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The 'Linux Inside' Stigma

Posted by Soulskill on from the someday-they'll-even-come-up-with-a-linux-phone dept.

New submitter dtschmitz highlights the success of the Google Chromebook to underscore what, in his view, is a serious Linux brand image problem. "It's remarkable how Google doesn't mention the word Linux anywhere in their marketing of the Google Chromebook. I mean, it's running the Linux Kernel, so shouldn't it be Google Linux instead of ChromeOS? Why did Google carefully avoid references to Linux? It's all a very carefully crafted, well executed plan of elegant branding and image making. ... The profile of this user is that of someone who really doesn't care anything about the technical underpinnings of a device. They are not sophisticated technophiles by any means. They have a set number of things which they wish to do--recreational surfing, banking, email, an occasional letter, not complicated. ... Google didn't mention Linux because they know it will scare buyers away. That's unfortunate, but true. And we need to come to terms with that fact and work towards improving the 'Linux Inside' brand image.

15 of 366 comments (clear)

  1. Does it matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are lots of things for which that level of detail is lost on the target consumer.

  2. BSD folks must have even more terrible problem... by PaulBu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why the heck Apple has OS-X and no BSD inside stickers, for many years now? ;-)

    Paul B.

  3. Easy to answer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because "linux" is toxic to 90% of the population out there.

    "Windows" is the status quo, "mac" is sexy, and "linux" is that ugly fat guy in IT who smells bad and makes you change your passwords every other day.

    Google is right to avoid "linux" like the plague.

    1. Re:Easy to answer. by hawguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because "linux" is toxic to 90% of the population out there.

      "Windows" is the status quo, "mac" is sexy, and "linux" is that ugly fat guy in IT who smells bad and makes you change your passwords every other day.

      Google is right to avoid "linux" like the plague.

      I don't think Linux is "toxic" to 90% of the population, it's just meaningless... much like like "BSD kernel", "Mach", or "Microkernel" would be... putting a linux-inside sticker adds nothing of value, anyone that cares about Linux already knows that it's based on a Linux kernel.

      But the real reason there's no Linux-inside sticker is because there's no "Linux, Inc" to pay for it - the reason every Intel laptop has "Intel-inside" stickers is not because PC makers thought it would sell more laptops, it's because Intel paid for those stickers (or at least negotiated it as a part of volume purchase deals) for the brand recognition.

    2. Re:Easy to answer. by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 5, Funny

      How about "Penguin Powered"?

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    3. Re:Easy to answer. by unrtst · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's a much easier answer to all of this.
      Windows 3.1 didn't have stickers saying "DOS Inside!". Nor did Winodws 95.
      None of them said "Win32 Inside" (any more than ChromeOS says it runs on a Linux kernel).
      Windows 2000 didn't say "NT kernel inside".
      Ubuntu's front page has a box that says, "What is Ubuntu?", with the answer that "...the world's favorite free operating system..." and no mention of Linux. And, surprising to me, if you click on that for more information, there's still no mention of Linux on a whole page devoted to "What is Ubuntu". Shouldn't it say, somewhere on there, "a Debian based GNU/Linux distribution"???

      The easy answer - no one does this. "Intel Inside" is the exception, not the norm. And the "Intel Inside" is talking about the hardware inside the computer, just as the Windows sticker denoties what it is running as the OS. They don't need to go into every little detail. If ChromeOS were to put an "... inside" type of tag on itself, Linux is pretty low on the core technology list (as in, it could easily be replaced by Solaris, any bsd, or even Windows, and it'd still be ChromeOS).

      This complaint is right in line with Stallman's "GNU/Linux", except Stallman makes a much better, more sound case. "GNU/kFreeBSD" realizes much of that case, and yet we all commonly refer to "Linux distributions" and "Ubuntu" and "Linux", when we really mean the whole kit and kaboodle.

      This article is a troll :-)

  4. Does it run Linux software? by grumbel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think the reason why they don't mention Linux is simply because the thing isn't meant to run Linux software. It doesn't really matter that it uses Linux underneath when you never get to directly access it and instead are limited to whatever layer they strapped on top of it. Android isn't marketed as a Linux for the same reason, the Linux is simply an implementation detail, not an end user visible feature.

