Adam Moore wrote:
We had about 600 teachers stop by our booth most of them have
never heard of OpenOffice and were very skeptical of the fact that
OpenOffice was free. After we explained to them how the project
worked they were very receptive to the idea.
This is the point I made about a year ago and kinda got pooh-poohed on.
Nevertheless, I think it's a big deal. It's a two-pronged problem.
First, Joe and Jane Sixpack are so reluctant to leave Microsoft, which
they know, that they look at anything else with a jaundiced eye. (Better
the devil you know and all that.) Second, there are so many scams and
"limited" software packages that promote themselves as "free" that any
software package without a $100 or higher price tag gets a deep level of
skepticism. And, of course, there's the old adage that "you get what you
pay for."
That's why I really think we need to push the compatibility, stability,
the fact that it has been adopted by entire governments, and the fact
that it can save them substantial money while actually AVOIDING the word
"free". I've been doing a lot of promotion of OOo with some of my
clients, at school, and with business people I know, and the first
comment I get is always "I've always used Windows" (literally, they
don't understand the difference between the OS and the word processor),
the second is "I don't want to take the time to learn something new,"
and the third is (almost) always "I have to send my files to people and
I have to use Microsoft format." If those are the end users, talking
about something as obscure (to them) as open standards is like lecturing
on string theory.
Don't know that I have a real point here except that this is a great
illustration of the problem. My solution lately has been to give it to
clients when they start talking about buying a computer for their kids.
They seem more than happy to put something they're skeptical about on
the kiddie computer because (I think) they assume the kids will crash
the whole thing anyway. The hope is that when the kids get used to it,
they'll convert the parents.
--
Steven Shelton
Twilight Media & Design
www.TwilightMD.com
www.GLOAMING.us
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