobe's fault. Just like it's ATI's fault, or IEEE's fault, or some other vendor or spec body. It's never Linux's fault, is it?

WTF? Flash is proprietary and closed source. If it's slow, how can you blame anyone but Adobe?

If Adobe don't care about Flash on Linux because Linux isn't big enough to matter, then it's Linux's fault, if that makes you happy.

This computer is running Ubuntu on a 1.8GHz 512Mb machine. It would barely run until 8.08; Radeon support was shit.

I only buy hardware that will run Linux, these days. Everything I own runs Linux great. If you want to just run Ubuntu on what you have, and complain about it not working right, well, whatever makes you happy.

Re:Script

[Canberra Bob]

OO has been incredibly successful at replacing MS Office?? I am sure they exist but I am yet to come across a single work environment that uses OO rather than MS Office - either places I have worked or customer sites. That comment made made me laugh.

Re:Script

[evilviper]

I am yet to come across a single work environment that uses OO rather than MS Office

In the past 6 years, TWO of the large (1000+ employees) companies I have worked for have done just that. And I have heard endless stories of others doing the same. I suspect your experience is either quite narrow/limited, or else highly unusual.

But if you'd like an even better example, how about Firefox?

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

It's obvious you've never used IrfanView otherwise you would know its interface is extremely simple. It does everything you have said easily and better than XV. I also like how you're trying to drag cross platform compatibility into this now that you know XV is a piece of shit, even though this was supposed to be Linux vs Windows.

Sorry, you just lost.

Re:Script

[aussie_a]

I visit a random website in Firefox under XP, I count how long it takes to load. I do this several times. I then visit the same pages under a Linux distro. It is demonstratively 5 times slower (sometimes as much as 10 times slower, although there are times when its less then 5 times slower, so I take the average).

Re:Script

[Canberra Bob]

No arguments from me in regards to companies switching to Firefox (or average home users for that matter too). See it happening everywhere. With OOo usage we will have to agree to disagree on that one.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

It might be firefox itself, I've had problems with firefox on linux (especially with flash). If you're still running linux, try seamonkey (built in flash, mostly firefox extension compatible) or konqueror (or its gnome/xfce/dm-of-choice alternative). I've never heard of an operating system causing the internet to slow down, it'd be like a steering wheel cover slowing a car down.

Re:Script

[hairyfeet]

I don't know, but I really believe that finding programs could be a LOT easier for new users with just a little extra care like a few screenshots and maybe have everything divided into categories like office tasks. multimedia, games, networking, etc. I know most of the folks here really hate on Xandros because of the MSFT deal, but I think there is a lot that can be learned from CnR which is now owned by Xandros. What is nice about CnR is it has BOTH the free and the pay apps with easy to read descriptions, screenshots, ratings, and an easy way to use your CC if you decide to purchase something like Crossover Pro or Cedega.

IMHO it would be a lot easier to sell Windows users on Linux if the default package managers had a nice easy to use interface like CnR. Because trying to figure out what program they need to do a task from these huge lists with sometimes extremely technical descriptions is just going to intimidate someone who is new to Linux. I know that I felt a little overwhelmed the first time I switched my laptop over to Linux with all the choices and not very helpful descriptions, and I have nearly 20 years of tech experience. I can't even imagine how lost someone who had only used Windows for simple tasks would have felt when faced with something like Synaptic.

Re:Script

[1u3hr]

I visit a random website in Firefox under XP, I count how long it takes to load. I do this several times. I then visit the same pages under a Linux distro.

What you'e comparing is not "internet speed", but the speed of two different versions of Firefox on two different operating systems. Look at the Firefox forums and you'll see lots of posts about settings and options that can drastically affect its operation -- e.g. recent anti-phishing features will try to check out a site before dispalying it. Even if you install both version at the same time, the Windows and Linux versions will inevitably operate differently and have different defaults. Could simply be caching or operation of a plugin. Who knows.

If you want to compare "Internet speed", check out some of the sites at DSL reports to get a quick indication of your connection's speed.

If you'd said "Firefox on Linux is 5X slower than on Windows", I might have raised my eyebrows, but not bothered to argue. But saying "Internet is 5x slower" is just wrong.

Re:Script

[cp.tar]

Well, in Synaptic and Aptitude you do get categories, at least in the simpler view. Seems that in KDE 4 Aptitude no longer has the complex view (though I haven't looked hard), so the categories are now default. So that's OK.

The only thing missing now are better descriptions, and maybe a screenshot or whatever. However, there is a trade-off between DB size (especially since it needs to be updated from time to time, most often daily) and user-friendliness.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

And then, of course, there's the fact that desktop Linux is crap.

Re:Script

[Fred_A]

Here most people seem to have HP printers, and support for HP devices including the all in ones is actually better on linux than it is on windows or osx... HP publish open source drivers for unix which still run on the latest distributions, whereas many of their older closed source drivers no longer work on current versions of windows or osx (my scanner for instance, only has ppc drivers for osx 10.4)...

But then you don't have the great Windows HP drivers (they are half as large and take twice the memory of the host OS, so they must be great) !

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

I once had such a user gaze at OpenOffice.org Impress in frustration while trying to work out how to add an image to a presentation. At the time Powerpoint had Insert->Picture while OOo had Insert->Graphics

His conclusion was that OOo was not suitable for him or his users.

Re:Script

[egyptiankarim]

I wrote a script for a commercial where the three characters (PC, Mac, Linux) meet a few months ago on my blog (http://egyptiankarim.com/blog/?p=76/), but it's really more of an Apple commercial that plays up the whole *nix core of Mac OS (an Apple pitch to *nix users, that is).

Re:Script

[Beardo the Bearded]

I only buy hardware that will run Linux, these days. Everything I own runs Linux great. If you want to just run Ubuntu on what you have, and complain about it not working right, well, whatever makes you happy.

This is why Linux will never get market share:

"Buy a new computer LOL"

That's the extent of the support I tend to get. Nicely done. Take a look at what MS did for SimCity. It wasn't their problem, but they knew that people would think it was anyway. So they fixed the problem at great expense to themselves.

I guess I'm a moron for expecting my machine to work under Linux, when it works perfectly under 2k or XP. "Hmm, it was working fine until I installed Ubuntu. Clearly, the problem is with a proprietary driver. I should buy a new computer that supports open source."

When the Linux community's response to any problem is "buy a different computer" or "it's a proprietary driver's fault", then you get people using whatever comes with their new computer.

You fail. The End.

Re:Script

[hairyfeet]

But WHY does the DB need to be on the home user's PC? Isn't that kind of the point of "cloud computing" in that you don't NEED to have everything on the PC? And most of your home users aren't going to need or want DB apps, scientific apps,web server apps, etc. So why not have a "most used" section where the programs that 99% are going to want have a nice little screenshot and easy description and have the user "opt in" if they want the more complex apps?

It just seems a little crazy to me to have an entire DB you have to keep synced when most users are just going to want some simple programs to do basic jobs: web surfing,email,photos,office,bookkeeping,etc. So a nice easy to use and visually friendly way to get programs that 99% of the average users will want would be a good thing IMHO. And for those others the users are technical enough that they don't need the GUI.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

This is why Linux will never get market share:

"Buy a new computer LOL"

That's the extent of the support I tend to get. Nicely done.

Gee, with a winning personality like yours, I'm... surprised... that no one wants to help you. Yeah, that's it, surprised.

Take a look at what MS did for SimCity. It wasn't their problem, but they knew that people would think it was anyway. So they fixed the problem at great expense to themselves.

Good for MS. They spotted a problem that could cost them money, and assigned someone to code a workaround. Now all you need is to find someone who could make money if your particular hardware worked right.

I guess I'm a moron for expecting my machine to work under Linux, when it works perfectly under 2k or XP.

Oh, I wouldn't say you are a moron. Just abrasive and annoying.

"Hmm, it was working fine until I installed Ubuntu. Clearly, the problem is with a proprietary driver. I should buy a new computer that supports open source."

Does this make you feel smarter than me? Superior to me in some way? Well, whatever makes you happy.

Look, as I see it, you have several options: you could buy new hardware that is well-supported by Linux; you could pay someone to write better support for your hardware; you could turn this into a hobby and try to fix Linux yourself to work with your hardware; you could buy a support contract from some company like Canonical; you could ask nicely in public forums if anyone could help you; or you could just complain a lot about it.

Do you upgrade your computer from time to time? If so, I suggest you buy Linux-compatible stuff. Like I said, I only buy stuff that is well-supported in Linux now, so I don't really have a lot of problems, and I'm basically happy.

I could get a copy of Vista, and install it on my old, slow computer with 512MB of RAM and a lame graphics card. Then I could complain loudly that Vista doesn't work well on my hardware. (It runs Win2K and WinXP just fine!) Would you be sympathetic?

When the Linux community's response to any problem is "buy a different computer" or "it's a proprietary driver's fault", then you get people using whatever comes with their new computer.

Face reality: there is some hardware that does not have good support under Linux. If it's a "WinModem" or "WinPrinter" you may be waiting a long time (like, forever) for support for it. That's because no company sees a chance to make money by paying people to solve these problems, and no hackers feel it would be worth their time to solve these problems. If it makes you feel better, here, I'll apologize: I'm sorry that not all of your hardware is well-supported in Linux.

You fail. The End.

Actually, I don't. And Linux doesn't. And it's not the end.

Did it make you feel better to write that? I hope so, because it didn't really help, and you aren't convincing anyone of anything, so it was pointless to post it.

Your abrasive tone made me just want to reply in kind. I decided not to do it, but I won't be giving you any more of my time. Use Linux, or don't, as it pleases you. Have a nice day and happy holidays.

Re:Script

[Anonymous Coward]

There are plenty of better viewers than xv in Linux. I use eog and gthumb usually, and I'm sure KDE has one or two more; and there's F-Spot too and others. eog and gthumb are both about as nice as IrfanView.

IrfanView is indeed fine software, but it is not reason enough to stay on Windows.

Re:Script

[jag7720]

I love linux but I have to agree... that was really bad.

The iPhone App Store ads are more telling

[QuantumG]

You know those ads where they show the iPhone going at impossible speeds and then say "this is going to change everything"? Well, "normal" people are shocked at those ads because they've never seen a package manager. The idea of being able to search a huge list of apps and install with one click is new to them. And, of course, the fact that you have to pay for these apps isn't shown in the ad.

Re:The iPhone App Store ads are more telling

[Jeff DeMaagd]

And, of course, the fact that you have to pay for these apps isn't shown in the ad.

In the ads that show the app store in use, it looks like Apple is pretty clear in calling it the App store. I think that should be a hint that they might be pay-for apps. Not only that, even in the 320p ad clips on the Apple site, it's easy to read the prices for a given app. When an app is selected, the button with the price is shown before the person taps it, then the buttons says "buy now" then the person taps again.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/ads/

Re:The iPhone App Store ads are more telling

[Bert64]

Yes, the package manager in a typical linux distribution is extremely useful, and commercial os offerings have a big hole there... i see new linux users all the time trying to download and install things manually, some even think they have to compile the source themselves, who are amazed to see the package manager.

Re:The iPhone App Store ads are more telling

[supernova_hq]

Actually, a similar demonstration of a linux system may be a good idea as well. Show the system (using only free softare), open a document, browse google earth, do the "scale" thing, then rotate the cube to a new desktop (where a movie is playing), etc.

Then do the old "fade to black" thing with "Everything should be this easy".

Re:The iPhone App Store ads are more telling

[supernova_hq]

Damnit. I hate responding to my own posts, but hit "submit" just a little to early.

In the sequence of presentations, show the package manager on a seperate cube side, have them tell it to install a program (simple, quick, small app like gltron), then go to another side, then at the end, go back to the package manager side (seeing the install done) and open the program!

Ex post facto?

[papna]

Incidentally, there's already several funny parody videos involving the "I'm Linux" guy that have been circulating for a good while now. YouTube it!

Re:Ex post facto?

[Anonymous Coward]

Incidentally, there's already several funny parody videos involving the "I'm Linux" guy that have been circulating for a good while now. YouTube it!

Wait, those are supposed to be funny? I thought they were going for tragedy. Of the eye-rolling variety.

Here's my concept

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Get a hot nude girl.
2. ????
3. Get her to say "I'm Linux"

Re:Here's my concept

[geoffrobinson]

Yes, nothing says "Linux" like a hot nude girl.

