On Tue, 3 Sep 2002 jmcdermo redhat com wrote:
> I am still amazed that everyone in the world has not seen and heard of
> Linux.
Don't be.
It's easy for folks knee-deep in the tech world to forget the fact that a
great many people dislike the use of computers, only use them when
absolutely necessary, and/or think of them as screwdrivers or hammers that
do not require knowing the guts.
It's like telling a car buff that you can't imagine why any sane
individual would prefer a manual transmission over an automatic. Or a
musician that all guitars sound alike. People close to their craft are
often amazed at the lack of knowledge of their passion by the masses. It's
I meet my share of people who couldn't give a darn whether it's Windows or
Linux or OS/2 or AmigaDOS or CP/M under the hood. They want to turn the
thing on, check for mail, do a few favorite thing or two, and then turn it
off. The computer they bought comes with Windows, and they know a
neighbour or relative that can talk them through the most onerous moments
of computer ownership, and that's the extent of their care about the tech.
To them, using a computer is simply a (difficult) means to getting
something done, like talking to a friend or printing a letter. More often
to them the technology is seen as an impediment rather than a facilitator,
and choice of operating systems (let alone the freedom of the software) is
seen as an imposition rather than an opportunity.
> I keep waiting for a discovery special about Linux, as it truly is the
> first time so many people have come togeather and said "enough" in
> this form. Linux is people gathering and saying very clearly they can
> do a better job.
May be, but don't underestimate the numbers of people who would answer
that assertion by "so what?", that what they have is good enough, and what
you offer won't solve *their* problems. And, more importantly, don't be
discouraged when you encounter them. They're not being hostile towards
open source, but the mindshare war between it and proprietary software is,
for many people outside IT, merely a curiosity at best.
Our real task is to make open source the mainstream technology used by IT;
the rest will naturally come around after that, even if they don't
know it :-).
- Evan
PS: I highly recommend the book "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" by
Alan Cooper, to any technology folk interested in understanding those who
are scared of or ambivalent about computer technology. I disagree with
many of its assertions, but this book is quite the eye-opener for people
wanting to know the POV of the technophobe. For anyone curious about this,
chapter one is online at http://www.cooper.com/books/cb_tiarta_chapter.htm
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