Taking Free Software To the Streets

An anonymous reader writes "It's that time of year again; the nights are drawing in, the leaves are beginning to turn, and literally hundreds of teams of dedicated F/OSS enthusiasts from around the world are preparing to hit the streets in celebration of Software Freedom Day 2009. In an effort to increase awareness of free and open source software among the general public, SFD teams will be standing around town centers and shopping malls, holding talks at schools and universities, giving demonstrations and handing out Linux and FOSS collections for Windows on CD. With money being tight and paranoia about malware and viruses at an all-time high, the time is right to help consumers switch to the myriad of quality open source applications available. If you would like to check for an SFD team in your area and consider attending, be it to help out or simply learn more about free software for yourself, there's an interactive map to help you find your way."

Comments

"Go away"

[Anonymous Coward]

"Go away" is my reaction whenever someone on the street wants to give me something free - a religious booklet, a pro-something leaflet, a "work from home" job offer printed out on an inkjet...

On a sidenote, this would be a perfect opportunity to spread malware. Just pretend you're one of those guys and hand over CDs with some crap that will infect the computer.

Re:"Go away"

[Yvan256]

On a sidenote, this would be a perfect opportunity to spread malware. Just pretend you're one of those guys and hand over CDs with some crap that will infect the computer.

I thought giving away copies of Windows ME was illegal?

Re:"Go away"

[Anonymous Coward]

Your terrible sense of humor should be illegal. It's goddamn 2009, and you're making jokes about windows ME. Go back to compiling Gentoo or something.

Re:"Go away"

[Yvan256]

If I had only said "Windows" then I would have been modded troll by Microsoft fanboys. But even those guys know that Windows ME sucked.

Re:"Go away"

[maxume]

For extra points, yell "I DON'T KNOW YOU!" and "GIVE ME BACK MY PURSE!"

Re:"Go away"

[Anonymous Coward]

You can now officially say Vista. Only the most vicious M$ astroturfers would blame you.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/351652/microsoft-admits-vista-was-a-less-good-product

Re:"Go away"

[TheCowSaysMooNotBoo]

I think me yelling "give me back my purse" would get met lots of weird looks :)

I might start yelling I'm a vegetarian and that I'm better than the guy or girl tho. Works with greenpeace activists.

Re:"Go away"

[Statecraftsman]

Your reaction is not universal. And handing out a leaflet is done because it is a method of getting a message to many people cheaply. Yes, many will throw such a leaflet away or not look at it, but some will. So if you look at it from a cost-per-impression basis it's quite effective. What alternative do you propose?

Re:"Go away"

[Hurricane78]

I'd recommend changing your reaction to "you're doing it wrong!".

Because the trick is not, to come to you. The trick is, to make you come to them, and offer something so great, that you'll beg to get it. ^^

I recommend putting up a large projection of Compiz an action, giant "Never get Viruses again!" banners, etc.
Make them drool and wish to throw away their Windows.
And give away the Linux DVDs in a "Shop price: $xxx" "Get a free copy! Only today!" booth.
Play music! Add some lights! (But in a way that also drags older people there.)
Offer tasty food that you can smell on the whole street, drinks, sexy babes/men on two elevated platforms, friendly people (to fulfill our basic needs/interests).
Sell merchandising that people can afford to buy just out of impulse and for fun! Stickers, T-Shirts, things you can't get anywhere else.
And add a Linux DVD / open source software DVD to every sale of anything on that booth. Let the sexy people throw the DVDs into the people.
And do it in a place and at a time, where there are enough people to make it work. If nessecary, work out a deal with a local shopping mall, or something similar.

That will give you hype and interest! ^^
You will have 40 year old hockey moms talk to all their friends about that really cute new "Linux" (used as if it were a version of Windows), that they caught, when they were surprised by that hot guy looking at her. She will put the DVD in, it will start, looking really fancy. And when it runs, it throws the full power of beauty and power at them! So that even if they don't understand a thing of it, they will want to learn to have that too.

Unrealistic? Well, the most common reaction I get from girls, when I show them my Linux desktop is: "I want that too! Can you put that on my computer?". QED. ^^

Re:"Go away"

[petrus4]

"Go away" is my reaction whenever someone on the street wants to give me something free - a religious booklet, a pro-something leaflet, a "work from home" job offer printed out on an inkjet...