Re:Here's my concept

[ancientt]

The surest way to appeal to a market is to target people who are likely to be interested. Can you really think of anything more likely to appeal to the Linux demographic?

Hi I'm a Linux....

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi I'm a driver....

Linux, "Why don't you like me?"

Driver, "Because you don't have enough of a user base."

Linux, "I have millions of users?"

Driver, "Exactly."

Re:Hi I'm a Linux....

[porl]

what?

Re:Hi I'm a Linux....

[Anonymous Coward]

Mac Guy, PC Guy, Linux Guy and Santa Claus standing in a row

Mac Guy: Hi, Im a Mac
PC Guy: And Im a PC
Linux Guy: Hi, Im Linux on the desktop
Mac and PC Guy: Santa, can you take your imaginary friend back to the North Pole with you?

Stupid idea

[syousef]

If it had been done right about the time the Microsoft Ads came out, it would have been okay. Doing it now sends the message that Linux is behind the times and unoriginal. Much like using Jerry Seinfeld years after his TV show was a hit.

Re:Stupid idea

[robertjw]

No, just make sure everyone knows that Linux has been too busy saving the world Buckaroo Bonzai style to bother showing up at the little meetings of PC and Mac.

Re:Stupid idea

[Maelwryth]

Or you could get the final word in.

I had a little vision of this a while back. All done in a dark cartoon form to the soundtrack of Mekong Deltas versions of "The Hut of Baba Yoga" or "Night on Bare Mountain". If you know the songs, you will get the idea.

Re:Stupid idea

[Hooya]

I've always pictured it as:

Starts off as a regular Mac ad. The camera then zooms back to reveal the two dudes standing in front of a white sheet.. zooms further out to reveal the sound guy (you know, the guy working the mic boom - i think it's called 'grip' or something), the director, the stage hands... all wearing "I'm linux" shirts.

Re:Stupid idea

[ThePromenader]

Agreed ! What percentage of the world's servers run Linux - ~90%? - without the public even being aware of it? Ad = public attention, but the geeks running things are quite aware of Linux already.

I also don't see the point in making an "I'm linux" ad when linux already has the 'market majority' - the 'irony' quotes are there because Linux doesn't 'sell' anything. Yet another reason why no ad is needed.

Re:Stupid idea

[Anonymous Coward]

And what if we don't?

Most people won't...it'll fail.

Re:Stupid idea

[_Sprocket_]

I agree with this. MS' "I'm a PC" campaign was dated and uninspired. I have no idea why any Linux organization would want to associate themselves with it.

Re:Stupid idea

[Tony Hoyle]

I don't know.. "Life without walls"?

If there are no walls, who needs Windows?

Great catchphrase...

Re:Stupid idea

[Anonymous Coward]

So, like, you get to be the movie star unless you use Linux. ;]

Re:Stupid idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I love this.

Re:Stupid idea

[AmberBlackCat]

I think that's the best suggestion I've read here. But I personally think it would be a mistake to do any "I'm Linux" commercial at all unless they're willing to make some changes to make Linux more suitable to the people the I'm a Mac/I'm a PC commercials are for. All this will do is get a bunch of those people to try Linux, expecting the kind of experience you get with Mac and Windows. Then they'll be disappointed and the things they tell their friends will be more damaging than any anti-Linux commercial could be. Basically, if you want to convince Mac/Windows users that Linux is a viable alternative for them, you will have to make Linux more like Mac & Windows first.

Re:Stupid idea

[_Sprocket_]

It's been done before. The longest version that I remember goes like this:

"In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates"

That particular phrase is fairly old too - it predates Microsoft's campaign by years.

Re:Stupid idea

[Hooya]

No. Not stars. More like bickering, petty marionettes while Linux is what gets the job done and is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Re:Stupid idea

[Yetihehe]

Actually it's more like a wigwam. No gates, no windows, only apache inside.

Re:Stupid idea

[Crudely_Indecent]

I wanted to make some videos to parody the MS ads.

1: Guy standing next to a fuming car and hulking wreck of a mangled vehicle. "I'm a PC and I just crashed....again."

2. Guy glued to the ground. "I'm a PC and my license can't be verified"

Likewise, I thought of a video idea that would be kind of, anti-linux...

Guy behind bars (Hans Reiser): "I'm Linux and I didn't get away with it"

All of my good video ideas are MINE!

Re:Stupid idea

[TempeTerra]

I think you've got a good point there about attracting people to linux then scaring them off. I'm a programmer and linux user but definitely not a linux admin, and I'm finding Ubuntu a mildly irritating experience. It works fine for starting my web browser or openoffice (just like I used windows for for several years) but is remarkably painful in other ways. Perhaps I'm just displaying my ignorance of Linux, but if I can't manage it what hope does the man on the street have?

That's the gist of my comment, here's the lengthy anecdote. Off the top of my head:

1 The Synaptic package manager is great, and yet also crap. It's full of cryptically named and poorly described applications/utilities/games/libraries I've never heard of. The other day I decided to get all the vaguely interesting looking games. A good number of them (how would I find out how many?) didn't install shortcuts in the applications/games menu, and a couple of the ones that did were of such poor quality I feel bad about those three minutes of my life I'm not getting back. To be fair, I think most of the ones that didn't give me a shortcut were roguelikes or other console games - but I got at least half a dozen of them and I can't remember what most of them were called. The solution seems to be to go back to Synaptic (requires root password), go to the games section, sort by install status and read through the list to see what I haven't tried yet... or trawl through /usr/bin, /usr/games, /bin/games, ~/bin/games, /etc/notgames/nowaitheressomegames.

Also, Synaptic could use a rating system (like every other software repository in existence), and some flag to say that an item is 'user level' - that is, it's out of beta and is actually an application or application package rather than some data files or libraries that are useless for an end user on their own. The first time I installed Wesnoth I somehow managed to get the game but no campaign files - clicking on the new campaign button silently failed (but changed the tip of the day). It wasn't until I was getting ready to file a bug report that I checked the information in the package manager and noticed that I didn't have the campaign pack installed.

Sorry about the rant. Of course I don't blame the synaptic or Ubuntu maintainers for this mess, but it's a failure of cohesion that totally sucks for an average user.

2. My other big gripe is Wine, or maybe gnome. I've been trying to get my gaming fix through wine with mixed success. Some things work OK, others take control of the screen and crash horribly. Sometimes I can switch to another terminal and kill-9 the offending process, but not always and it's tempting to just cycle the power if I don't have anything important running. Even a windowed game I tried the other day managed to drop a totally unresponsive, black, always on top window that was present on every workspace leaving me a small margin of live desktop around the edge through which to use the system monitor to kill it.

Again, wine is a million times better than nothing, but there's no way I could recommend it to my family.

Re:Stupid idea

[diego.viola]

Very nice, life without walls... freedom.

Re:Stupid idea

[ArsonSmith]

3. guy in a dark room browsing other peoples personal information saying he's windows....she's windows....he's windows.

Re:Stupid idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually Apache's never lived in Wigwams. Wrong tribe.

BSD is dead!

[Anonymous Coward]

and this confirms it

Except that Linux is the one OS that has been notably absent

I would have expected a bit more from a slashdot editor.

It's been done, already!

[Chris Tucker]

He has more friends, now.

Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Sean0michael]

With all the distros out there vying for this, I'm sure this will end up being like Spartacus.

User: Which one of you is Linux?

Ubuntu: I am Linux!
Gentoo: No, I am Linux!
Red Hat: No, I am Linux!
SuSE: Don't listen to them - I am Linux!
Shouts from Slackware, YellowDog, DamnSmallLinux and thousands of others fill the air.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple has one dude for Mac, one for PC. Linux due to its proliferation of distros, should have a whole group of people, tall, short, of every culture and religion. This is a worldwide OS. The video should show one dude saying "I'm a Mac," another saying "I'm a PC" and the whole group of smiling Linux people saying "And we're Linux!" What can you do with Linux? Run a wristwatch, a huge server, a laptop, a phone, a coffee machine, a mixed drinks machine, a zillion things. Somehow the videos need to make it clear that Linux is behind many of the wonderful things around us. I use Ubuntu myself. Ibex is awesome. One video should portray how easily when you want any program, you just click into Synaptic and after about ten seconds it's ready to run. Definitely Linux designed for people.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Revotron]

...And you're entirely missing the point. If you show one video showing how Synaptic works, then you need another video to show how yum works, and another video to show how up2date works, and another video for portage... And don't even get me started on the GUIs. One video for GNOME means one video for KDE which means one video for Xfce which means a video for every goddamn GUI out there.

The Linux community has 500 entirely different ways of doing one little thing. Making an advertisement showing the distro software would either mean a feature-length film encompassing everything, or only mentioning one distro like Ubuntu and pissing off the other 99% of Linux users out there who want their distro advertised, too.

It would be cool if Canonical would put out the ad specifically for Ubuntu. But then every other distro would start to do it and there would be more Linux commercials on TV than people could handle. If you thought seeing ShamWOW! every 5 minutes was annoying...

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Tubal-Cain]

It bears too much resemblance to MS's ad, IMHO.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Slashdotvagina]

Tux: [points to someone behind Steve Jobs] You there! What is your distro?
Random guy: I am Mac OS X, sir.
Tux: [points to another one] And you, what is your distro?
Another one: OS X, sir.
[turns to a third]
Tux: And you?
Third one: Mac OS X.
Tux: [turns around to his people] Linux! WHAT IS YOUR DISTRIBUTION?
Linux: [random cries of Red Hat, Gentoo, Debian, Ubuntu, SuSE, Slackware, YellowDog, DamnSmallLinux... each person a different one]
Tux: [turning to Steve Jobs] You see, old friend? I brought more distros than you did.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Aphoxema]

It would be cool if Canonical would put out the ad specifically for Ubuntu. But then every other distro would start to do it and there would be more Linux commercials on TV than people could handle. If you thought seeing ShamWOW! every 5 minutes was annoying...

That's a fair enough point, but who else beside Conanical or Red Hat or the other few big names could afford it?

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[bdraschk]

It would have been even more funny had you said "... being like Brian from Nazareth."

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Totenglocke]

Not true. Synaptic / Yum make getting and installing software a snap -- all you have to do is say "Hey, here's something many versions of linux have built in -- a way to get software downloaded and installed with no hassle at all", show installing something (pick something small so there's no huge download / install time for the viewer to wait) and you're done. You don't need to show them all the different GUI's or any other programs because most people not already using linux aren't going to CARE about those things. However, being able to get FREE software and install it without having to click through EULA's or "yes/no" boxes WILL be of interest to many people.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm Linux. And so is my wife!

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[inamorty]

I'm Linux and so is my wife!

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep ,
The more people just click icons the dumber and more gullible they get
Consider, Win-doze is an OS where you click on icons in its programs, Linux is an OS where you have many choices to a command line.

Forcing you to think about what your doing

for example
iN win-doze Just Click here to infect C drive with malware
Here's the equivalent in Linux:

In Linux terminal command line and argument we need something this

program-name -IWM infect with malware

In Linux we must supply the -IWM argument infect with malware switch/argument to infect
We have to think about it, Where in win-doze we just click to infect.
You tell me which is better ?

Then after all of that :

Please supply the root password to infect hda1(hard disk 1 ) with malware.
In Win-doze your likely alrady default root/admin so the malwre intalls on a click
I rest my case .

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[lordSaurontheGreat]

I'd rather see Suse and Ubuntu duking it out with Fedora and Gentoo rather than 2-minute long Viagra commercials.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[scientus]

um thats basically the point that the PC ads try to make, they say that PC users are from all walk of live and pushes a humanist tone. (not that i buy that, but its better than Mac ='s "Im better than you, in your face" attitude)

Yes this humanist tone is Ubuntu's primary face, but it is not Red Hat's or Novell's; and while Debian is extremely universal and free it focuses on practicalities rather than any fuzzy undefinable feeling. I think this awareness of reality, and ability to adapt is linux's and generally GPL'd/FOSS'd softwares great asset. Linux is not focused on Egos or Peons; linux is focused on applications (in the broader sense), and if it doesn't do what you want it to do you can adapt it of embedded that parts that are useful into your system.

Re:Distros Cause Spartacus Syndrome

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a fair enough point, but who else beside Conanical or Red Hat or the other few big names could afford it?

Conanical? Don't they make Barbarian Linux?

Does it have to be open source?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or can the ad script be closed source... :)

You Haven't Seen the "I'm Linux" TV Ad...

