Fwd: Ubuntu Ice House: Repeat Event Today!

[Evan Leibovitch]

ted leslie wrote:

> You even got listed now on linux.org and linuxtoday.com !!!
>   
Was the intent to be admired by other geeks, or to get publicity amongst 
those who were not familiar with Linux?

Notice on linux.org/LinuxToday/Digg/etc. is simply preaching/boasting to 
the converted.  And while peer recognition is a significant motivation 
behind FOSS activities, it wasn't the stated reason for the event. This 
isn't about a generation gap, it's about being honest who's attention 
you're trying to attract.

The mainstream media didn't really pay that much attention to the 
Microsoft event, which itself was only a dumb stunt. So if they're not 
interested in the host, why would they care about the parasite?

The only media which reported on the event which is not mainly read by 
geeks or existing Linux users -- CRN, which has a circulation of about 
30K of which many are not just users but influencers as well -- was 
critical. Even if there were some positive responses, the net result was 
likely a negative.

> If one were to plan even a bigger party crash, i wonder ..... you got booted off dundas square because its apparently private property?
I suspect that Dundas Square is public property, but that events staged 
there require permits.

> Linux is a really hard sell (to the home desktop), just because people don't like change in that area for the most part.
There are a zillion reasons. Top of the list is that most people DON'T 
CARE about the OS, they use what's shipped with the PC and everything 
else is too much bother. For the masses that Ubuntu proponents seem to 
care so much about, switching to Linux is only the last stage of a long 
necessary learning process most people would prefer to  ignore.

Before one can get to the deeper issues (Linux versus Windows, Ubuntu 
versus other distros, open source versus proprietary), the biggest -- 
and most difficult -- convincing is to convince people why they should 
even care about their OS.

It doesn't matter to the mainstream if Linux is easier to install than 
Windows, if Windows is already pre-installed. It doesn't matter that 
Linux runs games, because Windows runs more games (and supports the most 
popular games in a manner that Linux doesn't). It doesn't matter to most 
that Linux is less buggy if help desks support it better. Buggy and 
broken as Windows is, PC makers and ISPs understand it and its warts, 
and it's stable _enough_ for most people.

Personally, I believe now that it's just dumb to assert that most non-IT 
people can be convinced to switch to Linux through direct convincing, 
any more than they can be convinced that a car will run better by 
replacing the manufacturer's muffler on their car with a performance 
model. Car enthusiasts will know the difference in mufflers, most 
drivers don't care. Same thing with operating systems.

I personally find it FAR more effective to ease IT-phobic people into 
open source by introducing them to OpenOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird 
(and maybe Gimp) for Windows. Those projects, unlike Linux, offer 
compelling reasons for a typical Windows user to install (ie, no-cost 
office suite and a browser with popup blockers) Once they've had some 
time with these apps, one can then gently teach how the same benefits 
that open source brings to office suites and net clients can be had at 
the OS level -- but it's still a hard sell, and most will be satisfied 
with FOSS applications on Windows. The Linux desktop still has a far 
better chance of catching on in business than amongst the general 
public, and business IT decision makers are more likely to be reading 
CRN than Digg.

Maybe the Ubuntu crowd will continue to assert that the IT-ignorant 
masses can be convinced through stunts and eye-candy. I would hope that 
they might re-examine their tactics, work with the greater community, 
and consider the real targets (and consequences) of their promotional 
stunts.

If you're just trying to be k3wl in front of other open source 
activists, then presenting any kind of an annoyance to Microsoft is 
always good exposure. But at least be honest about it.

If there is, OTOH, a genuine interest in getting to the masses, the 
required tactics take far more thought and planning than Ubuntu (or 
Canonical, for that matter) has shown to date. Working with the greater 
community, rather than in isolation for the benefit of Ubuntu-specific 
branding awareness (which is itself 100% marketing), will help move this 
forward.

- Evan

--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://gtalug.org/wiki/Mailing_lists