Exactly the point. We say, "Go away," when the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, or members of any other cult show up at our door.

Is anyone noticing the similarity in tactics that are being used here, between the FSF, and those other organisations, which the FSF's drones probably don't mind acknowledging as cults? ;)

Re:"Go away"

[smoker2]

This is quite true, and I agree. But this time it's not a con. I still wouldn't do it though. People come to free software, or else they do without. But you know zealots ...

Re:"Go away"

[mdwh2]

But showing up at someone's door isn't the same as giving stuff out in the street. And the criticism is also about disputing the claims that Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses etc make.

If you're going to claim that anyone advertising anything is as bad as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses turning up at your door, then perhaps you should criticise companies (including software companies) that spend millions on shoving adverts everywhere, rather than a handful of volunteers in the street?

TLAPD

[pushing-robot]

It's purely coincidental that Software Freedom Day happens to also be Talk Like a Pirate Day... Right?

Re:TLAPD

[maxume]

May the socially ostracized unite!

Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[Anonymous Coward]

Standing around town centres like homeless winos. That's the problem with FOSS advocates, they keep coming up with these wacky ideas, and each time they put them into action the public sees.... err, a wacky idea, associated with FOSS.

If you want to guarantee that the public forever sees FOSS as a fringe thing unworthy of the consideration of normal people then carry on. If you want to really promote FOSS set up a business based on FOSS and make it work and grow.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[Anonymous Coward]

Standing around town centres like homeless winos. That's the problem with FOSS advocates, they keep coming up with these wacky ideas, and each time they put them into action the public sees.... err, a wacky idea, associated with FOSS.

If you want to guarantee that the public forever sees FOSS as a fringe thing unworthy of the consideration of normal people then carry on. If you want to really promote FOSS set up a business based on FOSS and make it work and grow.

Never heard of Red Hat, Novell, Canonical, etc?

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[Scholasticus]

I wouldn't be too worried about this effect. This isn't going to show up on the radars of most people even as much as all those "Save Farscape" flyers which were all over the place when that show got cancelled. "Joe Public" (a.k.a. Joe Sixpack, a.k.a. Aunt Milly) doesn't even know enough about F/OSS to give a rat's. If F/OSS is ever going to become widely adopted by home users, it will be the same way Windows was - because that was what came installed on the computers people were buying at the time. Netbooks may help with this. Handing out CDs on street corners almost certainly won't.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[joaommp]

I kind of agree with the initiatives in the schools, but if they start doing parades, they would better spend their time (and money) improving the quality and features of the software instead of doing parades which gather little attention. These events won't bring them closer to actually competing with commercial giants. They should do stuff like Google Summer of Code or something like that. Those I believe they it make things go forward because during a few days, people are supposed to be intensely involved into a project. Like pidgin, for instance. I love GSC because every summer, pidgin get's stabler and more features.

Parades kind of reminds me the "gay pride parades" which end up making them look more ridiculous. The alternative would be mardi grass, but somehow I can't/won't/don't wan't to imagine a topless RMS with beads licking Linus' nipples.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[westlake]

Standing around town centres like homeless winos. That's the problem with FOSS advocates, they keep coming up with these wacky ideas...

It doesn't get any better than this:

The scene is the Boston Common in late August.

The event the launch of FSF's "Windows 7 Sins" campaign.

Special Guest Appearance by Ron Stoppable as Team Mascot. Free Software Foundation - Windows 7 Sins

You can expect much of the time - and much of the screen - to given over to a lecture by a paunchy - balding - middle-aged geek.

540 views.

It is quite possible for a Win 7 promotional video to net two million viewers. Windows 7

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[ClosedSource]

I noticed that you didn't say the virgins were girls.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[koick]

You can be sure the "normal people" walking around malls haven't. Hell, you'd be lucky if they can name the vice president.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[multisync]

That's the problem with FOSS advocates, they keep coming up with these wacky ideas, and each time they put them into action the public sees.... err, a wacky idea, associated with FOSS.

Yeah, those wacky FOSS advocates and their wacky ideas to promote the projects they believe in.

Lord knows, Microsoft would never engage in something as shameless as encouraging their supporters to host parties in their communities and generally evangelize Windows 7 to non-converts.

Re:Keep it wacky, say goodbye to Joe public

[westlake]

If you check that video, you'll even see them throwing away 'OS X' boxes.