[Anonymous Coward]

Because it's only really suitable for radio, if you know what I mean.

OpenVMS

[Anonymous Coward]

Geeze, when are people going to start recognizing real operating systems like OpenVMS? It's time those dang marketers give up their inferior OS's and recognize the only software that can truly be recognized as on equal level to human intelligence.

Hello

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi there... I'm Linux. Would you like to take a look at my anatomical chart?

*reveals chart*

See. When you change it...

*draws wings on chart*

... I change to match!

*wings appear*

See?

The contest is over.

[pushing-robot]

IBM Won.

Re:The contest is over.

[Anonymous Coward]

Novell came along...

Re:The contest is over.

[Gazzonyx]

I'll see your IBM and raise you a Novell

Re:The contest is over.

[Anonymous Coward]

A challenger appears!

Re:The contest is over.

[Slashdotvagina]

I'll see your IBM and raise you a Novell

You do realize that the concept of "raising" involves presenting something that's actually better? Those cheesy yuk-yuk Novell ads don't even hold a candle to the power and quality of the IBM ad.

Re:The contest is over.

[hairyfeet]

Bah! If you want mass market appeal you have to go for the evil genius market!

Re:The contest is over.

[AndGodSed]

I quite like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBUgEx_91BU

Re:The contest is over.

[hotfireball]

Note: that kid is a blonde... :-)

Re:The contest is over.

[Gumbercules!!]

I don't like the ad - because it shows Linux as immature and still a child.

They should instead be pushing the stability and history and the vast majority of web & email servers that run it, in comparison to Windows.

Enough "we're here too" crap. Time to start telling the masses - "oh you know that Internet thing you love? That's running on Linux."

Re:The contest is over.

[madnis]

so linux is the real slim shady?

Re:The contest is over.

[CronoCloud]

I've always liked that IBM ad, though this PS3 oriented Yellow Dog Linux one is fun:

http://us.fixstars.com/showcase/video/

Re:The contest is over.

[pathological liar]

That ad is awful.

It's not funny, the production quality is far worse than the ones it's spoofing, and the only message is "HEY YOU GUYS, WE'RE HERE TOO, PAY ATTENTION TO US! ... YOU GUYS?"

Re:The contest is over.

[Blakey Rat]

So Linux is a person with the mind of a 12-year-old stuck in a plain, undecorated room, too socially-awkward to even speak to guests but filled with tons of pointless trivia?

Sounds accurate.

TRON GUY

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's TRON GUY when you need him?

Not OSs

[omnilynx]

"Mac" and "PC" aren't operating systems. They're hardware platforms. "PC" would include both Windows and Linux, as well as all the other PC-compatible operating systems.

Re:Not OSs

[steelcobra]

If you want to get technical, Apple-, MS-, and Linux-centric hardware are all PCs. Especially now that Apple runs on x86 and the hardware itself doesn't matter.

Re:Not OSs

[centuren]

The answer, then, should be a Mac / PC ad spinoff where the "Mac" and "PC" start their banter, then "Linux" comes out as a Borg, injects itself into both, and we end up with all three as part of the Linux "community".

Re:Not OSs

[Anonymous Coward]

That's fitting.
The viral nature of all things GPL means infecting other systems is only natural.

Re:Not OSs

[Anonymous Coward]

You will be infected with Open Sores
Resistance is futile

Re:Not OSs

[lothar4ever]

"Linux...Resistance is futile..."

I'm lame.

[Anonymous Coward]

That is what the contest sounds like.

Behind The Times Much?

[Revotron]

Linux is finally beginning to implement things that Microsoft and Apple have been doing for years?

Wow! Who would have guessed?

Uh oh, I badmouthed Linux and probably pissed off Richard M. "Jesus Christ Reborn" Stallman. I know I'm going to be modded a troll just for that. But before you hit "Flamebait" and censor me into oblivion, LISTEN. Seriously. This is why 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are NOT going to be the "Year Of The Linux Desktop"... because all the freetards (to quote Fake Steve) can do is just copy the two big names in the industry. Let's see something original... put that community-minded, many-eyes-on-one-problem mentality to use on advertising and maybe Linux would become a household name to the point where people will actually ASK you about it!

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[tchiseen]

There's more things that OSX/Windows have copied from Linux Distros then Linux has copied from OSX/Win. This is partially because updates and features make it into Linux upgrades which are released far more frequently then OSX/Win upgrades. ( eg, every 6 months for Ubuntu ).

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[SBFCOblivion]

So, you accuse the Linux community of copying the 'two big names' (which is debatable) and instead advising them to innovate you suggest they advertise?

Good job.

Also, if anyone mods you flamebait it won't be because you're simply badmouthing Linux but that you're being a douche bag about it.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[Revotron]

Tell that to the Linux Foundation who would rather put millions into advertising than award millions to the developers who create the next "killer app" for Linux.

You guys want to advertise, I'll give you advice on how to do so. I'm not holding a knife to your throat demanding that you waste your time making a damn commercial, but the Foundation has already expressed their interest in doing so, so you can't talk down to ME as if I came up with the damn idea!

To hell with my Karma.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[AceofSpades19]

Every time any free software developers do anything that is unorignal, they get flamed for it, look at gimp and kde 4 for examples. They do stuff different and everyone hates them for it

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[AceofSpades19]

err, I mean original, sorry

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[Revotron]

Well then the community needs to become more accepting of originality. I personally love KDE4 and GIMP. Anyone who flames a project for being too "original" or "bleeding-edge" is really retarding the development process and is essentially forcing the Linux community to adapt to an environment of conformity that only serves to push it two steps further behind the competition.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[JonJ]

Yeah, I mean, just look at virtual desktops! OS X and Windows had those years before Lin... Oh, right, it was actually the other way around. And Windows still haven't got it.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[AceofSpades19]

You should tell that to the GIMP haters on slashdot ;)

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[Anonymous Coward]

And other operating systems had them before linux...linux is a rip off of other UNIX operating systems.

You Linux butt fuckers seem to forget that you're the ultimate thieves.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[node 3]

Name *one* thing Apple or Microsoft copied from Linux. The only thing that comes to mind is virtual desktops, which predate Linux. Nextstep (aka Mac OS X) had virtual desktops (via third party software) before Linux even existed.

Linux is the ultimate copycat. The core system itself is a complete copy of Unix. The graphical interface predates Linux as well. Linux's strength isn't in its innovation or originality. Its strength is in its openness and technical excellence.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[_Sprocket_]

But before you hit "Flamebait" and censor me into oblivion, LISTEN. Seriously. This is why 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are NOT going to be the "Year Of The Linux Desktop"... because all the freetards (to quote Fake Steve) can do is just copy the two big names in the industry.

Alright. Tell ya what - let's ignore the fact that this is flamebait. We'll just gloss over that and pretend like this is honest conversation.

If you're going to quote someone, feel free to use their real name. "Fake Steve" is Daniel Lyons. Not only eos this journalist excel in the flamebait style that you enjoy, he's been incredibly wrong in his opinions and prognostications. Considering the source, "freetard" is a badge of honor.

So let's get to the sliver of meat in the middle of all this gristle. Originality. We've heard that one before. Heck - Microsoft has heard it plenty of times before too. But the kicker here is that it doesn't matter. Think about that for a minute.

No. Really. Listen. Let it sink in.

Originality goes hand in hand with "innovation" - another Microsoft buzz word. The thing is, Microsoft is hardly the bastion of either. And they don't have to be. Nobody cares about originality.

Well - OK, I admit that's a loaded statement. We're all abuzz about new features. And things do change. But drastic changes aren't always good and they're rarely welcomed.

Change often comes in small steps. And originality is also often small, but admittedly novel, alterations of ideas that came before. That's often pushed as the nature of Open Source. But it is really the nature of the IT Industry as a whole. "Innovation" not withstanding.

That doesn't mean that original ideas aren't welcomed. But simply that they're not as important as some pundits would make them out to be. They never have been.

Incidently, while we're proping up the "two big names in the industry" and panning OSS it might be worth noting that even Microsoft is learning from OSS (heck - they already use GPL software). You see - building on the state of the art. It's not just an OSS idea.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[AndGodSed]

You haven't been reading these replies much, have you?

That is exactly what is happening, right now.

Hang around bubba, you are looking at community in action, and the best part is non linux users are contribute as well.

Neat, isn't it?

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[Anonymous Coward]

*cough* CUPS *cough*

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[Haeleth]

The problem with GIMP isn't that it's different; it's that the differences make it hard to use.

Some of the things people hate (like the methods of drawing lines and circles) are not really problems, and people who give it a fair chance and adapt to it learn to like it. Just like Office 2007's Ribbon, or Firefox 3's Awesomebar. Interface innovation does often upset people, but you're right, it is essential and should be encouraged, and we should all work harder to be flexible.

But there are valid complaints. The dreadful window management thing is one. It relies on totally non-portable behaviour that essentially means GIMP only works properly if you're using GNOME and Metacity. The GIMP team claim this is because every single other desktop environment / window manager ever written is "broken". Recommended "solutions" include devoting an entire virtual desktop to GIMP exclusively, or even using Xnest to dedicate an entire X window server to GIMP. Yes, seriously. Ludicrous.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[supernova_hq]

I hate to burst your little bubble here, but pretty much All the things (other than viruses and coolaid) that Apple and Microsoft have come up with were also copied from Unix, OS/2, yes even Linux. The only difference is that for most features: first Linux had it, then Apple had it, then Windows had it (about 5 years later).

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[node 3]

Time Machine, Expose, Dashboard.

3D accelerated compositing GUI, Dock, column-view Finder, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie.

iChat Theater.

WiFi, multitouch trackpad, magsafe.

These are just a few things off the top of my head that Apple came out with before Windows or Linux. All of these things are enhancements to previously existing technologies, so don't go saying that Time Machine is just a copy of rsync, or that iChat Theater is a copy of VNC. All of these technologies are real innovation, and all of the ones that are software-based are being copied by Linux, not the other way around.

None of them were copied from "Unix, OS/2, even Linux".

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[node 3]

*cough* Apple owns CUPS *cough*

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[centuren]

Anyone who flames a project for being too "original" or "bleeding-edge" is really retarding the development process

If anything, the lesson here isn't that the community needs to become more accepting of originality, it's that the people doing the flaming are retarded.

Re:Behind The Times Much?

[ErkDemon]

I had virtual desktops on my old Atari ST (courtesy NeoDesk) ...

Ubiquitous?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think it means what you think it means.

Troll? Really?

[symbolset]

Moderator, do you really think the parent is a troll?

Server share for Windows really is low, and dropping off. Netcraft confirms it.

Am I really the only one...

[ipX]

...besides an AC who thinks this is a lame idea?

Re:Am I really the only one...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell no, this is really, really lame. I wish the winning ad should be something that doesn't even mention that stupid original ad. Besides comparing a kernel to operating systems is a pretty strange thing to do anyways.

Scott Kurtz won

[iguana]

http://www.pvponline.com/2006/05/16/may-16-2006/

Wish someone would do this

[ancientt]

A man walks to a corner and is solicited by two ladies of the evening.

(Windows) [dressed in fishnet and miniskirt] - "Wanna have a good time baby? I'm very popular, I do _all_ the fun things. [pause] I'm cheap."

(Mac) [catholic schoolgirl look with heavy makeup] - "Take me sweetie! I'm fun too and I'm cuter! [giggle, then dead serious] Not cheap."

[Mac and Windows get into a hair pulling fight while Marketing, old leering suited man, pulls up a jello filled wading pool.]

(Linux) [A girl next door type walks up] "Hi again, wanna grab dinner, [pause] I'm buying."

(Man) "Sure. Wait, you're buying? Do you expect to get paid?"

(Linux) "No, it might be nice if you buy some time, but that's up to you.

(Man) Dutch?

Re:Wish someone would do this

[Dutch Gun]

Dutch?

Not bad. I approve.

Re:Wish someone would do this

[Anonymous Coward]

That would bloody awesome!

Someone should do that one!

Re:Wish someone would do this

[u38cg]

(Linux) No, Finnish.

Re:Wish someone would do this

[Kenshin]

(Linux) [A girl next door type walks up] "Hi again, wanna grab dinner, [pause] I'm buying."

And then, she added: "Oh, but you have to cook it yourself, and if you dare ask how to do it my friends and I will laugh at you."

