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."

Comments

Komando's show is popular?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

As in "Windows popular" or "Linux popular"?

I listened once. It was an hour of "Kim, I'm having trouble installing my Canon digicam." "Well, you need to attach the cable and then turn the camera on." "Thanks Kim! That really did the trick!"

Trying to explain anything more complex than "Have you tried rebooting it?" to the audience of AM talk radio is like declaring any year Year of Linux on the Desktop.

Re:Komando's show is popular?

[Eil]

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. ;)

Re:Komando's show is popular?

[rantingkitten]

To be fair the majority of her calls aren't about fixing problems -- which I would actually find somewhat interesting. Most calls seem to be "Kim, I want to buy my daughter a new digital camera, what kind should I buy?" and "Kim, my husband wants an mp3 player, should I get an iPod or one of the others?" with the occasional "Kim, I wiped out all my data like a tool, and don't keep backups, is there any hope?" (Her answer is usually "Shoulda used Carbonite.")

Anyway, it's a mildly interesting show to listen to if you're driving around or whatever. What bugs me is her weird insistance with Microsoft. In and of itself that isn't a problem -- the problem is that she glosses over alternatives without explaining why. It comes up a lot when the question is "Kim, I hear these netbook things are neat, what kind should I get?" and she'll talk about them, but conclude with "And you'll have two choices, Windows or Linux. Get the Windows one." That's it. Many of her listeners probably think Linux is complete trash because the radio expert says not to use it.

I suspect Microsoft is one of her sponsors (I'm too lazy to check) so from a business angle it makes sense. And the kind of person who needs to call a radio show to get advice about computers and cameras probably should stick with the point-and-drool quagmire that is Windows. Still, I find it irritating.

Re:Komando's show is popular?

[smaddox]

To be fair, most of the netbook preinstalled distro's are complete trash.

Re:Komando's show is popular?

[pjt33]

How would carbonite help? Surely most people are more concerned about losing their photos than their Jedi prisoners?

Linux is not like winows.

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[erroneus]

You are quite right in saying so and I largely agree with you. The angle is a little bit wrong and a little bit inaccurate. But when I pitch a Linux solution, I start by listing all of the things they do with their computers and propose a Linux based solution to do the same thing... where applicable. There still ain't no AutoCAD for Linux as far as I can tell (though if you reply with a list of suggestions, I will have to wait for the one heavy CAD user I know to test it out and give an evaluation). There are "near replacements" for most graphics and other apps. Games are a bit of a show-stopper, but I don't suggest Linux to kids anyway. (I know, not just kids play games... buy a second computer... one for Linux and one for games.)

The point is to present solutions that do not require Windows where possible and, if they have a strong enough machine, suggest a VirtualBox installation to get the one or two Windows apps they need. Yeah I know about Wine, but VirtualBox is a LOT slicker.

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[the_womble]

I don't suggest Linux to kids anyway.

Why not?

Not only is my six year old daughter quite happy with Linux, but one of her friends is bugging me to install Linux on his ageing Mac (what he says is "can you make it like hers")

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[digitalunity]

Agreed. My girlfriend's 10 year old son is using a computer I built about 7 years ago with Ubuntu on it. It has much of the complexity he would see in Windows hidden. No control panel, no command line, no start menu with 10 levels of trees. It's so simple any idiot could use it.

The only thing he does online is webmail, flash games, youtube and listen to music. Linux fills that role perfectly.

Maybe some day I will tell him it's also hosting my SSH, ftps, telnet, web and email serving also :)

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[rantingkitten]

Seriously, kids will adapt to whatever, quite happily. My first computer was a TI-99, which we had to plug into the TV, couldn't do anything but Basic without a solid-state cartridge, and that was fine. And I was maybe four or five when we had that thing, and I learned how to program a little Basic.

Then we got an 8086 IBM something or other, and so I learned how to use the DOS boot disk, learned something about DOS, got better with Basic, and learned how to fix (very minor) problems. All this at the age of seven or eight -- and not because I meant to, but because I was a kid. Kids will pick up on this stuff without even trying, but because it is how they're wired. That, and because to them, everything is new and thus worth exploring, except maybe multiplcation tables.

