This is somewhat of a spin off of another post I created here in the forums titled: Linux car in Indy 500? Some of the replies were really very thought provoking so I figured lets expand on this just a bit.
What are some of the ways that you promote Linux personally or professionally?
Do you have any thoughts on ways that you feel Linux should be promoted?
Our idea:
My wife and I have been selling nix based merchandise since 2004. We donate the profits to the various F/OSS projects who's logos are on the products. The idea behind this was "human billboards that promote and fund F/OSS projects all at the same time!" It seems to work pretty well.
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Promoting Linux
I'm an out-going exec member in my local college AITP. I gave some Ubuntu discs and a copy of the Open CD to the new president not a week after somebody else in the group (without my urging) gave a "hot topic" presentation on Open Source.
One good way to promote OSS is to take old PCs from people that they would be junking and load up something like Debian or Edubuntu, then donate those PCs, or just return them to their owners.
The only problem with Linux advocacy on a personal level is that, as a different OS, it's radically different than the proprietary ecosystem. People are change resistant. So, you have to overcome both the hurdles of them learning something completely new AND dealing with the fact that they will likely have the occasional problems interfacing with a Windows-centric world.
I'm advocating it whenever I think I can, but more often than not, there's not much that can be done, at least at the moment.
Here's a curious anecdote regarding people and Windows. My dad absolutely hates "giving Bill [his] money". Hates it. But when I was having trouble setting up a Canon printer on my system (which still won't work, since Canon has $^#@ support for alternative operating systems, and which my parents bought me as a gift) he told me to join the rest of the world, as if leaving the Microsoft fold were akin to a teenager joining a counter-culture. What I fail to understand is how a person could dislike a corporation and its product, yet be so horribly psychologically dependent on it.
Edit: It'll be fun, in a schadenfreude kind of way, to watch him when he has to deal with Vista and its costs. Now that I'm largely free of Microsoft, it's more amusing than anything else to watch them tighten the screws on their user base.
One good way to promote OSS is to take old PCs from people that they would be junking and load up something like Debian or Edubuntu, then donate those PCs, or just return them to their owners.
The only problem with Linux advocacy on a personal level is that, as a different OS, it's radically different than the proprietary ecosystem. People are change resistant. So, you have to overcome both the hurdles of them learning something completely new AND dealing with the fact that they will likely have the occasional problems interfacing with a Windows-centric world.
I'm advocating it whenever I think I can, but more often than not, there's not much that can be done, at least at the moment.
Here's a curious anecdote regarding people and Windows. My dad absolutely hates "giving Bill [his] money". Hates it. But when I was having trouble setting up a Canon printer on my system (which still won't work, since Canon has $^#@ support for alternative operating systems, and which my parents bought me as a gift) he told me to join the rest of the world, as if leaving the Microsoft fold were akin to a teenager joining a counter-culture. What I fail to understand is how a person could dislike a corporation and its product, yet be so horribly psychologically dependent on it.
Edit: It'll be fun, in a schadenfreude kind of way, to watch him when he has to deal with Vista and its costs. Now that I'm largely free of Microsoft, it's more amusing than anything else to watch them tighten the screws on their user base.
unfortunately, we have to become skeptical and even somewhat cynical to protect ourselves not just online but in real life.
one of the major red flags is ALWAYS emotion. whenever someone starts pulling your emotional strings or appealing to your "team spirit" or pride or ego, then that's your cue to move straight to due diligence.
one of the major red flags is ALWAYS emotion. whenever someone starts pulling your emotional strings or appealing to your "team spirit" or pride or ego, then that's your cue to move straight to due diligence.
If there is anyone in the healthcare industry on this forum, they may want to look into and possibly promote the open source electronic medical record that has been developed by the Veteran's Administration's Hospital in the United States. It has been developed over several years, and is supported by several value added vendors in the USA.
Joe
Joe
Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with catsup.