Re:Wish someone would do this

[ancientt]

Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Re:Wish someone would do this

[ancientt]

This sounds like a Gentoo or LFS reference. That's really the problem with trying to cram Linux into the "Hi. I'm an OS" shtick. I think my original scenario fits for OpenSuse, Mandriva or Ubuntu, but what about all the other distros? I guess it depends on who is paying the piper.

Remember all the PCs on their way to tech support? If it were just a general Linux push, and you wanted to give all the distros a representative, you'd need something like a dating site.

• LFS - "bugger off unless you are ready to commit to a long term relationship" [Librarian]
• Gentoo - "Anything you want baby, any way you want it, but only if you ask very nicely." [dominatrix]
• Mandriva - "Show me where it hurts and I'll make it all feel better" [bimbo nurse]
• OpenSuse - "You're so dirty" [french maid]
• Fedora - "Want a cookie?" [little red riding hood]
• Slackware - "Mechanics are sexy, you're not afraid of a little grease are you?" [Daisy Duke mechanic type]
• RHEL - "You have a meeting with a client at two, I'll have your report ready for review by three and I'll schedule Helga for a massage at five-thirty" [Secretary]
• Knoppix - "I'm studying dancing... pole dancing." [Stripper]
• Debian - "I've got recipies, lots of recipies." [Chef]

The list could go on and on. This would make a great flash brochure type website actually. You would want something like Youtube's related videos list with just the distro logos, but when you click on one it brings up the logo for one second then switches to a model with a tagline and then a ten second interview type format where the model is explaining what kind of personality she (as the distro) has and built in links to the distro main page and a three minute interview which would discuss the distro in detail. The video advertisement could be nothing more elaborate than showing a screen with the logos and a couple banner ads for Mac and Windows which are promptly disappeared from then firefox browser by enabling Adblock Plus (most Windows users would be shocked to see that alone,) then clicking on three or four of the logos for the ten second summaries then the phrase "What are you looking for?" in white letters on black screen. (Which I think would make a decent slogan for the entire campaign.)

Little RED riding hood, get it? I crack myself up.

Re:Wish someone would do this

[ion.simon.c]

OH GAWD YES!

*proceeds to enthusiastically fellate this heroic AC*

Re:Wish someone would do this

[theillien2]

Brilliant. Too bad the Average Joe wouldn't get the joke. Shame on them.

Should get the teacher who thinks sw isn't free

[tchiseen]

They should get the teacher who said "there's no such thing as free software" to do an ad. ( http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/12/10/001236 )

Marketing is not a product feature

[tchiseen]

Also note that Marketing is NOT a product feature and has nothing to do with the quality of the software represented. I know this may come as a shock to someone like you whose only source of product information is marketing material.

Re:Marketing is not a product feature

[Revotron]

Walk up to somebody in your local [insert supermarket here]. Ask them if they use Linux. Ask them if they've HEARD of Linux.

The chances of those two answers being "yes" is going to be low, lower than if you ask about Windows or Mac. Why? Because Microsoft and Apple put their names out there! What does the Linux community do? We make blogs. And give out free CDs. Guess who else gives out free CDs? AOL. Guess what they turn in to? Coasters.

Not everybody cares about their computer as much as you do. Furthermore, non-technical people don't have the time or desire to search the internet and learn all about Linux. Why? Because their Windows/Mac computers work for them and they don't see a need to change. So we need to actively show them why Linux is so great, and do it through the same channels as Microsoft and Apple.

The least effective way to get somebody to do something is to make them go out of their way to do it.

Re:Marketing is not a product feature

[bdraschk]

Walk up to somebody in your local [insert supermarket here]. Ask them if they use Linux. Ask them if they've HEARD of Linux.

In Switzerland, the answer would probably be "yes".
See http://www.roesch-swiss.ch/?id=1159&prod_id=33 and http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_(Waschmittel)

No joke, i've seen a bottle of it myself.

Wouldn't it look something like this?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://thegreatgeekmanual.com/images/graphical-gags/february/pc-mac-linux.jpg

Question...

[Puffy Director Pants]

Are they looking for accuracy, or persuasiveness?

Re:Question...

[Rockoon]

"Hi! I'm Linux, and I'm a religion."

"Hi! I'm a Mac, and I'm also a religion."

"Hi! I'm a PC, and I'm not a religion. I'm a King."

Commercial Idea

[tchiseen]

Another good commercial might be one featuring the animal mascots (possibly animated) of some of the many Linux distributions - i.e. an Intrepid Ibex, a Puppy for Puppy linux, a sneaky lookin guy in a red hat for Redhat, a lizard for SUSE, and of course a Penguin named Tux. I think that would be a bit of fun, and also pretty representative of what Linux is about :)

So this means...

[Anonymous Coward]

So this mean that there will be no Richard Stallman in this "I'm Linux" thing, because as we all know, he wouldn't show unless it's "I'm a Gnu/Linux" at which point half the audience is asleep. ;) Then again, maybe, just maybe, the FSF is going to make a "I'm ah GNU" Commercial featuring Stallman. Can you imagine it?

RMS: I'm ah GNU.
Mac Guy: Why yes you are!

I'd pay to see that. ;)

Re:So this means...

[ciderVisor]

RMS: I'm ah GNU.

That was done in the 1970's.

I'm a Gnu, how do you do?
I've just moved into the house next door to you.
I've lost my Ty-phoo, so let me ask you,
Can I borrow some of that most refreshing brew?
The flavour's so fine -- every time--
I just cannot wait to tell those friends of mine

Re:OOh

[Zencyde]

Offtopic but WTF? Someone is really out to get you. Some nice moderator should mod you back up. Unless you're Twitter... In which case, nevermind.

Best Linux Commercial here

[Phizzle]

Hi, I am Linux...... and I am in a car outside your house haxx0ring your WIFI with my Backtrack3 l33t skillz0rs. Linux FTW byatches!

Or you can go lolcat style

[Phizzle]

I are Linux, I are in your root fsck'ing your megahurtz.

Troll?? WTH?

[symbolset]

That was not a troll. At worst it was a funny. Has /. moderation been taken over by Redmond?

Linux share of the Top500 is 87.8%. Linux share keeps growing.

Somebody is trying to use the /. moderation system to hide the truth. Please mod them down.

Re:Troll?? WTH?

[KwKSilver]

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated, your computer will be re-educated, and your bank account will be merged with the Collective.

If you think it's bad here, try OS News. Win 7 is being followed and blindly praised in excruciating detail. Never anything even mildly negative about MS or Novell, or anything positive about other Linux or BSD there. I deleted my bookmark.

Re:Troll?? WTH?

[Anonymous Coward]

Supercomputers are not servers. Windows server marketshare is growing also - both Windows and Linux are growing at the expense of Unix. Maybe if you get your facts right you won't get modded down.

Nope.

[khasim]

I'm with you on that. It's funny the first time it is done.

It takes real skill to make a funny satire of it. Microsoft tried playing it seriously and their ads sucked.

Now, to make a decent ad following a sucky remake following a funny ad ... no, that takes too much skill.

Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

"Linux" per se is not an OS, it is a set of common libraries and standards that is shared by many OSs. Heck, binaries compiled for one Linux distro won't even work on half the others (reason I mentioned this is because binary incompatibility is a good way to distinguish between customizations of a single OS, as opposed to different OSs, which, while belonging to the same family, are just that - DIFFERENT OSs.

Advertising Linux is like advertising x86 architecture or the Unix Standard. It may be useful for engineers, programmers, or adiministrators, but not to end users. The fact that all Linux distros share the same kernel is about as useful to end users as telling them that their particular Chevy model uses the same engine block as a dozen other cars from GM. The service technician will need to know this, not the end user. The end users need to know WHAT a distro does, not HOW it does it. And every distro does things differently, and for a good reason - it is optimized for a particular audience and a particular way of doing things. By definition, that means that a single distro can't please eveyone - and shouldn't try to.

Advertise Ubuntu. Advertise Red Hat. Advertise Gentoo. Pick a market and promote the Linux brand that suits that market best. And if someone else isn't happy about your choice, they can go and advertise their own distro to their own target audience.

Linux distros need to start adopting a good old capitalist trick known as USING A BRAND.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Yvanhoe]

Linux is a pretty good trademark. Ubuntu is getting some recognition, but, you know, Microsoft presents itself by saying "I'm a PC". "Linux" is accurate enough for me.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

If the target audience is regular folks with any background they will go to the computer store and ask about Linux (expecting it to be installed when they purchase the computer). If the computer salesman has computers with any Linux distro in stock he will give the customer a demo of one...

After playing around for a while, quite liking what he sees, the customer will walk a few feet away and pick up one of the boxes and go to the check-out to pay for his new Mac.

"Hey honey, I bought that Mac you wanted. Also saw that new Linux-thingie. Ubuntu something. It's pretty cool."

"It's nice that there are options for every wallet these days when people get laid off."

"Yeah, whatever. Ohh it's shiny. Aluminium."

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[An Onerous Coward]

Technically, Linux is a brand.

Also technically, the "operating system" is the program which interfaces with the hardware and runs all the other programs. Which means that the Linux kernel is the only part of a given distribution that can claim to be the operating system.

But the ad campaign isn't really interested in the technical side of things. Linux is a common shorthand for all the various distributions, window managers, and open source applications that are commonly included in distros. Yes, once you've decided to "try Linux," you still have choices to make, and they're more complex than choosing between Vista Home and Vista Ultimate, or deciding whether to upgrade from Jaguar to Leopard. But "Linux is a free, highly customizable operating system that will run on your current computer" is good enough for 90% of the population.

As far as branding goes, the "Linux brand" is far more valuable than whatever flavor-of-the-year is currently best for new users. If by this time next year, somebody trots out "ClickAndDrool Linux" that manages to be absolutely perfect for everybody, or if it is revealed that Ubuntu is actually Windows Vista with a few custom themes, the marketing pitch can stay the same.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Jamie's Nightmare]

Yeah, but even Ubuntu has an image problem. It's an African word.

"From the land that brought you HIV, Ebola, Poverty, Bank Scams, Child Soldiers and Blood Diamonds.... comes UBUNTU!"

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[crabboy.com]

A+ for car analogy!

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Haeleth]

"Linux" per se is not an OS, it is a set of common libraries and standards that is shared by many OSs.

No, Linux is a kernel.

Heck, binaries compiled for one Linux distro won't even work on half the others

If you compile them in a distro-specific fashion, perhaps. But it is not particularly difficult to produce a Linux binary that will work on practically any distro (for any given processor architecture, obviously).

That said, I happen to agree with your fundamental argument, which is that it's better to recommend people use "Ubuntu" than to tell them "hey, you should try Linux. I wonder which distro you'd like best... maybe you should try Ubuntu, then give SuSE a go, or wait, Fedora's pretty good these days", by which time their eyes have glazed over and they're making a mental vow never to touch anything Linux-related with a bargepole.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

Africans are trendy at the moment, didn't you get the memo?

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

On the contrary, if the entire continent has an image problem, they could use some positive PR.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

You are wrong. Linux is the OS. The monolith kernel is same as OS. That is the most typical error what almost all does, is to believe that all kernels are same. In history, the OS was one monolith binary. Those were called "Monolith OS" or "Monolith kernel". Those were fast and easy to maintain because you had so small memory to use by OS. Then RAM got bigger and developing monolith OS became harder. The OS because unsecure and crashes more easier. Someone got idea to make more secure and stable OS, buy slicing the monolith OS to small parts, to microkernel and OS-servers, what were moved to other side of address space. Together, microkernel and these OS-servers builds an OS together.

Monolith kernel is still including all the OS-parts what is needed to get an software what can be definied as OS.

That is just BS to call Linux "only a kernel" or believing that Linux means kernel+libraries+basic applications.

The operating system is that part of computer software what is running in kernel space or as supervisor mode.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0130313580/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-7158569-1619062#reader-link

http://tinyurl.com/mum9x [PDF]

http://www.computer.org/portal/site/computer/menuitem.5d61c1d591162e4b0ef1bd108bcd45f3/index.jsp?&pName=computer_level1_article&TheCat=1005&path=computer/homepage/0506&file=cover1.xml&xsl=article.xsl&

http://www.topology.org/human/?a=/linux/lingl.html

The GNU/Linux is just a BS too, it means a development platform in reality. At least if you follow the computer science and basic logic. The GNU people just cant stand that some young man from Finland got own OS working so fast and got great big community around it. And still the GNU people has not got their own OS, GNU (Hurd) working at all... Linux is just so widespread OS around the IT-world, it is used on all kind embedded systems from network devices to supercomputers and frist-watches...