I realise today's computer demands go beyond that, and computers are expected to be game machines, web-browsing, myspace-checking, email-sending, video-viewing all-in-one machines. But Linux will do all that without problem, with the possible exception of some games (but I'm not sure I'd want a young kid playing Crysis in the first place). Why not let them use Linux?

I would play it safe though. Expose them to both Linux and Windows. I have my doubts that Windows will remain anywhere near as significant as it is today in the business world, and I believe that Windows' single-minded, "our way or no way" appraoch to everything will eventually be recognised by businesses as a hinderance to productivity, but who knows. Having a basic understanding of how to use it absolutely cannot hurt and will probably help. With today's virtual machines this should be easy -- and they might learn a little something about virtualisation too, which will be important in the future.

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[Frosty Piss]

As long as we are trying to sell Linux as Windows without the annoyances of Windows, we will fail...

Works for Apple. Remember, you have to step back from the "geek" view. Fact is nongeek users know Windows. They want "Windows without the annoyances of Windows" - this is exactly what Apple sells to the consumer . "We" don't need to sell Linux to geeks, they bought it a long time ago. We "need" to sell Linux to consumers who exactly want "Windows without the annoyances of Windows".

I believe that your approach is what "we" are already doing, and it hassn't worked very well.

Look, first we sell them "Windows without the annoyances of Windows", then we educate them on how Linux is different than Windows, how Linux is not just free Windows.

Re:Linux is not like winows.

[ToasterMonkey]

Works for Apple. Remember, you have to step back from the "geek" view. Fact is nongeek users know Windows. They want "Windows without the annoyances of Windows" - this is exactly what Apple sells to the consumer .

Reeeeeeeaaaallly.... Apple's schtick is selling a better Windows than Windows? Have you used anything Apple makes?

Look, first we sell them "Windows without the annoyances of Windows", then we educate them on how Linux is different than Windows, how Linux is not just free Windows.

How it's not just a free OS with butchered Windowsisms, it has butchered UNIXisms as well?

No. Linux does not need to be a better Windows than Windows. It needs to be itself.. whatever the **** it is. That is the big problem with Linux.
Server, desktop, workstation, toy, hobby.. what is it? Oh.. I'm sorry, why can't it be all of those, right? Better server than Solaris? Better desktop than OS X? Better workstation than Windows? What you've got is all around mediocrity, against a fairly well rounded Windows, and OS X & Solaris excelling in their respective areas. The problem with Linux is the extreme lack of understanding of what people need computers to do for them. Just let it be, and stop "promoting" it like a little kid's first girlfriend. Fix your own problems and stop worrying about what software other people use for Christ's sake. You can't sell something without knowing what it is and what the customer wants, that is so f'ing retarded.

Great Idea

[SilverHatHacker]

Pretty much the only thing Linux needs now* is a good marketing campaign. Not only do we have an ad, but its forkable? That kinda blows my mind!

*Yeah, I know there are other things it needs. But they are stuck in a chicken-and-egg battle until Linux gets a higher market share anyway, so we'll just ignore them for now.

Re:Great Idea

[Darkness404]

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.

Transcript

[Animaether]

Your computer has problems? Wanna hear the "industry's" solution? That's right, your software isn't working - so what do they suggest? Use more software to solve the problem(!) Listen to what you're being told: they want you to purchase software so the software you already purchased will work! .. What!?
The problem is.. we've come to think of this as being perfectly acceptable. So stop accepting! There's been a solution all along, but you've rarely heard of it. That's right! You spent maybe hundreds maybe thousands of dollars over the years that you didn't have to.
It's time for the secret to be told. Thousands of businesses, universities and even Wall Street have been using: Linux! For years. What do they know that you don't? Linux is free. It doesn't need any virus protection and 99.9% of the software you'll ever need comes free as well. It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.
And get this: with Linux, you don't have to reboot after installing new software. Linux runs on old hardware. No need to buy a new computer every time the industry decides to boost profits and release another buggy system.
So why are you still paying for the privilege of using your computer? There's a better way: Linux.

Somehow the flow between the 2nd and 3rd sentence is... odd, but there ya go.

Re:Transcript

[NoYob]

...even Wall Street have been using: Linux!

That may not be a positive selling point these days.

Re:Transcript

[droopycom]

The script and the voice for the long version sounds like an infomercial for the latest "get rich quick" or "how to beat the system" scams..