  5. I don't think that their reason. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lets say the product is a big success. They want the positive experience attributed to "CHROME", a trademark they own, versus "Linux", one they don't.

  6. Linus isn't fussed and neither should you be by Duncan+J+Murray · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I somewhat take Linus's view - who cares?

    -Interview with Linus last year (http://www.techradar.com/news/software/why-linus-torvalds-would-rather-code-than-make-money-1112900)

    LT: "Technical people will complain 'it's Linux, and now people don't know they're using Linux'. Which is true, a lot of people don't even know they're using Linux"

    LXF: "And that doesn't bother you?"

    LT: "And that doesn't bother me at all, because I'm interested in the technical side. And I actually think it's the right thing to do, to say: "Hey, we're doing our OS".

    And when they say OS, they mean more than just a kernel, and when I say OS I usually mean just the kernel.

    But if you're doing your OS, Linux is a central, but it's still just a small part of the overall thing - you shouldn't need to name your stuff just because you use the Linux kernel.

    So, I actually wouldn't want to use the trademark thing, plus I think it would be stupid anyway because I think people should just rename their things."

  7. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And we need to come to terms with that fact and work towards improving the 'Linux Inside' brand image.

    Why? Linux has been cruising along for a long time getting better and better, running in more and more places, first conquering servers, enveloping embedded devices, devouring the mobile phone market place, spreading into tablets, etc. It's at the core of VMware, Android, ChromeOS, and devices both on earth and in space.

    So, again, why? So teenagers will use it? Choosy Moms will choose it over Jiff?

    The brand image of Linux right now is: get shit done. well. Oh, and also do whatever you want with it.

    What people like OP need to come to terms with is the fact that Linux is successful in spite of marketing.

  8. Re:nope. it starts with accuracy by __aaeihw9960 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Like it or not, you are simply denying the fact that most people, if they even know what linux is, assume that it's only for someone who is very tech savvy and technical minded. Most people see Linux as a neat hobby for hardcore nerds. Most people believe it is damned near impossible to use unless you have countless hours to devote to fixing compatibility/other sundry issues. For many, many years, Linux was only spoken about on-line, and if you actually ran across a conversation in real life, it was in some sort of deep-tech/troubleshooting capacity.

    Denying that there isn't a stigma attached to Linux doesn't make it go away. And, waving away the very real stigma attached to this product, while simultaneously calling the end-users stupid (which you essentially do by saying that the only reason people don't run linux is because they don't understand it) just makes you come across as an arrogant fan-boy. Which, by the way is about 99% of the image problem here. You want people to use it, don't be an ass.

  9. Re:nope. it starts with accuracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't necessarily agree. Examples of marketing terms used to promote computers/smartphones that I'm sure 98% of consumers have no idea what they are:
    LTE
    Intel Core i7
    LCD
    megapixel
    WiFi b/g/n
    5MHz spectrum

    Linux does have a branding problem and it does need something on top of it to make it a true consumer product (I don't think anyone can argue anything else non-dogmatic standpoint) . I would not be surprised if Ubuntu start shying away from the Linux brand as well in order to increase public awareness.

  10. Re:Alone. by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Funny

    And yet it's still a more interesting response than most of the discussion on this story.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  11. Re:nope. it starts with accuracy by martas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Could you possibly be confusing stigma with obscurity? I have never met anyone outside the tech world who had ever even heard the word Linux in their lives (that they could remember). Perhaps Google avoided it because every word in marketing is precious, and specifying a detail that won't help sales (even if it won't hurt, either) is a waste.

    --
    weinersmith
  12. Re:nope. it starts with accuracy by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    unfortunately, i have to agree here for 2 simple reasons:

    1. thanks to half-baked crap like Linpus Linux that was only put on Acer REVOs so that people can install their own pirated version of Windows afterwards, I personally know at least 3 people who got burned by it and would never even consider buying anything with Tux on it. (The version that was on Acer Aspire One netbook was kind of all-rightish though.)

    2. thanks to Acer and Asus (and later also Dell/Lenovo), only the shittiest of shitty hardware was ever sold with GNU/Linux on it and that is how people remember GNU/Linux computers. The squeaky plasticky computers that lasted 42.5 minutes on a single charge, had unresponsive touchpad the size of a coin and took 50 seconds to open a Word document.

    Thank you Acer/Asus. If you two were people, I'd run you over with a car.