If you really want to start adopting good trick know as "USING A BRAND". Then I suggest you take facts about Linux (monolith kernel) being an Operating System and you start using that brand as OS and the distributors brand as the own community what is build around the same OS as all other Linux-distributors are using. You get big and great marketing forces if you dont spread those lies what you just did!!

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[diego.viola]

I prefer advertising Linux.

Linux is the OS and a good brand, Ubuntu and other distros are simply the fruits of Linux.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[diego.viola]

What's the problem with Africa?

Stop racism please.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

Linux is a mindset. I say advertise the SHIT out of it!

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Burz]

Also technically, the "operating system" is the program which interfaces with the hardware and runs all the other programs.

Bzzzt! Try again. If the target audience is non-programmers (almost everyone) then the OS must interface with more than just hardware; It must have a USER interface. Hence, a user can use the hardware via the OS. But Linux per se has no recognizable user interface that a typical user would ever care about.

Linux is pretty faceless: Like an Invisible Man that wears different clothes and masks (user interfaces) at different times. It can't readily be identified by most people, and anyone doing tech support for a "Linux compatible" application or peripheral won't be able to efficiently direct a user through the GUI as the various distro configurations will prevent it. The wildly varying "core" libraries of each distro will also create unending dependency headaches.

A full-featured platform complete with standard GUI and developer toolkit is another story. Such a Linux-based thing does exist: Google Android.

Note that Google isn't marketing their "Linux". That would be like Toyota marketing engine parts to your grandmother.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Burz]

If you compile them in a distro-specific fashion, perhaps. But it is not particularly difficult to produce a Linux binary that will work on practically any distro (for any given processor architecture, obviously).

And with that you usually end up with an app that has its own GUI toolkit built-in, is ugly as sin, gets things like cut-and-paste (and other GUI conventions) all wrong, and rather slow. I hope I don't have to remind you what a very long road it was to even get the fonts to render correctly in the available office suites.

The FOSS community has some great accomplishments, but it just hasn't internalized the concept of a stable desktop platform (a predictable user interface and set of APIs). Any group of people who had internalized it would instantly recognize that it would be meaningless for Apple, for instance, to market Darwin or XNU to end-users. Yes, yes! Darwin 'usually' implies that the rest of OS X is there too... But it still isn't accurate or tangible to users.

In short, the whole idea of promoting "Linux" to end-users is truly F{x0r.

Promoting Ubuntu is OK. Promoting Android is OK (and is a better example of a real platform than Ubuntu). IMO the desktop distros need to watch and learn from Android and OS X.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[Anonymous Coward]

The OS can have graphical user interface if there is available such for that OS. But still, those different graphical interfaces ain't part of the OS at all.

It is just mistake to believe so.

Because right now you are saying that if I install two different desktop environment and one window manager for my Linux system, I have three different operating systems installed on my computer if I show all those three for three different user. I know the truth that I have one OS and three different GUI's. And I even know the truth that OS is the main thing what keeps those applications running.

It is just spreading lies saying that OS includes the GUI. If the OS does not include the GUI, then it does not has such. Windows NT has the GUI, the window manager is integrated to OS itself. You can change the shell but still you have one and same window manager all the time because you can not remove it from OS where it is integrated.

And your car analogy just sucks, just proofs that you can not talk about computer technology by using technology terms and computer science, but you are trying to proof you are right by making wrong analogies what is BS.

And the user interface is more than just the software. Keyboard, mouse, monitor and even the DVD-drive lights and buttons are part of the user interface. I think you will count those as part of OS as well. Mayby you even count the OS to be a part of computer like motherboard and CPU are?

Fact still stands, OS is between hardware and other software. It does not include anything what is not included to the OS and it does not execlude anything what is in the OS. There are different OS's and you need to understand the differences of those OS structures to understand what you are talkin. You cant just think that one computer with graphical desktop is using different OS if the other computer next to it is having only a Commandline. Only a person who does not know computer science, mistakes the facts and the marketing and believes those would be running different OS because what they look.

Re:Don't advertise "Linux", advertise a BRAND

[An Onerous Coward]

Bzzt is for getting something factually wrong, not for having a different perspective or opinion.

As I said, I'm okay with letting laymen use "Linux" to refer to the whole stack of apps and interfaces that commonly come in desktop distros. If someone asked you "How do I get this Linux thing everyone keeps telling me about?" you wouldn't tell them to buy an Android phone. You'd probably get them a Ubuntu CD. Or, if you're an evil bastard, Slackware.

The point is, Linux has much greater mindshare than Ubuntu, or any flavor of the week, and those flavors have enough in common that we can treat "Linux" as an umbrella brand for mass marketing purposes. When you market "Linux" the alternative to Windows and OSX, you're not marketing the Invisible Man, you're marketing him with a certain selection of masks and wardrobes. Which will serve.

marketing

[CaptainNerdCave]

the problem seems to be that joe public doesn't see ibm in best buy or circuit city. most of what ibm offers isn't priced at a point where most buyers would consider it. beyond that, ibm is something that isn't nearly as ubiquitous as apple, windows, microsoft, google, or even yahoo.

i think the biggest hurdle is one that keeps rearing its ugly head: name and brand recognition.

right now may be one of the best chances that linux has to break into the market. most people are sick of vista, they want _inexpensive_ systems that work and are flashy. one upside to linux is that it's free, one downside is that it's free and can't (easily) launch an ad campaign to compete with m$ or apple.

perhaps one of the best ideas would be for a distro to take a big risk and launch a campaign. ubuntu comes to mind just because the ads could mention dell, and it has "just worked" on all of the machines where i've installed it.

Re:Script - and, then NetBSD.

[fahrbot-bot]

I'm Linux ... And I've been configured to run on just about any hardware!

Then a toaster walks up and says, I'm NetBSD, and I run on any hardware...

More a command line idea...

[Casandro]

OK, this one refers more to the command line, but might be cool anyhow.

You have 2 buttlers, one Linux, the other one Windows.

The Linux buttler just follows orders to the best he can, if you tell him what to do. (like a command line) The Windows buttler is more like a like a puppet, you have to actually move it for it to do something. (like a GUI)
Punchline: Windows won't do something, because that feature is not availiable under the current licence, please buy an upgrade.

Re:More a command line idea...

[story645]

Avoiding command line would probably be in everybody's best interest, as command line seems to scare everybody who's not
a) already a hardcore linux fan
or
b) been using windows since the DOS days

I think the whole point is to make linux appear friendly, and I doubt highlighting the part of linux that requires a cheat sheet is the way to do it.

Re:More a command line idea...

[Casandro]

Well there are different kinds of users out there.

And seriously you cannot compare a good unixoid shell to the crippled one comming with Windows. The Windows one really is barely usable. Microsoft did a great job at scaring people away from comman lines by crippling them to death.
Microsoft even goes a lot further, by also crippling the GUI. Just try to load 10 comma seperated text files written by a version of Exel from another language version into Exel. It asks you the _same_ questions over and over again. It doesn't even try to make guesses like that it's improbable to have the period as a 1000-seperator when you already have it as a decimal seperator.

Windows just is unusual for the power user, but people have just gotten used to wasting their time with bad software.

Re:More a command line idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

It reminds me of that old Windows error message screen joke:

"Windows has detected that your mouse has moved and must be rebooted for the change to take effect. Reboot now? Yes/No"

Re:More a command line idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

Another buttler comes along, and says he's a Mac. He strips off his buttler suit to reveal frilly panties underneath. He then sucks everybody's dicks.

Re:More a command line idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

If you have to insult another product to show the better features of your own product (which the commandline is -not- a good example of), there's something wrong with your OS, or the marketing.

The best...

[Enderandrew]

The best contribution won't be a single person, but this huge contribution of several people. Linux isn't one OS for one person. It is embedded. It is desktop. It is server. It runs the cloud. It runs your phone. It runs your coffee maker. Ir runs the web. It runs super-computers. It is the unspoken hero. It is a rock-star.

The only video representation of one character that fits Linux is a representation of all these characters.

Re:The best...

[imakemusic]

Windows is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

What truth?

That you are a slave, Neil. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your computer.

Re:The best...

[ozphx]

This contest will be another excellent example of how infinity unpaid volunteers can't match a single well paid expert.

I'm sure I'll have a good lol at the results though.

Re:The best...

[diego.viola]

I agree, I add all that and the universe and multiverses analogy and it will be the best AD ever =D

Re:The best...

[Canberra Bob]

Only sensible post this entire topic

Re:OOh

[symbolset]

I'm definitely not twitter. I am his fan, though. Yes, I've been identified as one of the people who have to be silenced if W7 has a hope of acceptance. I'm a voice of reason, and I've offered many of the base arguments against Vista, including: Why?

Twitter is the zealot I was once. He's coming to a more moderate stance gradually, as is proper. In the mean time he gives an outer bound to the acceptable scope of zeal. In the process he is instructive, informative, and useful. He finds links the less motivated would overlook, and he manages to get them posted to the main page. If it were not for him we would not know about a lot of really negative stuff. Twitter is useful even in his foolishness. We owe him a lot even if we don't accept his M$ usages. More importantly, he has the time to seek out references and offences that I do not.

If /. can't find a way to override the moderation of Hindi call centers, its day is done. I hope Cmdr Taco happens to read this. Vox populi is effective as long as it's not purchased by Vox Cash. I'm looking at 4 troll mods for my last 4 posts and thinking, "do I need this?".

Not mods, admins

[symbolset]

Does anybody here care enough to have a look at this? Please? If you don't, you're done.

Re:Not mods, admins

[Literaphile]

Why do you care so much about how your posts are moderated? It's not a big deal. Get over it...

Re:Not mods, admins

[symbolset]

This is much better.

I don't know why I care so much. Bad moderation just really ticks me off. You're right. I should get over it.

I can see it

[lord_sarpedon]

Picture an I'm a Mac/I'm a PC commercial as they typically start!

Richard Stallman shouts from offstage, "I'm linux, and I'm freee free FREEEE"

He the proceeds to prance naked around stage throwing rose petals to the ground as the other two are stricken with a deep terror.

Freeeee! Free freeeeee!

Re:I can see it

[Anonymous Coward]

Surely Stallman would say "I'm GNUde"

Re:I can see it

[Anonymous Coward]

I sure wouldn't want to "see it" as he's prancing around naked.

Re:I can see it

[Antique Geekmeister]

_NOT_ naked. No, you've forced me to overwrite my hypothalamus with /dev/zero to prevent that idea from being remembered.

However, Richard actually dances quite well: he's apparently a very active folk dancer.

Re:I can see it

[ciderVisor]

he's apparently a very active folk dancer.

Brad: Just a moment, Janet. We don't want to interfere with their celebration.
Janet: This isn't the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Brad!
Brad: They're probably foreigners with ways different from our own. They may do some more... folk dancing.

Script suggestion

[skulgnome]

[Start with a semi-closeup of a hairy stoner type, you know, facial hair like alan cox and rms]

Hi man, I'm Linux.

[Move quickly to the right to a similar shot of a tie-wearing IBM type]

Hi, I'm also Linux.

[Move to a series of government types standing in a line behind one another, so that it's obvious there's many of them even if the face of only one is visible]

(all of them speak loudly) Hi, we're also Linux.

[Move to an obvious university student, make him a transfer student from abroad, japanese or chinese or italian or something, with an accent]

Herro, I Linux arso.

[Two or three similar shots follow, including just a Joe Random type and a blue-collar office secretary or beancounter type. All say something to the effect of their also being Linux.]

[Finishing shot: zoom out to show all of those featured before, standing in a row, and eventually fade them to black. Voiceover: GNU/Linux, it's for all of us.]

Licensed under CC-BY-SA, free to film or print out and shove up own eyehole or something. If you want to, send adulations somehow using Slashdot, I can't honestly be arsed to have a proper e-mail address.

Re:Script suggestion

[skulgnome]

Standing side by side I meant. Damn. It's not my first language, don't blame me, blame society. Also there needs to be racial minorities or other stereotypes in there somewhere, like a hot black woman or a rural hick-town stereotype redneck or something. Because it needs to be inclusive.

And in the finishing shot, everyone says their lines again to drill the point home: it's not a monolithic corporation but a community that's made of people, actual humans rather than the teflon-coated, chromed corporate sheen of Microsoft et al.