There isn't a "Windows 7" box to throw.

They love OS X because it's nice and shiny and 'just works' and hate Windows because it's far from shiny and is still fraught with problems left and right. Whether that is fact or popular opinion propagated by the masses (certainly partially) doesn't even matter.

But it isn't being propagated by the masses.

Win XP wiped the floor with OEM Linux in the netbook sector. You didn't need to do much more than slap the Windows logo on your product to make the sale.

Vista has about a 20% share of the client desktop. That has to be consumer based and it represents a significant investment in new and more powerful hardware.

The Win 7 RC 1%.

These numbers look very good when compared to OSX, which is also essentially a high-end consumer product - a discretionary purchase.

Malware

[DeadPixels]

With paranoia about malware and viruses at an all-time high, I certainly wouldn't run a CD a stranger on the street gave to me.

Will not work

[shadowblaster]

Most people probably won't know what to do with it anyway and it will end up in the bin. The average person will need help installing and configuring linux.

Even if they try installing it they will end up being frustrated for not being able to get things to work. They will end up scarred by the experience and fall back to Windows.

Much better to spend their efforts educating students at universities or school. Even better to get universities and schools to convert to FOSS. This way children are forced to learn and work with FOSS. When they grow up they would be able to use the experience to promote FOSS at home/work.

Time Bandits

[malevolentjelly]

So, basically, you're going to take to the streets dead set on destroying peoples' data and wasting their time? Most people have a computing solution that works for them. If they want free software, chances are they will seek it out.

For most people, this whole operation is going to be abstract, confusing, and really unfortunate if they make the mistake of putting the software onto their machines.

Remember: all that silly documentation and those help manuals were written for most users. They require that sort of thing. Most open source solutions are terribly documented It's software where you need to *just know* what's going or hit the forums or wikis. That's unacceptable. If software like OpenOffice was any good whatsoever, companies would brand it and sell the media in stores.

Adapting to a whole new software ecosystem is difficult. It's a terrible time sink that most people don't really have the social motivation for. What's so great about free software? It's free? Is Open Office better then MS Office? No? Is GIMP better than Photoshop or PSP or anything? No? Is Linux easier to use than OEM Windows or Mac? Absolutely not? Wait, why do I care about this again? What if I don't have a fanatical hatred of all things proprietary? What if I am not a freetard, but a productive member of society who needs to use the computer as a tool and not a time wasting obsession? What if I am not into "fighting the power" where "the power" is one of two large software companies that provide a framework to make my home computer usable? What if my computer were like a coffee maker for me, but for email and typing documents and browsing the web?

In short, anyone idealistic enough to run free software is already doing so.

Re:Time Bandits

[malevolentjelly]

When you install Ubuntu into a dual-boot situation, it asks if you want it to import your entire My Documents folder.

You have to consider that data extends beyond merely the sort you'd store in My Documents. Not all applications follow that proper behavior, beside the fact that a user's application set could be considered part of their data. Many users identify their applications by name, even, not even description or type. It would be safe to say that a user would require a well-written guide with a series of alternatives for popular applications easily available for then. Perhaps Add/Remove Programs should alias keywords connected to applications that its F/OSS options are alternatives to-- if it doesn't already.

To an extent, I agree with you, but you're overstating your case a bit. I'm certainly not happy with the sorry state of F/OSS documentation, but your implication that proprietary software is any better is nonsense. The software written by the companies Joe Sixpack knows the names of--that is, Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe--tends to have built-in help systems. Because those companies can afford to hire someone to write it. The software written by everyone else, proprietary or open source, has half-assed or nonexistant built-in help. Even those three big companies aren't great at it. Their help systems don't answer the questions users actually have, they answer the questions they think users are going to have. The amount of overlap varies wildly from app to app--I find Excel's help system to be extremely useful, and Word's to be a waste of RAM, personally. The wiki approach to documentation is, by definition, a closer match to what users actually need, and part of the point of open source is that the original authors are not the only ones competent to write documentation. The fact that most people's first instinct is to look for a drop-down help menu is simply because that's what they're used to. It doesn't mean it's a better way to do it.

I don't often utilize documentation, but whenever I do it's a pretty quick process. Apple is probably right in making things such that no documentation should be needed, but I don't think the wiki is a strong case against professional documentation. The wiki's in ubuntu should be fully integrated into the help system per application-- the wiki-ized help system should link you up contextually when you try to get help on a certain function. It should be safe to assume internet connectivity at this point.

