@ Rooker: Okay, point taken. If people we educated in the first place to use Linux (e.g. Ubuntu ;)) then a whole new generation of people would be more open-minded. It is a good point. However, I still feel like most people teach themselves the important computer skills. They main learn to use Microsoft Office from doing it. The point about what parents want their kids to learn is equally valid though. Pupils *should* be taught the most useful skills. But they should also be taught alternatives - the benefits of open source ideology. This is because I think the Information Technology part of the National Curriculum in most countries is quite young and inexperienced. It kinda lacks direction - doesn't yet know exactly what it should include. So the answer here would be to somehow persuade governments to put something about the benefits of open source ideology in the national curriculum. What a great idea! - how can we achieve it? Come to that, I think that the open source community could do with better representation in general. Everyone involved with it knows what it is. We know the benefits and the ideals, but other people don't. It takes a lot of commitment to find out. We must be able to find some way in which we can put it very simply to people in general, and so make people generally more aware of the benefits. @vadim: Yes, there is a huge amount of commercial software being built all the time, and it would be brilliant if they would develop it for Linux (which the more open-minded already do) - but how can you persuade them to? We need a strategy for persuading companies to develop software for a minority market. What benefits can we offer them? @simon: There are two main points I can see from what you've said: > Linux communities could do with more awareness of proper business strategies > Linux communities could do with strong leadership I completely agree on both points. Although the second is absolutely resounding in my head. There are so many people fiddling around with Linux, arguing about it, touting it to their friends etc. but mostly without any real direction. With better leadership we could seriously harness this community power and do some incredible things. The only problem is: how can one gather together and lead such a diverse and spread out community? Any more thoughts? I'm thinking sometime soon I'm going to write a blog summarising all the points that have been raised here since I subscribed to the mailing list on May 5th - all about how to de-throne Microsoft as OS-king. Robin. 2008/7/12 ^rooker