Re:Script suggestion

[krasmussen]

This is definitely the way to go. The lame thing about the Mac/PC ads is the stereotyping I-define-myself-through-my-hardware-platform nonsense, and a Linux ad should really take exception to that.

Re:Script suggestion

[supernova_hq]

Now if I only had those 15 mod points from Thursday, you'd have a +1 Insightful already...

Positioning Linux

[Forkenhoppen]

The key to the Mac and PC commercials has been their positioning.

Apple's Macs are all-in-one machines, that come with both hardware and software. So it's easy for them to position their avatar and straw man appropriately to showcase the advantages of their platform versus Microsoft's. "I'm a has-it-all-together Mac, you're a slightly confused yet assertive PC. Gee, why am I simpler to set up and use?"

Microsoft sells just the software, so they aimed to take the focus off of the 'whole package' aspect and instead focus on the users. Hence their "I'm a PC" campaign. (Incidentally, someone needs to tell Microsoft that PC stands for 'Personal Computer,' and not 'Person using a Computer'..)

The proper Linux positioning should be about Open Source, and how everyone contributes. So instead of an "I'm Linux" response, I'd suggest "We're Linux." Unlike how Microsoft's approach bends the meaning of words 'til they break, "We're Linux" would actually ring true on a lot of levels, from all of the different people whose pieces are put together to make one distribution, to the number of distributions available, to the sheer number of platforms that Linux has been ported to.

Re:Positioning Linux

[Requiem18th]

Damn I wish I had mod points for you, this IS THE WAY to advertise Linux/Open source. We should also use all the eco-anarcho-hippie angle, people think people don't like these ideas sharing and helping each other, we actually do, we just have become pretty cynic and skeptical about it, but I think people actually love it when they see it working.

  We already have seem some ads like this for stuff like youtube and the zune.
Show people collaborating in a mural, the kids playing games, the young adults working in an open area meeting room then show *programmers* playing along and actually enabling these activities, thats about the clearest image of what the open culture is about.

Re:Positioning Linux

[Bert64]

It would also be good to get the freedom aspect across, how you are not beholden to a single company...

Re:Positioning Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

PC can also stand for player character. Maybe Microsoft is going after the appropriate audience after all.

Re:Positioning Linux

[nfk]

Yes, and instead of a studio set there would be webcam shots with different people looking busy, pausing just to look at the camera and say: "We're Linux. We just get things done".

Re:Positioning Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

lmao at all the corny phrases being passed around here, the Linux community is doomed if this is what it has come to. Sorry but you guys would be laughed off the stage if you brought crap like this to the table.

How the fuck does that impress a user that you have multiple platforms(OS's), I want one fucking OS. Pull your heads out of your asses.

Sorry but I am gonna dish this out because you guys need the cold hard truth, so don't get butt hurt over it by turning a blind eye and being naive.

You guys need a 'Pepsi and Coca-Cola Test'. Bring up a user to two computers, one loaded with Windows and one loaded with Ubuntu.
Now I am no Linux fan and have switched back and forth to Linux a couple times only to have it just sit there for the remainder never to be used again. If you guys really believe that it is a successful project than pull a little ol' MS move and bust out the 'Mojave' move. Tell them Ubuntu is the latest MS OS and than do the reverse on the Windows console telling them.

I am optimistic that Linux will succeed for the average desktop user, I have bigger priorities in my life than to be dedicated to an OS war. Linux showing up late to the game did not help either, add to it the semi hostility of the open source users toward Windows users and gaming. I am hesitant at best and think a lot of Linux fans will come out red faced out of this scenario.

Good luck

Re:Positioning Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

The proper Linux positioning should be about Open Source, and how everyone contributes.

seriously guys? no one gives a fuck. first, not everyone contributes. secondly, the out of the 98% or so of all computer users who don't use linux only about 0.05% of them have the know how to make anything meaningful out of the source code and out of those it doesn't seem that many are interested in doing so.

in the terms of the dreaded car analogy you're talking about putting out a commercial to everyone about how some small demographic can benefit from buying your car. Maybe you customized it so that it's especially friendly to someone who is 6'8" or maybe someone with a particular handicapped. While the sentiment is nice it leaves the rest of us asking "what's in it for me?"

Incidentally, someone needs to tell Microsoft that PC stands for 'Personal Computer,' and not 'Person using a Computer'

maybe someone needs to do the same for apple or is the mac quip beyond reproach for some odd little political reason that rolls around in your head?

Re:Positioning Linux

[cp.tar]

Also add the importance of helping each other and sharing, i.e. show them in practice.

Re:Positioning Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

this IS THE WAY to advertise Linux/Open source[...]people[...]sharing and helping each other

I see a turnstile on each side of the set:
To the left is one marked Windows; to the right is one marked Mac.
There are guards watching each, making sure that everybody pays before entering.

In the middle is a slightly-raised platform labeled Linux.
The people there are reaching out, helping more people get up onto the platform.
Nobody there is reaching for his wallet.
When a whole bunch are up on the platform, they say in unison "We're Linux".

gewg_

Just a thought

[JimboFBX]

I think the reason they dont put linux in there is because a person representing linux would be a naked torso of which you have to find all of his arms and legs and clothes separately. That wouldn't get past the censors.

That assumes your talking about linux in a non-distribution sense.

Already Done

[geoffrobinson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-22EpQOm8c&feature=related

Computers suck.

The ONE OS?

[Secret Rabbit]

What about any of the BSDs? What about Haiku/BeOS? What about...

unoriginal...

[Anonymous Coward]

And yet Linux people still wonder why people see Linux as unoriginal, uninovative and a copy of a copy.

I'm Linus

[md65536]

"I'm Leenoos"

unlikely script

[Trepidity]

Stallman would never say "I'm Linux". ;-)

Script suggestion: Have someone saying "I'm Linux", yelling starts off-camera, camera pans over sort of haphazardly, and Stallman launches into a rant about how it's GNU/Linux.

Re:unlikely script

[Anonymous Coward]

GNU's June 1994 Bulletin describes "Linux" as a "free Unix system for 386 machines" (with "many of the utilities and libraries" from GNU)

NDIS lives, UDI is dead

[Mathinker]

Check out the Wikipedia article on NDIS and compare it to the article on UDI.

I actually did hear about some project to try to enable using Win32 printer and scanner drivers under Linux but it doesn't seem to have reached any significant level of usability (or perhaps, penetration).

Re:NDIS lives, UDI is dead

[hairyfeet]

While I read both articles you linked to and can see how that would make a difference, let us be honest here. Lexmark printers are cheap. Because they are so cheap( I myself got a really nice all in one for $39.99 with $40 worth of photo paper free) I seriously doubt they have changed their drivers in ages. I bet if someone who knew about writing drivers were to run a debugger on the bottom 3 Lexmark all in ones you would find that all three of them are doing the same routine and Windows is doing all the heavy lifting. So perhaps like WINE someone could write a translator that could catch those calls and translate them for CUPS or whatever default scanner or fax app they desire.

But sadly even though there are many of my customers who simply surf and could use the reliability of a Linux distro until there is an easy way to make a Lexmark all in one work I simply can't recommend it. This is a little rural state that has been hit extra hard by the "economic downturn"(I personally believe we are in the beginning of another great depression) and comparing prices locally the next cheapest all in one that has Linux support here is nearly $150 so it is simply cheaper for me to buy and sell used office machine with Windows license than it is for me to carry Linux. The only Linux machine I might carry are the $200 Linux Netbooks that are supposed to be released next year as folks don't look at them as normal laptops and as such don't expect their stuff to work with them.

I'M UBUNTU

[Anonymous Coward]

I'M UBUNTU

SON OF A BITCH WINDOWS

WINDOWS IS PIG

DO YOU WANT 8 GIGABYTES RAM?

DO YOU WANT 1 TERABYTE DISK?

WINDOWS IS PIG DISGUSTING

BILL GATES IS A MONOPOLIST

FUCKING MICROSOFT

Re:I'M UBUNTU

[Anonymous Coward]

...what in Linus Torvalds's name...?

Re:I'M UBUNTU

[Anonymous Coward]

I lol'd

I am a Mac, a PC, an ARM a MIPS and much more

[mocm]

and I run Linux on all of them.

Re:I am a Mac, a PC, an ARM a MIPS and much more

[Ant P.]

Normal people won't know what the hell a "MIPS" is. Give it to them in terms they'd understand:

"I'm a Mac, a PC, a mobile phone, a radio station, a movie studio, the Internet, your modem, ..."

Given that we're talking about Linux here...

[93 Escort Wagon]

... will the winning video be done using ASCII art and Curses?

GNewSense

[Anonymous Coward]

I am GNU 'slash' Linux

Hi I'm vista

[garlicbready]

I like this one the best
http://incredimazing.com/page/Hi_Im_Vista

Famous actress

[onceuponatime]

Anyone know any famous actresses/actors? There are loads of IT people contributing for free to the open source community, here's an opportunity for actors and actresses to jump on the bandwagon and become part of the open source/acting movement and get some kudos of a different sort.

rms

[johny42]

I'm a GNU/Linux.

Re:OOh (-1, Troll)

[Anonymous Coward]

Only a dumbass would mod an AC post!

Should be a series of videos

[Gribflex]

This should really be a series of videos, I think.
There really is no single face of linux.

Some of the users I know include:

  - College computer nerds
  - Aging hippies fighting against the establishment
  - Stereotypical sysadmin guy (tubby, cheetos, D&D)
  - Punk style sysadmin guy (spiky purple hair, think Hackers)
  - 20-something attractive blonde sysadmin lady (Trained on windows, switched to linux cause it wasted less of her time)
  - My uncle, who works in a sawmill. He heard about it on CBC and bought Suse to install just to screw around with it. Guess he falls into the hobbyist category.
  - All sorts of CTO/CIO types looking to save a buck.
  - High Performance Computing people in physics labs (admittedly, there are more mac people here that I know).

and the list goes on.

One would assume

[realinvalidname]

that all entries must be in Ogg, be CC-share-alike licensed, and will only be relevant to other "I'm Linux" participants?

Amusing

[Bert64]

I've seen the "I'm a PC" ads microsoft has been putting out, i particularly like the slogan "Life without walls".. but has anyone considered that there's no need for windows if you don't have any walls?

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[howardd21]

I have to be disagree and say this makes no compelling argument. First of all it warps the idea of who many people are using Ubuntu, or or one of the other Linux kernel OSs. Compared to the number of Windows and Mac users, Ubuntu would be about a dwarf's worth in a room of people. Most people would just shrug and say "pass the beer". It can' be about the count for users, *nix would lose that argument.

The concept of the "I'm a ___" is who is using the OS. I am in IT sales (and do not sell product), but not marketing, so I will leave it up to somebody else to develop the message, but it needs to be more compelling and speak to people personally. The "I'm a Mac" ads were funny and emotional, they touched on people's frustration with Vista, and they could relate. The "I'm a PC" commercials are everyday people just using their PC; in other words they say quantity, and similarity. I think of them as less compelling because they are less emotional and make no connection. Even compared to the Seinfeld ads, they are flat.

As I recall, there were commercials a few years ago, I think by IBM. on behalf of Linux that were decent. Too bad they did not continue the campaign.

Hope its not like the MS ads

[Marko_Doda]

It should be better if it would be focused more on software movement than linux, cause teaching the public that the whole "linux" thing is like microsoft is bad, it doesn't work like that in free culture.

Who's Linux?

[achenaar]

Given the number of distros available, might be best to just use a scramble suit and be done with it.

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[Anonymous Coward]

Haha.. and when was advertising about the best and most correct arguments?...

I'm a...

[Epsillon]

general purpose computer and my sysadmin chooses the software appropriate for the job. I'm one of the most powerful and versatile electronic devices ever conceived by humankind and, providing my owner isn't blindly sworn to a corporate entity or software movement (commonly referred to as a "fanboi"), there is almost nothing I cannot do.

Bill Hicks

[ciderVisor]

I'll tell you the commercial they'd like to do, if they could, and I guarantee you, if they could, they'd do this, right here:

Here's the woman's face, beautiful.

Camera pulls back, naked breast.

Camera pulls back, she's totally naked. Legs apart.
Two fingers, right here, and it just says, "I'm Linux".

Now I don't know the connection here, but goddamn if Ubuntu isn't on my download list that week. -- Bill Hicks

Robot Analogy

[ciderVisor]

Sorry, but if Apple ever brought out a robot, I'm pretty sure it'd look something like Eve (not Eva !).