For most end-user applications, the absolute best in the industry is usually proprietary. That's true. The competing free software tends to do about 80% of what the proprietary solution does. But only the 1% of users who use that particular application at a professional level ever need, or, sometimes, are even capable of understanding, the other 20%. The differences between OO.o Word Processor and MS Word are the things that you don't need unless you're a professional writer/editor/publisher. The differences between OO.o Spreadsheet and MS Excel are the things you don't need unless you're an MBA. The differences between GIMP and Photoshop are the things you don't need unless you're an artist. A lot of people will need the proprietary application in one or two domains, but would never notice the difference anywhere else. But they're paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the proprietary solution anyway.

I disagree whole-heartedly. The commercial applications have far more accessible functionality. Microsoft Word 2007, for instance, makes it extremely easy to create a well-formatted and attractive document-- as does Pages. It's hard to make an ugly presentation with Keynote. However, no matter how hard I've tried, I've never been able to make an attractive looking document in OpenOffice- and I used openoffice for years. Its formatting is always just a bit ugly, a bit awkward, and its default content is always a bit lacking. Anything pushed out of the software ju

Re:Time Bandits

[malevolentjelly]

This post was about free software. If you don't care about free software, it's your problem. Proprietary software affects you a lot more than your coffee maker. At least it's somewhat like environmental issues. Using proprietary software does harm yourself and everybody, both by giving away your freedom, and by acting against technological advancement. Just ignoring it is not going to make it go away. Of course, much like environmental issues, there are wacky ways to create conscience, and there are reasonable ways to do it, but it doesn't mean it's OK that people don't care.

Computers are just tools. Besides tools, they are consumer products. This culture war is simply absurd-- Linux should have to compete as a consumer product along with everything else. It can have its market share when it's usable. Not before then.

Re:Time Bandits

[petrus4]

Using proprietary software does harm yourself and everybody, both by giving away your freedom, and by acting against technological advancement. Just ignoring it is not going to make it go away. Of course, much like environmental issues, there are wacky ways to create conscience, and there are reasonable ways to do it, but it doesn't mean it's OK that people don't care.

No. You can't compare Stallman's need for new drones with the need to protect/reclaim the environment. The simple reason why is because, unlike anything which the FSF cares about, the environment is something that actually does matter, to people who aren't simply drinking cultic Kool-Aid.

This is easily demonstrated as fact, when we realise that FOSS survives more despite the FSF, than because of it.

- The FSF generates no code now, at all. Cygnus/Red Hat do that, and have for some time.
- Non-copyleft licenses, such as the MIT/BSD license, have survived without copyleft, or without any form of enforcement in court, and they've done so just fine. This categorically proves that any argument which Richard Stallman has ever made about the necessity of copyleft, is completely and entirely false.

I will say it again; the Free Software Foundation needs to die. It produces nothing positive whatsoever at this point; the only things it generates are conflict, division, and pointless heat and noise. The world will be a much better place when it does.

Re:Time Bandits

[dshadowwolf]

So the fact that numerous people - myself included - use Linux every day for basic tasks doesn't make it usable? The fact that my somewhat technophobic and highly computer-illiterate father often borrows my linux laptop for browsing the web doesn't make it usable? That my sixty year-old mother has requested that, for any computer I build her, I make sure Linux is installed doesn't make it usable?

Linux TRIES to compete as a consumer product. What happens? Well... Back when the Pentium was new MS told OEM's one of two things - either 'we are going to charge you for a license for every computer you manufacture, regardless of whether it has our OS on it or not' or 'If you sell computers with any OS on it that we did not produce, you will lose the bulk-licensing price-cut we give you'. In other words they forced computer manufacturers to put MS created OS's on their machines - forcing any competition out of the market.(*)

And now MS has forced so much mis-information into the public mind that teachers confiscate copies of Linux install disks, claiming they are illegal... Best Buy employees are taught that Windows is the only way to go... The public is taught that a machine of a lower-price is better than a Mac - despite the fact that the Mac generally has a better processor, better video card, bigger hard drive and more RAM than the lower-price machine... MS basically does everything it can to keep the public from ever learning the truth about alternatives to its stranglehold on the OS market.

