Slashdot Mirror
Forkable Linux Radio Ad Now On the Air In Texas
christian.einfeldt writes "Everyone is familiar with the Linux video ads created by IBM, Red Hat, and Novell, but until recently, there have not been any professionally backed forkable radio ads. Now, Austin-based Linux advocate Ken Starks has obtained the services of a professional radio talent in creating a high quality voice track, which can easily be adapted by local providers of Linux computer services. The raw material (mp3, ogg) addresses end-user frustration with Microsoft Windows malware, and promotes Linux as a more stable alternative. Starks hopes the raw material will seed pro-Linux ads across the US, and he offers his own final product as an example of how the raw material can be remixed with music. He has released all of the raw material and final work under the Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, and has waived the Attribution requirement in his blog. Starks's provocative ad is currently on the air in the Austin market during the popular talk show of Kim Komando, who just happens to be a Microsoft Windows enthusiast."
As long as we are trying to sell Linux as Windows without the annoyances of Windows, we will fail, if for no other reason than the fact that Linux has its own, less broadly understood, annoyances. We need to sell Linux as Linux.
True. However, you have to download them, install them and keep them updated or they don't do you any good. And, they take up hard disk space, (Granted, that's not a big concern now, but it's still true.) they have to be loaded every time you boot and they're always running in the background, slowing down your computer and making it less responsive. I use Linux. Right now, I'm running Fedora 10, with 27 days up uptime. My sister uses Ubuntu, and hasn't rebooted in well over a month, because Ubuntu isn't as bleeding-edge as Fedora is. Both of our boxes are crisp, responsive and unhindered either by malware or the band-aids needed to keep malware off of our systems. And, I might add, I've been using Linux in one form or another for at least a decade, now, and I've yet to see my first kernel panic. If what you want from your computer is the ability to surf the web, read and send email and maybe compose the occasional document to be printed out, Linux can do that for you at least as well as Windows can, if not better, and for most adults, that's all they want from a home computer.
Good, inexpensive web hosting
But radio? I mean, the target demographic for Linux (young, reasonably computer savvy) doesn't listen to the radio really anymore. And Kim Komando is a total joke. Her "advice" is reboot things. Yeah, it works, but to be perfectly honest, if you haven't already tried that chances are you shouldn't be installing Linux (yeah, you can make it work, but -far- too often those people will be upset with how some niche Windows program doesn't run on Linux). Show some fancy 3-D compiz effects on prime time and you have a success, but radio? And Kim Komando? Those people don't need Linux, they need something common to pay geek squad whenever something goes wrong.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
To her credit, Kim Komando has been doing a home computer radio show since well before computers and the Internet were mainstream. However, if you actually listen to one of her shows, you notice that her knowledge hasn't kept pace with current technology and most of her advice boils down to either reinstalling windows or buying products from her sponsors to (possibly) fix your problem.
I applaud Ken Starks for putting this ad on the air. Most of her listeners would do well to give Linux a try. Although her audience would shrink a bit when their computers started working properly all of the sudden. ;)