Comment 643 for bug 1

atheoi / Conrad:
I completely agree with you, apart from *all the hard work of all the
persons working on the 'background'*, a breakthrough of Linux/Ubuntu to the
foreground is indeed for a huge part "*just a matter of marketing*"

So go for it!
- Go to your *local* computer hardware store and suggest to add Ubuntu as an
OS to their 'pre-install' list with 100$ off on that same computers
- Talk to *people* about Ubuntu/Linux about it's strong points: stable,
secure, free, fast, growing,
- Give Canonical additional idea's on *global* marketing 'stunts' like:
   * Give a cosmonaut an 'Ubuntu'-sticker on his helmet or something,
whatever,...
   * or sponsor a sports-event by developing & running the statistics
programs on Ubuntu servers (like IBM does on some tennist events, like HP
does on ski-events somewhere, ...)
   * just a brainstorm-idea: try to run a project with Swatch-Switserland or
something and install Ubuntu on a newly developped Swiss watch with
flash-memory & bluetooth-enablement so it's also a wireless memory stick, a
remote mail-reader if you're in the neighbourhood of your PC (cfr. a
Tux-droid function), ...: this will be in the local news also if you push
national press-agencies (like Belga in Belguim,...) to publish it as an
article - local newspapers and TV stations get their news-info 80% from
there anyway...
   * or something completely new so people really 'see' it... (just quickly
writing this mail in-between a small break of work so no
break-through-idea's yet:-/)...

    *Marketing*!!!! We are too 'friendly' and very honest: this is good,
but it may be joined with a bit of raging marketing for the good cause!

 2008/4/7 Conrad Knauer <email address hidden>:
> foosean010:
>
> Regarding the number of Linux distributions, while there are a lot
> (around 350 "active" ones listed on DistroWatch as per
> http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20080331), the vast majority are
> minor players (just getting started, winding down, niche, etc.) I put
> some of my notes about that here:
> http://limulus.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/pclinuxos-popularity/ IMHO
> there is really only one "main" Linux distribution; that would be Ubuntu
> :) Yes, you can find others that do particular things better and/or
> differently, but Ubuntu is usually voted the most popular, the one by
> which others tend to be judged these days and as a whole it does a very
> good job.
>
> As far as a "COMPLETELY user friendly" Linux distro, I would suggest
> calling it 'Utopia OS' since NO OS is "COMPLETELY user friendly". The
> best you can do is continually work at it :)
>
> Regarding proprietary games, with Wine 1.0 coming out soon, I would
> suggest that would be a better focus for compatibility than any
> particular Linux distro.
>
> Regarding your point #2, with just a little pickyness when selecting
> hardware, Ubuntu is the "superior OS" compared to Windows (*especially
> Vista* http://limulus.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/an-unscientific-poll/ ;)
> so I suppose that it really IS just a question of marketing now. My
> personal prediction is that the third LTS Ubuntu release, which should
> be 10.04, will achieve a 'Windows 95' type breakthrough (the oft-
> predicted 'year of the Linux desktop';
> http://limulus.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/2010-the-year-of-the-linux-
> desktop/)
>
> I think the trick to getting advertising will be getting the OEMs
> onboard. Dell is still being timid about showing off their Ubuntu
> systems. If a couple more OEMs started preloading Ubuntu, then we
> probably will see some ads going up as they compete with each other for
> sales.
>
> Anyway, just a little closing thought; I am running Ubuntu Hardy (pre-
> release) on a three year old computer (2 GHz 32-bit AMD (single)
> Processor, 1 GB RAM, 128 MB ATI Radeon 9250-based video card, DVD RW
> drive) that is probably worth less than $500 US (including the monitor)
> now and yet it runs like a dream; my windows are wobbly, my 'desktop' is
> a cube, and when I press super-k I get stars around my cursor (its the
> little things that make me happy :) I am not in a constant state of
> paranoia over malware, my software didn't cost a large percentage of my
> hardware, my documents are saved in formats that I should easily be able
> to open in a decade, and there is no DRM to be seen anywhere ^_^ I've
> been talking to a young guy who works at a local computer store and he
> is just in awe of Ubuntu; its like magic to him ('WOW' moments included:
> free cost, EULA (yes, please do make copies for your friends :), LiveCD,
> Synaptic, Compiz fun, predictable releases). Once there is a 'critical
> mass' of 'average' people who know about Desktop Linux in its current
> form, I don't think that OEMs will be able to ignore the demand.
>
>
> --
> Microsoft has a majority market share
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>
  --
http://stephanvaningen.net
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I am a happy www.ubuntu.com user
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