Yes, Linux has historically had problems handling new hardware. But these days it can run a wider range of hardware correctly than Windows can. I don't really even have to research things anymore - if I go to Wal-Mart, Best-Buy or any other big chain store and purchase a piece of hardware, it is almost certain to be supported by Linux. As an example... Two weeks ago I walked into the local Wal-Mart here, purchased a web-cam and an MP3 player without ever doing research about supported hardware or even looking for a "works with linux" stamp on the packaging. I get home and plug the web-cam in - and it works(**). I plug the MP3 players dongle into the device and into the laptop and it shows up. Everything fully supported. In Windows I'd have had to install the drivers and reboot before I could do anything.

*:Yes, they got hit with a lawsuit over this by the US DoJ, but it didn't have any real, lasting effect.

**: Okay, so it took a quick search of Google to get the camera working with a couple of programs. But at least the information was there and didn't involve things like 'edit registry key...' - in fact, the solutions were short and to the point.

--
This post contains factual information from third parties as well as anecdotal evidence. You should not trust either before doing research and fact-checking.

Re:Time Bandits

[malevolentjelly]

So the fact that numerous people - myself included - use Linux every day for basic tasks doesn't make it usable? The fact that my somewhat technophobic and highly computer-illiterate father often borrows my linux laptop for browsing the web doesn't make it usable? That my sixty year-old mother has requested that, for any computer I build her, I make sure Linux is installed doesn't make it usable?

That's just talk. I've tried to leave home users with Ubuntu before in the past. There's always something that goes wrong and is absolutely impossible for a home user to solve. It's just too *big* and has too many points of failure without the organized support backend of something like the Windows Platform. Open source offerings will get much better when they simplify and reintegrate.

And now MS has forced so much mis-information into the public mind that teachers confiscate copies of Linux install disks, claiming they are illegal... Best Buy employees are taught that Windows is the only way to go... The public is taught that a machine of a lower-price is better than a Mac - despite the fact that the Mac generally has a better processor, better video card, bigger hard drive and more RAM than the lower-price machine... MS basically does everything it can to keep the public from ever learning the truth about alternatives to its stranglehold on the OS market.

Actually, it's not a conspiracy. At this point, Windows is simply more user friendly and usable. I suspect Haiku will overtake Windows in usability before the Linux desktop does, it just has a broad natural advantage in terms of architecture. You certainly can't take away Linux's server utility, though. It will always be firm in that market.

The moment Linux came even close to being usable, Dell and HP picked it up as options. Those don't do that well on the market. I would say they put exuberant faith in it to offer something like Ubuntu on a consumer machine. It certainly doesn't belong there.

Yes, Linux has historically had problems handling new hardware. But these days it can run a wider range of hardware correctly than Windows can. I don't really even have to research things anymore - if I go to Wal-Mart, Best-Buy or any other big chain store and purchase a piece of hardware, it is almost certain to be supported by Linux. As an example... Two weeks ago I walked into the local Wal-Mart here, purchased a web-cam and an MP3 player without ever doing research about supported hardware or even looking for a "works with linux" stamp on the packaging. I get home and plug the web-cam in - and it works(**). I plug the MP3 players dongle into the device and into the laptop and it shows up. Everything fully supported. In Windows I'd have had to install the drivers and reboot before I could do anything.

I've never owned a machine that worked with Linux without incident. Never. My current laptop, for instance, the Gateway LT3103u, does not work well with Linux at all. Its battery life and power management under Linux are especially dismal- and this is pretty ordinary hardware. It's actually losing quite heavily to Vista on this machine. I find that hilarious.

It sounds like you haven't used a Windows system since Windows 98. I can tell because you mention the system rebooting to install a USB device driver.

Windows users don't have to do research to know if something is supported on their system. Almost any device you buy includes a driver CD. I don't think it's terribly complex. It will even update WHQL drivers through Windows update. On Windows 7, you can basically just rely on Windows to find all its own drivers online.

It's not really the consumer's job to do this, though. Your OEM is supposed to handle all the basic driver packaging for your PC.

Linux TRIES to compete as a consumer product

And it fails. I think Haiku has a better shot of becoming a usable desktop os. It's designed for the desktop, it h

Re:Time Bandits

[dshadowwolf]

That's just talk. I've tried to leave home users with Ubuntu before in the past. There's always something that goes wrong and is absolutely impossible for a home user to solve. It's just too *big* and has too many points of failure without the organized support backend of something like the Windows Platform. Open source offerings will get much better when they simplify and reintegrate.

