If we cannot rely on a lawyer to promote the difference between legality
and illegality, then g*d help us! ;-)
Christopher Sawtell wrote:
On Friday 10 February 2006 22:20, Nick Rout wrote:
On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:32:58 +1300
Christopher Sawtell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Friday 10 February 2006 16:39, Nick Rout wrote:
On Fri, 10 Feb 2006 16:17:23 +1300
Christopher Sawtell wrote:
On Friday 10 February 2006 15:40, Nick Rout wrote:
Back On topic, what is an application that has a real WOW factor
on a demo day? I am not sure that it is enough to say "Look at
linux, it will do the same things as your windows machine" -
people want a reason to go through the (greater or lesser)
degree of pain involved in switching.
If we are only prepared to run one demo day in alternate years or fewer,
then - apart from wasting our time - we do need something truly
spectacular. Like super-slick multi-user gaming graphics run from a
mini-cluster onto a pub-sized screen, perhaps. We might have to go for
non-licensed premises on such an occasion, however.
To me, mass production seems to offer the best potential for maximising
the number of eyes appreciating the best that *nix has to offer. That &
we've seen Installfests work, to a considerable extent, which we can
usefully expand upon. I realise that voluntary hobbyism may well be
incompatible with sufficient organisation, so private enterprise stands
as plan B.
I completely agree that the main advocacy issue is "people want a reason
to go through the (greater or lesser) degree of pain involved in
switching". This debate is about identifying the _central_ reason.
We geeks gain from having legal, quality free software to use. With our
assistance, so can everybody else. 'Pain' I would expand as 'sacrifice':
of time; short- & medium-term earning potential; driver-work delay or
absence (some device loss); 'Win-Kewl'(?); stress from ongoing
frustration; self-exclusion from the mainstream; etc. Transition will
require a Very Good Reason(tm), for most. Cost-free is but a reflection
of our shared values inside there, rather than the value itself. This is
what the materially-minded need to acknowledge.
Frequently a very beguiling reason is $0.
I remember some years ago I prepared a set of policy papers for a
small primary school using the LyX / LaTeX / TeX tool chain.
I was waylaid by female parent who had a small office cum
typesetting business. Upon her seeing the printouts, the
conversation continued in this vein:-
She: "OOh! that's nice work, what software did you use"?
Me: "The LyX front-end to LaTeX and TeX".
She: "Never heard of it, where did you get it? How much does it
cost"? Me: "It's a free download off the Internet, but you have to
know how to set it up".
She - with emotion: "I've just spent $12,000 on a supposedly top
notch typesetting system, and it doesn't produce anything as nice
as that. Me: "I'm so sorry."
She - now in fairly full flow emotionally: "These conputer
companies are just rip off artists. I've just been conned out of
twelve grand"!
Or words to that effect.
--
CS
But they do not need linux to run latex or lyx! Lyx is available for
windows.
On the other hand I am thinking there are so many people out there
who do not pay for software for windows either. If you know where to
look you can find about anything in the software line for nothing:
* tools to make serial numbers that convert 30 day trials or cripple
ware into fully functioning product.
* full iso's of expensive high end software.
In other words I am not so sure that price is necessarily a huge
factor for the average windows home user.
True. 'It just works' outweighs environmental sense, thus far. Advocacy
involves shifting base values, upon which choices get made. Society as a
whole stands to gain from FOSS, after every household. So the focus is
_family_ computer use, rather than just geeks's and/or business.
Possibly not for the 'average', whatever that means, home user of less
than stellar means.
What I meant was that people are so used to not paying for their
software that price is not so necessarily a difference point on its
own. I tell you, lots of people really do think there is not much wrong
with getting a serial number or complete CD from the internet. And with
reference to your comment below, these people are not my clients who
appear in the criminal courts. The average criminal court consumers are
too busy trying to keep food on the table and pay the rent to be
worried about having a computer. if they get their hands on a laptop it
will get sold for money for food or drugs. The people who cheat on
their software are the middle class, people who you and I meet
socially, in business or commune with over the internet. They are
almost conditioned - after all once you get past "what is the harm in
downloading an mp3 of the latest U2 release" its not far to "whats the
harm in getting a free password for photoshop". I constantly hear
people saying "have you got a copy of Office I can install on my new
computer?" - and they are not talking OOo.
Yes economy is a good reason to use linux, but I am not sure it is a
powerful differential for many users. Maybe I am just being cynical. It
certainly is a good "selling" point, but IMHO it has to be combined
with linux's other attributes to make a real difference to many people.
It's almost the last stage. Whats needed is a hook, which is the kewl
stuff. Once you have the hook in, you get down to the other advantages,
and the price is the final clincher.
</rave>
I fear your are correct.
Probably the opposite of 'kewl' is what has most to offer. Who needs to
be a freaked sheep wrapt around a lamp-post? So what if *nix gives you
trouble getting more and more (pix, wav, etc) data? - This is a
solution, rather than the (hard to perceive) problem. Less is More.
I suspect very many of them are
playing the piracy game. There may be many businesses in the same
league. Whether they will switch to linux just to legitimise
themselves is unclear to me.
Conscience can achieve a lot, once activated. There are no regrets, nor
turning back. 'Channel The Force, Luke.'
Seeing as NZ has one of lowest rates of piracy in the world, and if
you remember we had quite a few business people turn up to Ian's OOo
talk, I think honesty has quite a decent following in the NZ business
world. Certainly that's my impression of the place. wadr & imho, you
have been overexposed, by reason of your profession, to that certain
echelon of society which has unfortunately altered your perception of
mankind. We're not all thieves and vagabonds you know. Also the risk
of being 'potted' is quite high. One only has to have one slightly
disgruntled employee who is delighted to get the BSA's reward, and
then one has the BSA and the Police hammering at the door ready to
haul you off to be a new client for you. Probably not too good a look
on your reputation.
Motivation for legitimacy grows stronger all the time - it has been
easiest for most just to buy XP (hardware). But Vista? This is where
Free/Open should come into its own - comp.resource salvage, and free +
legal + quick patches - a unique combination.
How does the average employee know whether the new version of Office
that got loaded over the weekend is legit or not?
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/en/default.mspx
My understanding is that they use the registered name in conjunction with
the MAC address of the network card.
Rememeber the average
office computer user still thinks the backspace is just a more
convenient twink.
Sad, but true. The level of training needed to get a Cert. is pretty
abysmal.
This is precisely why 'Big FOSS Training' is needed. But technical
quality is only one of the important values it teaches. In this day &
age, civic responsibility is the growing void in market society.
--
Richard Tindall, InfoHelp Services <http://www.infohelp.co.nz> on:
Ubuntu GNU/Linux 5.10 free OS, 2.6.12-9-686 kernel, GNOME 2.12.1 desktop
OpenOffice.org 1.9.129 suite, Mozilla 1.7.12 browser + Firefox 1.0.7
Thunderbird 1.0.7 email, Gedit 2.12.1 web editor, gFTP 2.0.18 filexfer