"It's time for the secret to be told" .... yuk.... makes me want to puke.

The only thing missing is the fine print that you usually see on those infomercial, eg: "Individual results may vary, result shown are not typical"

Without this kind of disclaimer, this is borderline false advertising "This is as easy as clicking a mouse!" (yeah, right...)

 

Re:Transcript

[caladine]

It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.

The only true part of this is the lack of viruses (for now). In place of BSODs, you just get to meet mister kernel panic instead, albeit with less frequency.
Don't get me wrong, I love Linux. However, portraying it as incredibly easy to use with everything you'd want out of a desktop operating system is just false advertising for 95% of computer users out there. This is a horribly misleading ad. That's just great that universities and wall street (because we really want to harken back to them right now, yes?) use Linux, more power to the penguin. However, these institutions don't use Linux like one would as a home desktop OS.
Besides the fact that there are plenty of free(!) and perfectly working solutions for Windows to avoid malware and protect yourself against viruses.
I want Linux to really be ready for the home desktop of the average user, but it isn't. I don't think we should be kidding ourselves and making ads with false promises like these.

Re:Transcript

[Rewind]

"And get this: with Linux, you don't have to reboot after installing new software. "

You have to reboot after installing things just as often as you do on Windows or OS X. I guess since it is an ad it should take some liberties (we all know Apple and Microsoft do) in describing the product, but that just seemed odd to me. Unless he is pitting modern Linux distros against Windows 98 or something.

Re:Transcript

[maxwell demon]

Well, it was not Linux that crashed on Wall Street.

Re:Transcript

[Korin43]

Well it makes perfect sense. If you want normal people to trust something, you have to make it sound like a scam.

Re:Transcript

[techno-vampire]

Besides the fact that there are plenty of free(!) and perfectly working solutions for Windows to avoid malware and protect yourself against viruses.

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.

Re:Transcript

[rantingkitten]

This is the raw audio. It's not a commercial -- just the voiceover for what can be assembled and edited into a commercial complete with music and sound effects and such.

If I were doing this I'd edit the audio like so:

Your computer has problems. The "industry's" solution? Use more software to solve the problem! They want you to purchase software so the software you already purchased will work!

The problem is.. we've come to think of this as being perfectly acceptable. So stop accepting! There's been a solution all along, but you've rarely heard of it. t's time for the secret to be told. Thousands of businesses, universities and even Wall Street have been using: Linux! For years. What do they know that you don't? Linux is free. It doesn't need any virus protection and 99.9% of the software you'll ever need comes free as well. It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.

So why are you still paying for the privilege of using your computer? There's a better way: Linux.

I don't think most people really care about "old hardware" or "having to reboot when they install software", which isn't even true for Windows most of the time unless you're updating drivers (or when Windows decides to reboot without really even asking you but that's another story), so I'd take that out. Keep it short and punchy.

I wish they'd have a simple website somewhere, and mention the url at the end of this commercial. The website would lists of applications sure to be popular with the general masses -- OpenOffice, Pidgin, Thunderbird, Firefox, Skype, VLC, Audacious -- with brief descriptions and screenshots. Point out that many people are already using these programs on their Windows computers so they're already familiar with how to use them (take the "new is scary" aspect away).

It'd also have a list of organisations which have transitioned mostly or entirely to Linux -- governments, militaries, corporations, universities. The list doesn't have to be exhaustive, just highlight some of the most prestigious or recognisable ones. When people grouse that switching would be sooooo haaaarrrrd and would neeeevvveerrr woooorrrrk, there's a nice list. "Entire city governments and major universities are getting along just fine -- maybe it's not as hard as I thought."

The site would be a compliment to the commercial, where people could get more information, but keep it simple. Non-geeks don't want case studies and endless harping about the FOSS industry. Just show them that it's free, it has programs that will do exactly what they want, thousands of major organisations are using it, and leave it at that.

Or maybe I should get off my duff and make such a site... anyone think this is a good idea?

Well, at any rate, this is a nice step and I hope it gets some traction.

Re:Transcript

[BitZtream]

So basically, they mad a boring Mac ad?

A bunch of either flat out lies or exaggerations and sensationalizing about things that would be true for Linux if it were popular as well.