Re:Robot Analogy

[Anonymous Coward]

pixar and linux go way back

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/27/1551250&from=rss

eve might look like an apple product, but her main man's a rugged linux robot, no doubt =)

Re:Script - and, then NetBSD.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, they have already cast a dead guy to play BSD.

This is BAD

[Anonymous Coward]

"Me too"-ism is NOT helping Linux gain wide acceptance. Copying an existing, successful advertising campaign is not going to help. This is the same problem that plagues a lot of Linux's design processes, especially when it comes to UI design.

Marketing Linux

[MrKaos]

will take a series of advertisement's, rather than just one ad, and in a series of focused campaigns. Currently the market has not been prepared for Linux that addresses the most simple question, "OK, I want linux, where do I buy it?"

A series of ad's should narrowly targeted at power users and early adopters with the goal of educating the market, be astute using attractive, well spoken people. By focusing on the positives and generating interest, people will feel they have been given something of value to ponder and become aware that an alternative exists.

I would not mention that it is free, because that does not create an incentive to own it.

The value of Linux should stand on its own, so that the viewer attaches a perceived value (wow, that software has got to be worth at least $dollars). When they want to know more they go to some web address where they discover that it's free, which is how you close the deal. The buyer discovers they can satisfy the impulse to own immediately just by clicking download.

Marketing is like hacking people into doing something, in effect, it's social engineering on a mass scale. Unless a certain mindset can be generated, nothing will happen. Trying to 'dumb it down' won't work for Linux because that's not what it's about, appealing to users values however, might generate considerable interest. When they discover "hey this great software is free" their perceived value will persist, but they will also gain self satisfaction that they have been smart enough to 'have' this software for 'free' instead of their 'perceived value'.

This is because the software has enough positives to sell itself, so let it.

Take it a step further

[WindBourne]

Have the camera "zoom inside" of the computer equipment with Linux on the disk i.e. a tag in there.

[SCRIPT] We are Linux

[EEPROMS]

[Opening scene]
[Scene 1] South pole, miles and miles of snow, wind, sleet.
[Voice Over] Life can be hard when you're on your own
[Scene 2] zoom in an a lone emperor penguin with snow flakes blowing past it.
[Voice Over] But it just takes one person to share and before you know it.
[Scene 3] Two penguins move together.
[Scene 4] close up shot of lots of penguin feet walking on snow/ice
[Scene 4] Pan out, 20 penguins standing huddled together, more walking to join the group
[Scene 5] Hundreds of penguins huddling together, ice and snow are blasting away at them.
[Scene 6] the wind stops, penguins look out across the endless white of the arctic, a baby penguins head pops out.
[Ending credit] Linux, sharing the future.

Re:[SCRIPT] We are Linux

[ciderVisor]

[Scene 6] the wind stops, penguins look out across the endless white of the Arctic, a baby penguin's head pops out.

[Voiceover] "I'm Linux, and I can be used for teaching Geography."





Q: Why don't polar bears eat penguins ?

A: Because they can't get the wrappers off !

Re:[SCRIPT] We are Linux

[EEPROMS]

Sorry typo, Antarctic as emperor penguins only breed down south.

Re:[SCRIPT] We are Linux

[EEPROMS]

One small problem with you poor example of comment wit, I have already mentioned it is the south pole so I really dont have to re mention exactly what arctic Im talking about unless you have a poor memory.

So please say sorry as I already know penguins are a southern bird species and its obvious your reading skills are lacking.

Best approach

[Anonymous Coward]

The best approach should not mimic "I'm a mac" commercials, it should mimic Mojave commercials.

Need to take the Freedom path

[jvin248]

Something like Revolutionary War - Tea Parties - etc. Not just 'free' as in no cost. Quest for Freedom Free of DRM / Restrictions on use / etc. (and oh, by the way, it's a free download too).

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[jbengt]

The concept of the "I'm a ___" is who is using the OS

Not for the Mac ads.
The GP's concept above might need some additional dialog for the general public to understand, but the Verizon ads suggests that they'll get it.

My commercial idea

[Weaselmancer]

Mac and PC are arguing in the foreground, while the whole time they debate there is a guy in the background in coveralls and a hard hat digging a ditch with a large spool of cable nearby.

They argue for a while then eventually notice the third guy.

"Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Linux. Wow...he really looks busy, doesn't he?"

With puzzled looks on their faces they watch him busily dig for a while longer, then cut to the logo.

"Linux. Working hard to bring you the net since 1991."

Re:My commercial idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Mac user: "wow good job there. I'll be over there *yuppie coffee shop* having a latte and doing something artsy,*

Pc User; "ok, well hey i got to get back to my solitare game, do some spread sheets. Hey still on for that Game tonight?"

Mac user: "sure see you then"

*zoom back to linux user visciously hammering a square peg into a round hole*

Re:My commercial idea

[Anonymous Coward]

And the square peg is an AS400, and the round hole belongs to your mom.

Thanks to the Creative Commons...

[Jeff Carr]

Thanks to the Creative Commons Attribution license, and some of the more colorful members of our community, this contest may have just made Microsoft's next commercial...

Camera shakily fades in, showing in a bathroom mirror a huge fat man wearing full furry regalia holding a camera.

Man: "I'm a Linux, and I made this commercial myself!"

Voiceover: "Buy Windows."

Three Years Ago

[Anonymous Coward]

Once again, just like with everything else, instead of trying to innovate, Linux is merely imitating what one of the big boys did three years ago.

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[finity]

You've never heard of the "bandwagon" approach to advertising? This is an excellent example. It says, "you should do X because people Y do X." Bonus points if you identify with people Y, but it's not a prerequisite.

I think a Linux ad campaign more in line with the "mojave" ads would be good. Microsoft cleverly sidestepped some important points that make Vista stink when they made those ads. But a campaign that got a bunch of regular folks to use Linux and say "that was Linux!?" "I liked how clean and fresh everything felt when I used it."

Stepping up awareness, dropping Linux down to a more "common user"-attainable status will make it more acceptable for common users and corporate fat cats alike.

99% of the computer-buyer public answers..

[klubar]

What's a server? Is that the new name for a waiter/waitress?

The other 1% goes... we already know... and by the way the Mac share of servers (including web, file and print, but excluding embedded devices) is so tiny to be unmeasurable, and the Linux share is pretty small too.

Iyum Linux

[sean4u]

How about...

PC and Mac, between them, a bucket. "I'm a PC", "I'm a Mac". Voice says "what's in the bucket". PC says nothing. Mac says quietly "...it's Linux". Voice says "is that it? Is that all Linux does?" Camera shakes, gopher runs on and throws something into the bucket. "Iyum GNU" says the bucket, over a ghostly voice saying "Linux". "We can't make an ad out of this people!" - gopher runs on again, empties pockets, bits of string, bogeys, blu-tack, nails, gaffer tape into bucket. Bucket says "Ahhhh... I am open source and we are legion" in a scary voice. PC and Mac look scared. Pat Volkerding appears (as if by magic) and taps the bucket with a wand. Swirl! A tron light cycle with the Slackware logo on the side appears out of the bucket, Pat jumps on and Pyoon - disappears on a band of light. A guy in a Space suit comes in and taps the bucket with his wand and Swirl, and a beautiful (maybe with a deep tan?) blonde with an Ubuntu sash and a promising look in her eye should appear, and they skip off arm in arm. PC stares, agape, and Mac looks on disapprovingly. Gopher guy rushes on again and shouts into the bucket "Hey Linux, gimme an Ubuntu!". Nothing happens. PC taps him on the shoulder and says "you don't want her, try me, only 500 bucks". Gopher guy backs away in disgust. Mac says "you could always 'go large', amigo, only a kilo". Gopher guy cringes. Bucket swirls with light. Some red headwear appears, with a handsome, if slightly effeminate guy underneath. "I could sssave you sssome sscentsss'. Gopher guys shows some lower teeth. Bucket swirls some more and lots of attractive people, wearing sashes and t-shirts with distro names on, appear out of the bucket, chorusing "we're all free - where are we going?". Gopher guy does the Wizard of Oz dance off set, arm-in-arm with the distros, laughing his head off, to some Mardi Gras-style music.

It's a first cut, let me know, ok?

Re:Iyum Linux

[ciderVisor]

I LOL'd.

Not quite true for apple...

[klubar]

Actually lots of apple-made hardware will not run recent versions of OS X. It's a problem in some schools where they have OS 9-only software (it works, does the job) that will not run under OS X, and OS X will not run on the machines thay have. Rumor is that the next version of OS X will not even install on non-Intel hardware. Apple's been pretty light on hardware compatibility. Most older PC software (made for Windows 3 or later) will usually run on my recent versions of the OS. Apple never has been great on backward compatibility---how about the suckers^h^h^h^h^h^h^hindividuals who bought into the benefits of fireware and invested in firewire-only backup drives or video cameras and now want to upgrade their hardware?

Dr. Manhattan

[AftanGustur]

Nuff said !

everything you need to know

[bokmann]

right here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-L-0s-7-Z0&NR=1

Re:everything you need to know

[Anonymous Coward]

You're a fucking moron. In reading through your comments, it becomes clear you are also a pedophile.

Crap

[smoker2]

Well if they start running stupid ads for Linux, then I'm going back to BSD. Linux is an environment not a damn fashion statement, and anybody who is attracted by adverts is not in it for the right reasons. I don't want to be part of that world, that's why I use linux in the first place - it's all about what you can do with it, not how it looks to other people. Imagine trying to explain some aspect of linux when the people you are talking to have difficulty differentiating KBps and Kbps. As soon as you mention anything vaguely technical, their eyes glaze over, and they stop listening. The whole point of the linux ecosystem is that it lets you get as technical as you want. If you don't want technical, use a different OS, as you don't have an itch to scratch.

Re:Crap

[diego.viola]

That's egoistic, Linux will always be technical and the best OS for us. But I think we shouldn't limit our favorite OS to only that, we should make it accessible to others as well. Linux wont be less because of that, it will be more.

"I'm awesome and you know it"

[Anonymous Coward]

It's been done

Videos under CC BY

[mlinksva]

It appears in http://video.linuxfoundation.org/terms that all content on the site is under the CC Attribution license (use for any purpose, just give credit), which is great. Hopefully we'll see lots of sharing and remixing!

I am not a computer!

[slinkp]

I am a free man!

(paraphrasing Patrick McGoohan)

How About Being Original

[Easy2RememberNick]

Instead of making a commercial that's a copy of a Apple's idea, it'll be a copy of a copy, how about coming up with something original?

  In a way it is what GNU/Linux has become, we chase the other guys because they have the market share but then we (users of GNU/Linux) say we're different than Windows and OS X.

  The people who buy the company line are just doing it in part because it's what is thrown at them and they figure everyone else is doing it so it must be cool to own a small, white music devices or to 'lease' your music that's in a proprietary format that could disappear at the whim of a company...apparently that's better than never having to worry about your 30 GBs of mp3s suddenly becoming unplayable.

  The only way to be better is to ignore what their marketing departments have come up with and listen to your friends, we are the people who make the Open Source experience and not some department that works 9 to 5, Mon to Fri.

"I'm a $PLATFORM" ?

[djtack]

TFA:

While you may be inspired by the Apple or Microsoft commercials, it's not a requirement to parody or make reference to them.

More harm that good

[theillien2]

What better way to prove that Linux is a viable alternative to Windows than to open the geek floodgates. I love Linux but seriously, this will do more to scare people away from Linux than bring them in.

Potential convert looking at an "I'm Linux" video: "You mean I'll be like *that* guy? No thanks."

What is needed is an Average Joe to promote Linux. Using the very people that give it geek-cred is a shot in the foot.

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[howardd21]

I agree with your comments about the Mojave approach; that makes sense to introduce and position a product like Ubuntu to an audience that has not seen it.

But there is no Linux bandwagon for users. Internet servers in a rack yes; but not desktops. So I do not see that approach as being effective for this type of campaign.

But I like the Mojave idea.

mojave linux

[bugs2squash]

I prefer the idea of bringing-in regular Joes off of the street and showing them an new OS called Mojave and then revealing that it is really Linux.

How about this...

[The Wooden Badger]

Have a T shirt with "I'm Linux" on it. Have PC and Mac lookalikes say "I'm a PC" and "I'm a Mac". They put on the I'm Linux T and they say "We still work". Have some old guy come in and say "I'm an old computer". He puts it on and says "I still work". etc.

