[Lf_desktop] Re: [Desktop_architects] Desktop Linuxmarketingslogans

don hardaway don.hardaway at gmail.com
Wed Jan 23 06:26:50 PST 2008


Colleagues,

There are some very excellent points being made and this is a healthy
discussion but there are few fundamentals that we should keep in mind.

A few thoughts:

When engaging my class of 55 students yesterday for the first time i asked
how many have heard of Linux.

--2 raised their hand

When I asked how many have heard of open source software:

--0 raised their hand

When i ask my neighbors if they have heard of open source software/Linux
practically none have heard of it.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is an education
problem.

Dell, HP and Lenovo are not helping things by hiding and/or not providing
this information on their web sites---since the regular folks that i deal
with find out about technology when they go to buy a new PC online.

Further, none of my students had any idea that it was possible to have a
computer installed --no only with an operating systems but hundreds of
programs that are immediately available for download by clicking them using
the add/remove programs program in the menu.  Further, they had no clue that
if any of the software installed had an update that they would automatically
be notified ---in other words a 100% maintenance of all of the software
installed.  They are used to on their windows and Mac PCs of having to look
around the Internet for various programs--download them --then double click
them to be installed----once installed they have no idea if a new version
has become available.

Once told of how life is in a Linux distro--their face said it all---they
had no idea that such a computing experience could be possible since Mac and
windows PCs do not do this.

Net--net---- Why Dell, HP and Lenovo are not flashing information about the
ease of computing given these facts raises some serious questions----either
they don't get it or they don't want to do it because of Microsoft---you can
decide.

Also, my contact at Computer Sciences Corp---he is director of
technology---did not know about the 100% maintenance of software on Linux
PCs either---so i would guess corporate IT management (IT decision
makers---no techies) do not know either.

I believe a breakout group of folks with business expertise to discuss these
issues would be helpful at the gathering in Austin.

Something to consider.

don

On Jan 23, 2008 7:52 AM, Thilo Pfennig <thilopfennig at foresightlinux.org>
wrote:

> Am Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:07:18 -0600
> schrieb <Cole_Crawford at Dell.com>:
>
>
> > I'll further state that while I believe choice is good, it hinders our
> > ability to make decisions.  If you're going to offer choice, make the
> > choice obsolete ( Project Portland / PackageKit ).
>
> I think one of the mistakes that were made in Linux "marketing" in the
> past, was that marketing was not aggressive enough. And although most
> Linux software vendors agree on some basic principles of cooperation
> there is still a lot of redundancy just for the sake of it?
>
> I think some very important points are mostly not visible to the public
> and are also not really communicated:
>
> * With every Linux you get a bunch of software with which you can do a
> lot of things. OpenOffice.org seems to be the most prominent, but still
> this is not identified with Linux because many Windows users use it -
> same is true for Mozilla products: The most visible and interesting
> alternatives are not Linux-only because Linux has failed to identify
> with them, although often those software works better on Linux.
>
> * From my experience as a customer the support for simple software is
> often MUCH better for free software than for proprietary software. I
> have never been able to influence any conventional software vendor to
> really help me or fix any bug, which on Linux I hand this many thousand
> times. This might be different if you have a really costly support
> contract, but that's not what most customers and companies want or have.
>
> * The Software Freedoms - they help to get the first two points working
> and many more. This includes the ability to legally use one disc to
> install on multiple computers (or on multiple virtual instances). This
> requires revolutionary new business models, leaving behind the "buy
> one - get one" logic.
>
> I think one thing is very problematic still:
>  * The established computer business model is much about buying a
> computer and additional software either in a store or via Internet
> (Dell, Amazon,...). Besides some exceptions customers still cant really
> buy Linux computers and the additional software in these channels. And
> you still wont get GIMP for Linux in any shop. Why don't you get it?
> Because its available for free through different channels. But this
> also means it is not attractive to either advertise it not to offer it
> for any amount. I am not saying it should cost something. it could -
> but still I think the problem is not that GIMP is bad software or that
> people would not buy it - GPL would allow it - but current business
> models make it hard to make money with GIMP or other software.
>
> What I am trying to say is that I think that if we can change the
> circumstances and have a market for services around free software and
> Linux companies would offer services and (more) people could make (more)
> money offering services. They would then carry the ideas of Linux and
> free software to the customers.
>
> So I don't think Linux itself needs better marketing or branding, but
> that we need to find ways that make it attractive to open a business
> based on free software. Today for a small computer shop its still more
> attractive to just offer standard computers with Windows as to offer
> free software.
>
> I have witnessed a lot of discussions especially at GNOME how
> marketing should work but I found that mostly people (or developers)
> are more worried about how they could advertise their desktop (and
> additionally what their employer thinks make sense), while I have not
> seen any consistent ideas and strategies. The reason for that is
> because most projects think only in the terms of their own projects
> (be it KDE, GNOME, a distribution or a company). So all ideas and
> actions usually end just there: At what benefits their own projects.
> This itself is not problematic - the problem is lack of actions ans
> strategies that go beyond single projects.
>
> This list is one of the few points where such topics can be discussed.
> And although many think those discussions are not productive I think
> they are often more important as to find a new slogan for a single
> project or to meet a deadline. Why? Because if there is a common
> understanding of what the issues are and what needs to be worked on the
> issues many single projects have can be removed much faster.
>
> We still have what i would call the "desktop dilemma", which is that
> desktop environments like to brand their desktops, while they are not
> offering them directly (besides downloading source code and live
> images). This is as if Microsoft would not offer Windows. So KDE and
> GNOME are brands that cant be bought directly. But if this is the case,
> does it make any sense to promote them? And if the answer here is still
> yes: What does that mean to marketing? Maybe AIDA principle
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDA) is a bit outdated but still I think
> the point where people get interested and they want something like a
> Linux computer or a KDE desktop and to the point where they get what
> they want must be made more easy. Today if people want a Linux desktop
> its still not easy for them to get it. I don't think its all the options
> that make it hard to decide - rather people would choose what is most
> easy - if there is an offer for a Linux desktop that seems reasonable,
> people would buy, like they just do with Dells offers or the EeePc.
>
> This doesn't dissolve the described "desktop dilemma" but on those
> occasion I guess the dilemma doesn't worry the customers that much and
> is still up to the desktop environments to think about their strategies.
>
> My personal expectations on a desktop is that it integrates nicely. I
> don't want to start a flame war but I think that's where KDE's Koffice
> make more sense as GNOMEs strategy to not offer an Office suite of its
> own. I know Abiword and Gnumeric are very good applications but they
> are not officially backed by GNOME, so from my perspective GNOME is not
> planning to offer a full desktop.
>
> Another relates issue is that of compatibility between open source
> applications. The sad truth is that much more energy goes into the
> ability to import Microsoft standards as to be interoperable in the
> open source world. Such as between Gnumeric, Koffice and
> OpenOffice.org or between Kmail, Thunderbird and Evolution . It seems as
> if as long as you use Microsoft's products you are attractive - but as
> soon as you choose an open source product you more likely end
> in a lock in situation. There are often options to get out of this lock
> in, but this is mostly an advanced topic. Here we see again the result
> of small thinking - projects think more about how they can get more
> users (from Windows) than how their users could switch their data
> without a pain. That's where I think OpenDocument comes into play and
> can lead to a desperately needed new culture of interoperatibility. A
> field where Open Source also needs to adapt some principles.
>
> Thilo Pfennig
>
> --
> Thilo Pfennig
> Foresight Linux Packager
> http://flinux.wordpress.com/
> _______________________________________________
> Desktop_architects mailing list
> Desktop_architects at lists.linux-foundation.org
> https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/desktop_architects
>



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"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing
it."--James Arthur Baldwin
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