All OSes are susceptible to virii, if you don't think so, you're a moron. It crashes in my experience just as much as properly setup not dicked with or thrown together with random shitty hardware PC. You haven't actually had to reboot with windows software for years, although it may say you do, and that really isn't that big of a deal, its a rare event. XP runs on pretty much any hardware out there that people are still willing to use

Why are people still paying for their OS? A better question is when are you guys going to realize that the 'Linux way' or 'GPL way' depending how you want to word it today isnt' the only way, and may not actually be what people prefer, regardless of how great you think it is.

You want Linux for the masses? Start 'selling' people on the Linux THEY want, not the Linux that we nerds and geeks have created for ourselves. The general public is NOTHING like us. Until you realize that and adjust to it, Linux is going to remain a niche OS.

Personally, I'd appreciate it if it stayed a niche OS. I don't really look forward to having my favorite OS swarmed by idiots, nor do I want malware authors targeting it. Stop trying to beat Microsoft at a popularity contest, you aren't going to when, they greedy will beat you every single time, they have more money to throw at it. Beat them in the areas you can and move on, stop trying to do everything, otherwise you'll just end up like Windows and not be good at anything.

Re:Transcript

[Ronald Dumsfeld]

I want Linux to really be ready for the home desktop of the average user, but it isn't. I don't think we should be kidding ourselves and making ads with false promises like these.

Sorry, that's a crock of shit. Linux is ready for the desktop of the average user. The issue is that they should not be required to install it or do anything beyond okaying the installation of a variety of security updates to the software they use.

I've set quite a few people up with Ubuntu in the past year or so, compared with previously saying "don't do Linux". Your average user now has a real set of expectations from a computer. Linux can meet these needs and expectations, and there is a huge reduction in support headaches when you've convinced people only to install stuff made for their distribution and in a searchable repository.

Dealing with getting real people to use Linux is having someone with a clue set up support for Flash, DVDs, and stuff like that. The one I found hilarious was a friend who's used Windows for years - he asked what bittorrent client you could get for Linux. When I told him Ubuntu installed one by default, well, his jaw hit the floor.

Re:Transcript

[westlake]

Your computer has problems? Wanna hear the "industry's" solution? That's right, your software isn't working - so what do they suggest? Use more software to solve the problem(!) Listen to what you're being told: they want you to purchase software so the software you already purchased will work! .. What!?

I haven't spent a dime on security software for Windows in the last ten years.

It's bundled with your cable service, a download from CNET - and soon to be a free from Microsoft itself.

Thousands of businesses, universities and even Wall Street have been using: Linux! For years. What do they know that you don't? Linux is free. It doesn't need any virus protection and 99.9% of the software you'll ever need comes free as well.

The enterprise Linux distribution comes with a service contract or a professional on-call - on-site - IT staff. Nothing of the sort is being offered in the consumer market.

"99.9%" is the language of the fraudster.

You might as well be hawking a bar of soap or a homeopathic cure for cancer for all the credibility it gives you.

The back list of home-use software for Windows is miles wide and deep. The barest hint of what is available in games alone can be seen on sites like gog.com.

It's as easy as clicking a mouse! That's it. No more crashes, no more viruses, no more blue screens of death.

"Nothing can go wrong."

With Linux, you don't have to reboot after installing new software.

Big whoop. It isn't needed that often. It won't hurt to stretch your legs. The learning curve. The configuration options. This is where you will be spending your time.

Linux runs on old hardware. No need to buy a new computer every time the industry decides to boost profits and release another buggy system.

In the consumer market, the Windows user upgrades hardware and software when he finds the attractive OEM system bundle - and, by god, there are lot of them out there.

Something like 50 with a a "Win 7" tech guarantee" available from WalMart.com alone.

Linux runs on old hardware - but who the hell cares?

Your aging Dell has the size and heft of a suitcase. It can't be economically upgraded in any significant way.

It's replacement will weigh 11 pounds.

It will ship with a 64 Bit OS. Quad Core CPU. 8 to 12 GB RAM. The 1 TB hard drive. Blu-Ray and HDMI home theater quality video and sound.

The gamer will want a heftier power supply and a more muscular video card, but that won't break the bank.

The reviews for Win 7 have been solidly supportive.

The RC has a 20% larger installed base than Linux, according to Net Applications. Half that of Linux according to the developer-oriented W3Schools.