It's more of an anti-Vista ad, but I think it gets a point across. Maybe throw "I'm free" on the back of the T.

Obligatory

[mrjb]

PC vs Mac vs Linux

LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

LOL at the idea that anyone other than alpha geek says "I am Linux". Suuure - at 0.1% marketshare eeeeverybody out there is Linux. You just keep telling yourself that...

Re:OOh (-1, Troll)

[Anonymous Coward]

No, only a dumbass nigger. A dumbass chink wouldn't be able to read it. A dumbass spic would be too busy picking beans to support his family. A dumbass white guy would still be too busy trying to act like a nigger. The only reason the nigger would mod it down is because he "didn't get it".

Script:

[uassholes]

Biz droid: "I'm a PC" Twerp: "I'm a Mac" Linux: "STFU"

MS made the I'm a PC commercials?

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Apple was making the "I'm a PC" commercials to make fun of Microsoft.

Wow, that's even more insulting than giving your OS a different name, and trying to convince users that they are too stupid to realize how good it is.

Go propaganda

[MartinSchou]

What I'd like to see is Linus Torvalds on screen. He'll start us off on whatever corny speech. Then we zoom out and his voice is joined by eight other core devolopers, each placed in a nice little frame. Zoom more out and more voices join in.

Throw in still pictures of the various Linux distro brands, etc.

Keep zooming out until you get a nice photograhic mosaic spelling out something like

Linux - because we're all unique

Obviously you'd need a better catch phrase and a nice speech. My best idea is something like:

"We use Linux because it means freedom. Freedom to use our computers as we see fit. We're free to modify my car, change the stereo, upgrade the engine. We expect the same from our computers. Noone should tell us that we can't let out neighbour borrow our car for the weekend. Noone should tell us that we can't paint our car a certain way. Noone should tell us that we can't go out to the drag strip and burn rubber. We use Linux because we're $nationality and we demand freedom."

Already been done

[Anonymous Coward]

My feeling is that this has already been done. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=0-22EpQOm8c

What would you expect

[ClosedSource]

Well, if the target is Linux you're trying to market to a group that largely believes that an 1970's OS is state of the art.

Re:What would you expect

[AceofSpades19]

and who believes that?, no one uses the original unix implementation or thinks its a state of art os. Besides the point, OSX, Apple and Solaris would be in the same crowd

Re:What would you expect

[ClosedSource]

Yes, it's true of OSX, Apple and Solaris as well. The fundamentals haven't really changed that much.

Shill

[Anonymous Coward]

Obvious M$ shill. Go back and peddle your M$ LookOUT or Internet Exploder. Come back when Win doesnt blue screen every 5 minutes.

fuck that

[scsizor]

Linux would be somking a cig, dressed like an internet gangster with mad jewlery and like 3 fine nekked girls sitting in a big chair just listing to mac and PC make excuses like, "i konw we dont conform to open standard right now but were workin on it..". Maby they could get Omar from the wire to play linux. And play that "Start me up" tune by the Stones... the one MS used for win95 ads. And then linux just walks out of the room all disgusted and the music stops.

I have this strange vision...

[pjr.cc]

A penguin running onto the set of the mac "im a mac" commercials, knocking the pc guy over, stealing his shoes, throwing them at the MAC guy, flipping them both the bird and running away shouting "heh, too easy".

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[arminw]

....Stepping up awareness, dropping Linux down to a more "common user"-attainable status will make it more acceptable for common users and corporate fat cats alike.....

Linux may be a good product, but making people aware of any product, (advertising) costs gobs of money. Nobody will spend piles of money unless they see a way to make mountains of more money. Therefore, a company, such as Dell of HP must be somehow persuaded to put a good flavor of Linux on their wares and then invest in some clever advertising to step up awareness that hopefully translates into many sales.

Until someone with serious money is willing to do this, Linux, no matter how good it is, will not be what computer customers will ask for at their friendly computer retailer. Apple realized this and made their own retail stores and are spending some of their considerable piles of money on advertising. That is a big reason that Macs, especially their consumer laptops are selling still rather well, despite the dismal economic conditions. Apple also needs to sell fewer units for the same profits, because they sell a better product to those who value quality. They do not cater to the rock-bottom computer buyers.

If all I wanted to do is only what many computer users do, get email, surf the 'net and play a few media files, I'd get an iTouch, not some cheap, flimsy netbook or rock-bottom priced PC. It will do these things as well or better than most rock-bottom Windows PCs or netbooks. If I also needed a new phone, the iPhone, basically a handheld computer with thousands of software programs, could substitute for most things that a cheap Windows PC can do. What netbook or rock-bottom PC will allow a user to go almost anywhere and still surf the net, get email, know where they are, play many fun games, watch video, listen to radio or music files and even phone their friends or business associates? All that and it fits in a shirt pocket. No wonder these gadgets are selling like hotcakes.

Theme It Around Music

[pandrijeczko]

One cooly dressed guy listening to music through a pair of white headphones...

Beneath him appear the words "Apple = iTunes".

Pan camera right to a group of revelling party animals drinking beer, chatting to each other, smiling and dancing to some loud music.

Beneath them appear the words "Linux = OurTunes".

Do It Like Mastercard

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple Mac - £1500

Apple iPhone - £300

Apple iPod - £150

Daily whipped cream cappucino with caramel in Starbucks - £4.00

Overpriced computer with a locked down phone, DRMed music player and a bad weight and cholesterol problem - PRICELESS.

Don't be a fat fuck - use Linux.

The ONE absent OS

[antdah]

Except that Linux is the one OS that has been notably absent.

Really? I have yet to see Hi! I'm BeOS...

I'm an OS commercial

[ErkDemon]

I'm an Apple commercial. I'm a bit loud and shallow, and I sneer at PC users, but people who buy Apple gear love that sort of thing. Basically, my writers nicked an old comedy sketch idea, but linked the Apple name to it so strongly, and promoted it so heavily, that now everyone thinks that the idea was theirs.

I'm a Microsoft commercial. The people who wrote me couldn't think of any decent ideas themselves, but they noticed that people seemed to be saying that the Apple commercial worked, and they were on a deadline, so they copied that. Ironic, huh? I don't work quite as well as the Apple commercial, but at least NOW people will stop spreading that nasty lie that MS people aren't innovative. I know I'm funny and original and innovative, because the Apple ad was supposed to be all those things, and I'm a copy of it.

(Pause)

I'm a Linux commercial. I mean, WE're a Linux commercial. I'm seriously forked. I'm also not quite ready yet. We thought it would be better if everyone contributed and made their own commercials, because 800 amateur commercials are going to be way better then one professionally-written one, am I right? So we had a competition, and I was the winner ... or me and seven or eight others, they couldn't really make up their minds. They'll be distributing a compiler that lets you assemble me from the best bits of all my different versions (using a really cool command-line interface), and the best versions of me will be shown back-to-back at a special invite-only film festival.

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[ErkDemon]

"I liked how clean and fresh everything felt when I used it."

And that lovely lemony fragrance! :)

(lightbulb)

I know! Could this be a case for (roll of drums) Forced Car Analogy ?

-------

(blank white studio interior).

(white stretch limo draws up, filling screen).

(driver, Vince Vaughn, wearing lots of gold jewelery sticks head and arm out of the window, and starts shouting to camera).

"HI! I drive a MAC, cos MAC's show you've got CASH to FLASH! The Macintosh is the most EXPENSIVE computer. It don't fit in no standard parking bays, and it don't get many miles to a tank, but when its runs outta gas, YOU JUST BUYS YOU A NEW ONE!! "
(beams)

(camera pulls back, now another car pulls up in parallel, filling the screen. In the background, we can just about see some activity relating to the limo driving away.)

(the new car is a more standard US car, black, but with fake bodywork panels of a different colour (some white) badly attached with stickytape and screws to try and make it look larger and more limo-like. It has an incongruous rear spoiler, fluffy dice and large "General Autos" logos everywhere. )

"I got a Microsoft. It's ... well, actually it's not really all that great, but it was a little bit cheaper than the Apple." (pulls a glum smile)
"And when bits fall off, you can get people to fix it. There's support places everywhere."
(car judders, makes conga-conga-conga-CONK noise, followed by clatter of exhaust falling off)

(camera pulls back again, car dissolves)

(small car, VW Golf or similar, speeds into frame, stops, driver glances over their shoulder at camera and states a single word).

"Linux"

(car speeds off again)

=Linux end-credits splash screen=

(silence. different car, larger, different colour, speeds into frame and screeches to a halt. It has the same driver This time the driver doesn't turn to look at the camera, but stays looking directly ahead, and they rev the engine and calmly put on a pair of sunglasses).

"And it's free."

(driver slams puts their foot down and car leaves the screen at high speed).

(screen is now blank) (distant noise of high-speed car activity coming and going)

Voiceover:
"SOMEONE's using Linux"

From TFA

[Explodicle]

Winner receives airfare/hotel and conference registration for Linux Foundation Japan Symposium in October 2008.

Wow! I hope I win that one!

Linux is like superpower

[johnsie]

Make it like something out of Indiana Jones.... Linux is a power which makes the makes the PC better. Macs and PC's carry a heavy burdern of DRM that slows them down and makes them incompatible. When they see the light and find Linux that burden falls away. Linux and open source is the peacemaker.

IBM ad (Re:Novell already did this)

[ErkDemon]

Damn. That was a crushing disappointment. :(

YouTube labelled the ad, "IBM Linux ad: Prodigy" so I was watching the thing waiting for the Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" soundtrack to kick in (vid unsafe for work), and all the old guys to explode or catch on fire or something as the kid chucked the chair through the blank white backdrop and escaped out of the boring white set into a more interesting "colour" future.

About 2/3 of the way through, I realised that it wasnt going to happen, and the Boring Old Farts with the platitudes "Don't strive for excellence strive to be a better team player, etc." were supposed to be for real. Sheesh. This is supposed to be inspirational? What's the kid in the ad supposed to be "inspired" to do? Slit his wrists at the futility of life when he hits fourteen?

I'm seeing...

[edraven]

A tall, thin guy with a pony-tail and a t-shirt from some obscure anime drinking a capuccino and reading a book we can't see the title of. No voice-over, but towards the end of the scene a caption appears that says, "If you can't figure out for yourself that I'm supposed to be Linux, you have no business watching this video."

Fail

[krytor]

Traditional advertising doesn't work for something like Linux. Word of mouth sells far better. Ask any of the Amiga fans from ~20 years ago.

Re:The Doors already did this

[aqk]

the crowd should be active: riding a unicycle, one guy in chains doing a Houdini act, another person building a hot rod, a person painting an abstract portrait, etc


...Strange Days (album cover)

..faces look ugly, women seem wicked...
Yep! That'd be Linux.

metaphor of the day?

[Anonymous Coward]

Linux is a WIGWAM.
No gates, no windows, and an Apache inside.

A little dated now, but borrowed from the most amusing:
http://www-crypto.htw-saarland.de/weber/misc/programming.html

I think it should not be I'm Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

To be succinct, it should not be I'm Linux. It should be "we are Linux." Even if it has an individual using Linux within the commercial. Because Linux is about the community, the philosophies of us, etc. To show that we are connected, a whole, etc. Very Ki like really. I think it is very asinine to think of it as an individual basis.

I can see the commercial in my head, I just have no means of extracting it and placing it onto film.

Pedobear alert!

[d3ac0n]

Dude.

NEVER use the words "Lazytown" and "Creamy" in the same sentence. You're gonna bring the Pedobears out of the woodwork!

Puh. Inject Some Right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Boring. I say some bloke with tats, leather waistcoat and a beard walks on stage left, smacks Mr. Mac right in the chops, dishes out a swift kick in the balls to Mr. PC, looks at the camera and shrugs.

Fade to black.

Linux.

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[finity]

LOL!

My Linux is a motorcycle. Yamaha V-Star right now...

Re:This is why *nix guys are not marketers

[finity]

"But there is no Linux bandwagon for users. Internet servers in a rack yes; but not desktops. So I do not see that approach as being effective for this type of campaign."

Good point. I'm not too concerned with marketing Linux, actually. I think it sells itself. Folks that I know that use it for long periods of time, for things it was designed for, think it's pretty awesome. I've participated in a number of activities/events that get people (fellow geeks) exposure to Linux, and many come away seeing how freakin' useful it is.