<cut like coleslaw>

On Sun, 3 Mar 2002, MJ Ray wrote:

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1. Some of the benefits of free software (e.g. customisiing it) only accrue to those who have the skill to work on it, or have the resources to hire someone who does have the necessary skill.

There's another part to this benefit: the freedom to study it and gain that skill required to modify it. Like a recipe book, free software allows you to try things out and modify the recipes. I suspect a lot of us have gained from this freedom in the past.

Another benefit is that other people can work on the software on your behalf. If you really want it, you can pay them to do it, without risking lock-in. So developers are forced to produce good quality code or lose the contract.

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2. Other benefits (cheap copies and free redistribution) are more valuable to the honest. What can we offer someone who says "That's all very well but I can get a copy of Win2KPro from my mate". The answer, of course, is a clear conscience.

For companies, it's rather easier. No-one company can afford to act illegally. No-one wants a visit from the "Business Software Alliance" with a hefty fine for copyright licence breaches. There are two alternatives: you spend a lot of money on licence purchase and licence enforcement (the hidden cost of proprietary software); or you embrace Free Software. Yes, there are some conversion costs today, but then it's cheaper forever. Really, it's a no-brainer.

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the list of applications to demo is definitely a way to go.

Yes, this is how to win the home users and the individuals who have the freedom to choose what they use. They are the people who we need to target with an event, I think. We should still have literature for the other viewpoints (eg business, public bodies) available, but let's pick an audience and target it.

I know the standard market for Linux promotion by LUGs is home users, because we're home users and everyone, at heart, thinks other people should be how they are. However, doesn't it seem a little funny that when the case for business is a 'no-brainer', and home market (MS' traditional stronghold) is a long hard slog, we should try for the home market?

A really solid case can be built, based on hard cash (licenses, downtime, $1/sec support, forced upgrade, indelible faults etc), for why every business that uses computers should use Linux. I would say that the number #1, maybe only, substantial reason companies won't switch is training. Well, there's fear of the unknown, but just say 'IBM does Linux. Who got fired for buying IBM?'.

So what I'd really like to see is a business-targeted campaign, giving realistic TCO (total cost of ownership) comparisons for Linux v. MS, and promoting some of the brave companies selling support and training for Linux. While LUG support can be great, and a lot of companies would be overjoyed to get free support, many of them would probably also like at least the option of formal support.

Categorisation is a risky business, but I'd say the OS market largely divides into gamers, the clueless, employees, employers and developers. Significant work has to happen before Linux has a hope of reaching gamers, and truly clueless home users (the ones who can't figure out which is the 'Refresh' button on a browser, and move windows by resizing) ought to use Mac OS X not normal Linux. Similarly, people with a PC at home only because they need it for work won't switch unless their employer does ('Please add your name to the attached Word file' ring any bells?).

Finally, while developers are ripe for conversion with many potential benefits, they're either converted already, converting by themselves, or fall into another category (notably workers). The critical point are the employers, who will convert if we show them the money. Every converted employer leads a host of employees into the light.

Let's see business demos and business promotion. Really, it's a no-brainer.

Alexis -- When you die, you lose a very important part of your life. -- Brooke Shields For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. - H L Mencken "The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where is the man who has forgotten words?" - Chuang-Tzu