You have obviously never run into the quality of people I have. I quite regularly get calls from family, friends of family (and their friends, who I've done work for) to fix their windows machines. So while this isn't FUD, it isn't unique to Open-Source at all.

And the integration thing? It is happening all over the place. It used to be that Gnome used CORBA and KDE used DCOP to do things like provide application interfaces that could be hooked from other applications (to, say, be able to control your music-player from your IRC program) and also provide a sane place to find some system data. Now they both use DBUS. Which actually provides a lot more flexibility for the interfaces than DCOP or CORBA ever did... And it also ties into the 'hardware access layer' so that you can find information about all the hardware in the machine in one place.

But really... It sounds like you are calling for projects to merge so that there is less choice and more talent focused on individual projects. I hate to say it, but that will never occur

Actually, it's not a conspiracy. At this point, Windows is simply more user friendly and usable. I suspect Haiku will overtake Windows in usability before the Linux desktop does, it just has a broad natural advantage in terms of architecture. You certainly can't take away Linux's server utility, though. It will always be firm in that market.

I see you took out the whole section where I covered the well documented cases of MS abusing its position in an attempt to force existing competitors out of a specific market (or out of business entirely) and to keep new competitors from entering that same market.

The moment Linux came even close to being usable, Dell and HP picked it up as options. Those don't do that well on the market. I would say they put exuberant faith in it to offer something like Ubuntu on a consumer machine. It certainly doesn't belong there.

Oh, I see... You are trying to make the claim that because Dell and certain other OEM's now offer Linux that they didn't because it wasn't ready. Sorry, but you fail your history check - part of the US DoJ's case against MS was that they did things like threatened to revoke bulk-licensing deals if anything other than an MS OS was offered as an option for a new machine or required that every machine - regardless of whether or not it shipped with an MS OS installed - be counted when it came to calculating the price of the bulk-license. That is what kept Linux off of machines from major manufacturers.

I've never owned a machine that worked with Linux without incident. Never. My current laptop, for instance, the Gateway LT3103u, does not work well with Linux at all. Its battery life and power management under Linux are especially dismal- and this is pretty ordinary hardware. It's actually losing quite heavily to Vista on this machine. I find that hilarious.

I've run Linux on three different laptops now. All three of them were "new" when I purchased them. All three of them have had better battery life in Linux. One of them reported having 4+ hours available at full-charge in Windows, but would last maybe 2 hours - where in Linux it reports just shy of 3 hours and actually lasts just shy of 3 hours. So YMMV - this is why I suggest people not trust my anecdotal evidence without doing research and/or testing.

It sounds like you haven't used a Windows system since Windows 98. I can tell because you mention the system rebooting to install a USB device driver.

Last versio

Re:Time Bandits

[orasio]

Linux is a kernel, and it's not a consumer product. It's a software project, but it doesn't even have a price.
Market concepts are not universal in principle, and also they don't apply that easily to free things.

You don't seem to understand the concept of usability. Windows is not usable if you analyze it by formal usability metrics, and it has a great market share. Usability is not all. For example, familiarity is even more important. Interoperability costs are important too.

Ubuntu would need to be a lot better to get people to switch. Right now it's only better.

Re:Time Bandits

[Reservoir Penguin]

Maybe to many computers are just tools, but it's be foolish to compare them to ordinary household appliances. I don't entrust my life savings (via online banking) or my private thoughts and private images to a coffee maker. As long as you use windows or OSX you can never be sure it's not beaming your private data to whatever propretary company, I use Linux and I can.

Re:Time Bandits

[Reservoir Penguin]

Whatever, hit google with vista hardware problem - 30 million hits, whole domains are for solving problem people have with vista drivers, hardware unsupported under vista, vista myseterious crashes, and windows 7 isnt even officially out yet. After you're done with this try vista software problems and see windows people spending months on forums waiting for a solution making their game work.

I still dont get it

[jrowlingson]

I know this is probably flamebait, but, it seems like there is no other industry that works as hard as we do to put ourselfs out of jobs.

Re:I still dont get it

[icebraining]

Almost all code is developed to companies, not individual people. Companies will always need new software, or adapt FOSS to their needs, etc.

Proprietary != Commercial.