Hardware drivers simply do not appear to be an issue.

Re:Transcript

[3vi1]

>> And I'm not sure what decade they're from talking about blue screens of death...

I got one three days ago when I moved a VM from one machine to another. Which, I guess is equivalent to installing some new hardware.

Some of us do things that are more complicated, and still see them regularly... though I do agree that it's way more better than in "the old days."

Re:Transcript

[foxylad]

> I haven't spent a dime on security software for Windows in the last ten years.
Mom and Dad users now believe annual subscriptions to Norton and McAfee are part of owning a computer.

> The enterprise Linux distribution comes with a service contract or a professional on-call - on-site - IT staff. Nothing of the sort is being offered in the consumer market.
Have you ever got a useful response out of the support infrastructure that comes with Windows? Me neither. For Mom and Dad, there's likely no difference in support between Win and Lin - in both cases they are likely to have to rely on friends or a computer store.

> Linux runs on old hardware - but who the hell cares?
99.9% (no, I'm not a fraudster!) of computer users. You are an enthusiast, who chooses to spend your disposable income on a fancy computer. But most people want a machine that will let them email/browse. If it kept working for ten years, they'd be happy to continue using it. I think if you were honest about the amount you'd spent on your PC over the years (notwithstanding getting your AV software for free!), you'd understand why most Mom and Dad users (and corporate users for that matter) would be a lot better off with Linux.

I migrated my parents to Linux three years ago for my own sanity. I figured "How do I make it do this?" calls were preferable to the "I think I've got another computer virus" calls. They got used to Linux very quickly, and I now spend probably 5% of the time I used to supporting them. I'd recommend this to anyone who gets bugged to resolve computer problems.

Re:Transcript

[Hymer]

"In place of BSODs, you just get to meet mister kernel panic instead."
Much less freq... I've used OpenSuSE (as a desktop OS) for the past 5 years and never seen the kernel panic.

99.9% ?

[OrangeTide]

Where do they get this number from? How can I be certain that 99.9% of the software I want to use is already available for free? The value seems too convenient to be produced from actual research.

(for me personally, it's 100%, but I just need a compiler and a text editor and maybe a web browser)

Malware is the wrong selling point..

[spiffmastercow]

While it may be true that there is very little Linux malware, that's only because it's not worth it to criminals to write it. Sure, there are a few inherent advantages in that category, such as not running regular users with admin privileges and downloading software from repositories, but you're a fool if you think Linux is immune to malware.

Heard this on the air last night

[XanC]

It was more about control, about Microsoft being in charge of how you get to your data, than about anything else. It's a great message.

Although I can't listen to more than 5 minutes of Kim Komando without wishing my fingernails were being pulled out instead.

"forkable ad"?

[pongo000]

Pray tell, what exactly is a "forkable ad"? Strangely enough, I get no authoritative hits on "forkable ad" in any of the major search engines. Is this a made-up phrase, or something actually used in the advertising realm?

Re:"forkable ad"?

[tagno25]

it is an ad that is forkable

ad: a public promotion of some product or service
fork: In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent ...

Re:"forkable ad"?

[Tweenk]

Forkable = you can fork it (create a modified version without asking the original creator)
So it means you can make your own Linux radio ad using parts of this one. Normal ads are 'unforkable' by design (because they include trademarks) and by circumstance (you have no permission to reuse the ad's content). This news means that if you want to market Linux, you no longer need to shell out money to create the advertising material, you pay only for air time.

Re:"forkable ad"?

[annodomini]

"Fork" is a term in software, particularly free software, that means creating and releasing your own version of something, without merging it back upstream with the original author. This is one of the fundamental freedoms that free software gives you; the freedom to fork it if you don't like how the original author is developing it.

Re:Just a minor point...

[tukang]

They probably didn't specify a distro to make the ad more forkable

Re:Hi I'm Linux

[Swizec]

a nerdy yet busty chick (I'm thinking Abby from NCIS)

You need to get out of the basement more, she's pretty much the definition of not busty.

Everyone is familiar with the Linux video ads....

[julian67]

"Everyone is familiar with the Linux video ads created by IBM, Red Hat, and Novell...."