Exactly the wrong thing to do

[petes_PoV]

handing out Linux and FOSS collections...

Taking unknown software from people you don't know. Isn't that what the security community has been telling everyone NOT to do for years, decades. Maybe these advocates should think a little about the underlying message they are sending out and stop undoing the good work that others are doing to stop the spread of malware.

Re:Exactly the wrong thing to do

[HitoGuy]

You're assuming Stallmanists actually think. If they did they'd see through about 90% of the propaganda Stallman cranks out these days.

I support free software, but only so far as its actually practical. Like, I won't use GNash since it is not as good as Flash, and I want actual 3D acceleration, etc. I won't declare software evil purely because its proprietary but based off of the actual character of the software makers. RMS would rather we just blindly hate on all proprietary software. If I did that I'd use crippled disributions like gNewSense.

The problem I see with Stallman is he overly politicizes software. I think it should be more treated like a PERSONAL PREFERENCE then a POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. I like open source because I *have* noticed a significant quality and, yes, fun aspect of FOSS. Maybe it's because I'm a tech-savvy programmer. But I have noticed a couple cases where the open source alternative doesn't really work all that well or doesn't offer what I really want. Then I go proprietary.

I use the "nvidia" driver, Flash 10... not nv (Which only supports 2D on nVidia cards... barely. Since I like eye candy this driver is not used at all by me if I can help it.) or Nouveau (I admit I know little about this driver or what its features are. I *do* know it's not up to the proprietary driver's level.). Too bad KWin in KDE 4.3 doesn't have alpha blurring anymore.

I know people will say GIMP/OpenOffice are not as good as Photoshop/Office. Personally, I think GIMP is quite good. Maybe not as good as PS, but the difference between GIMP and PS is hundreds of dollars and professional features I don't give a shit about. I personally think that, with a little refining, Go-OpenOffice (The Novell Fork of OO.) can easily beat or at least match MS Office. It certainly fills my limited needs, at least.

My "software philosophy" is "forget politics or what is moral in theory, use what works well for you," I honestly don't see any real MORAL issue as an end-user whether or not I use proprietary software or not.

In fact, I would not be honest if I said I don't believe there isn't evil open source software, either. I personally don't trust Mono, for example, because of the companies backing it.

Advertise INSIDE a business

[HockeyPuck]

These guys need to advertise inside or be associated with a particular business that people are going to. Take the grocery store. At my local grocery store, the Girl Scouts often set up a table to sell their cookies. This is a brand that people trust for quality. We trust the Girl Scouts that their product is safe for us to consume. On the other hand, I often see a woman that is sitting on folding chair and when you leave the supermarket she asks you, very quietly if you want Tamales. I wouldn't take a Tamale from this woman if it was free, because I do not trust her.

The local supermarkets often have people stationed inside providing samples of various products. Usually a retiree standing in front of a table with a small griddle or toaster oven. While I have no interest in the products they are usually preparing, I would trust that they are safe. These guys should set up their table inside of computer stores (Apple Store, BestBuy etc..), atleast that could add some credibility to their product, or atleast the appearance of credibility.

On the other hand, why should I trust a random group of people on the street? Did we forget the recent incident where hackers mailed malware infected CDs to Credit Unions? The only difference is that instead of pretending the CDs come from some gov't organization, they're coming from some "OpenSource" group standing at a table on the street.

wacky "I'm a PC" booth

[viralMeme]

Beats parking an "I'm a PC" booth outside Apple Store

Too late!

[Smivs]

Software Freedom Day 2009

Great idea telling us today...plenty of time to get the local effort organised!

Software Freedom Day.

[Anonymous Coward]

Software Freedom Day* *Unless you want to make or use proprietary software then you can simply burn in hell.

Re:ease if installation of FOSS

[Blakey Rat]

Insert Ubuntu CD, boot, click on Install, answer a few questions and that's it.

Ok, now I just need to open my wedding invitation Word file from last year and-- ALL MY DOCUMENTS ARE GONE!!!!

(Psst: you're missing a huge step here.)

Plug in your 3 mobile broadband USB dongle and you're on the Internet.

What the fuck is a "3 mobile broadband USB dongle?" I certainly don't have one of those. Will Ubuntu work with my laptop's built-in Wifi? Possibly. My desktop's USB wifi? Doubtful. My desktop's built-in network card? Probably. But all of those answers have built-in vagueness.