Don't the people who write this kind of brazen untruth ever feel embarrassed? I use Debian GNU/Linux, I like it, it runs on all my computers, x86, amd64 and armel, but if I wrote that sentence (unlikely) I'd certainly know it was not true. It's a really crappy way to start and article, except for the fact that it sends a clear message. The message is "The author is blinkered/bug-eyed/deluded/evangelical/worrying. Choose any of the aforementioned and don't bother reading any further."

Re:Just a minor point...

[techno-vampire]

Somebody hears about Ubuntu and doesn't recognise that it's the same thing as Red Hat deep down;

Because it's not. Ubuntu is based on Debian, not RedHat.

Re:No more crashes?

[bcmm]

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=nvidia+crash+windows&aq=&aqi=&aq=f&aqi=g1&oq=&fp=ee36edbd3c16a1c5 has more hits.

Re:Just a minor point...

[Darkness404]

Other than RPM vs DEB and APT vs YUM, they run identical software.

Forkability may not be too great an idea

[mysidia]

It's under the CC-BY-SA license.

That means Apple could take up the ad and alter it to be pro-Apple.

Microsoft could use the very content of the ad to develop their own ad deriding Linux as low-grade

I'm hoping it won't happen, but Forkability of marketing materials can be a double-edged sword...

Re:No FLAC?

[SanityInAnarchy]

It's also barely over a megabyte. Lossless would be, what, 5 megs? 10?

Lossy compression only makes sense when you actually need that disk space.

Re:No FLAC?

[3vi1]

What's the resolution of FM radio vs. the compressed audio clip?

Re:No more crashes?

[Tubal-Cain]

"nvidia crash windows" has more hits.

Not even double. On an OS that (conservatively) has 85x the marketshare.

Varying Definitions Of "Professional"

[FSWKU]

...has obtained the services of a professional radio talent

The voice sounds professional, yes. However, the audio quality on the raw material is lacking. The reverb is VERY over the top, and is not necessary. A dry voice track should not sound like it's coming out of an echo chamber, because reverb can easily be added later in the style and amount you want. Also, would it have really hurt to have the voice talent be a bit further from the mic? At the very least, run the damned track through a de-essing filter to kill off some of the harshness. The sibilance was bordering on painful everytime a word had an S in it. Echo shouldn't be a problem if you're using a proper studio.

I mention this, because if the production of the dry track isn't up to par, then anything you finish it with won't be. And if they REALLY want people to take Linux seriously, whatever ads are made with this stuff needs to sound every bit as professional as something coming out of a major corporation.

IAAVOA (I Am a Voice-Over Artist), btw.

Re:Fixed

[PCM2]

I don't believe that he meant everyone like everyone in the world, just everyone from /.

Maybe so, but I don't recall seeing any video ads from any of these companies.

I agree with the GP; "Everyone is [fill in the blank]" is just bad writing. There has never been anything in the history of humankind that "everyone" has agreed upon. Statements like these tune the reader out immediately, because they sound suspiciously like the beginning of a fallacious argument or a ploy: "Everyone agrees that bright red pants are the only pants worth wearing, but is the fact that bright red pants are so incredibly popular actually putting colorblind people at a disadvantage? We spoke to Ron Smith, CEO of Ron's Pants Inc., the company responsible for shipping 90 percent of pants sold in this phenomenally desirable color..."

I beg to differ

[westlake]

It was more about control, about Microsoft being in charge of how you get to your data, than about anything else. It's a great message.

It's a meaningless message for the target audience.

Of course the operating system is in charge of how you get to your data. That's its job.

Windows and the Mac own the consumer market because no one there wants any deeper engagement with the machine than is absolutely necessary.

Re:Just a minor point...

[flydpnkrtn]

Oh come, on it depends on how far "deep down" you go.... you go "far enough down" and both distros are running on a Linux kernel with a GNU userland.

(ok, ok for the pedantic folks - unless you're running a Debian GNU/HURD kernel, or Debian with a Solaris kernel...)

Re:No FLAC?

[YourExperiment]

Someone mod parent back up, please.

Lossy compression is fine for your personal music for your MP3 player. When you have source files like this, which are going to undergo further editing, and quite possibly be further compressed at a later date, you really need uncompressed material.

Studios still record music in high-fidelity audio formats (often 24 bit 96Khz) despite the fact 99% of people will compress it down to a crappy-sounding MP3. That's the way professional audio is done.