How many Windows users have to install from scratch anyway ?

Not relevant to the issue at hand.

Interesting thought

[zogger]

Car analogy time

We just got back from town, on the trip, a convoy of antique cars went by obviously going to or from some rally. Now, I doubt many of those companies exist, or if they do, still offer "official authorized" factory repair parts, which we will term "patches". That market is now made up of enthusiasts who build their own replacement parts, or small shops that turn them out because they know there is a market..just to keep those old cars running. And the same applies to more modern era "muscle cars".

Why is it that any software, that is granted patents, etc, is treated different? Why is it "legal" to not be able to thoroughly analyze, observe all the bits, and come up with "parts" or aftermarket "patches"? No one gets sued for making old car parts, and it isn't illegal, or anything like that. And it isn't illegal to reverse engineer, disassemble, inspect, or even *improve upon* the original design of this that or the other part.

This has been seriously bogus for a long time, either just copyrights, or treat it like a tangible manufactured product because they are allowed patents, etc, but not both.

    And what's the deal with no warranty anyway, why does software get a free skate on that, this "caveat emptor" stance that no other "thing" in the market place has, when all other products, whether outright sold or leased -"licensed to use", must provide, or have automatically applied to them, a minimum warranty as to suitability for purpose and free from glaring and harmful defects and so on?

Software gets double legal protection, something no other "product" gets, while having zero legal requirements for actual functionality and security (free from harmful defects) (most generally speaking), again, something no other product gets.

I'd really like to see this taken all the way so that we got a legal ruling on software either being a work of art, OR a tangible-like product worthy of patent protection, and in that case warranties should apply. Both, plus no warranty required, is just too dang much, especially for bits that have serious folding money attached to the transfer of same, which said bits then get used and put "at risk" of effecting a million times (whatever) more in volume of this serious folding money stuff. And it has and still does have a huge past record of negatively impacting businesses and people who have lost data, money, had ID and CC info swiped and used, etc because of glaring and unpatched code, proving it was not quite up to the task of being suitable for purpose nor free from glaring defects..

Heh, I can even envision the scene in the courtroom to get this analogy across to the judge, the "Boston Legal" method. That younger yuppie lawyer they got, the one with the out of the box thinking brain, forget his name, he comes in with all the old car busted parts, then spanking new ones that have been built, and NOT by Belchfire, while Shatner is floating around wearing old driving duds complete with goggles and the snap brim hat, with his 1919 restored Belchfire Steamer parked out front (if they manage to prevent him driving it right into the courtroom, which he tries to do).

Re:ease if installation of FOSS

[westlake]

Insert Ubuntu CD, boot, click on Install, answer a few questions and that's it.
Ok, now I just need to open my wedding invitation Word file from last year and-- ALL MY DOCUMENTS ARE GONE!!!!
(Psst: you're missing a huge step here.)

Dual booting or virtualization are things no ordinary user will ever want to do.

Two operating systems to maintain. Two operating environments. Two software libraries. Multiple skill sets.

That can be agony for even the most dedicated enthusiast or IT pro.

If you are looking for FOSS the simplest - least painful - solution is to download and install the apps ported to Windows or the Mac.

Expected reaction

[tecnico.hitos]

FOSS Advocate: You are allowed to get the source code and modify the software to better fit your needs.
Average Joe: Lol wut!?
FOSS Advocate: ...you also don't have to pay.
Average Joe: You mean there are programs you have to pay for!?

Re:Wow Slashdot.

[petrus4]

For being one of the most free-software-leaning discussion sites on the internet, the level of derision here for Software Freedom day is odd.

That is an extremely encouraging, healthy, and positive sign.

The Free Software Foundation, and its' activism, both need to die if Linux is ever going to become anything more than fringe.

If Slashdot's readership are discouraging of such activism, it will hopefully gradually move us towards a point where said activism ceases to occur.

I am not saying that I think Linux advocacy should cease entirely. It does, however, need to cease being radical, cultic, and infused with as much hate, fear, and paranoia as it has been in the past. There needs to be far more focus put purely on Linux's technical strengths, and as little as possible put on the mind control of Richard Stallman.

And how is any advertising different?

[mdwh2]

"Go away" is my reaction to most adverts full stop. However, it would be rather foolish to conclude that therefore advertising has no effect at all.