You Don't Make Mistakes Like This.

Many warm thanks to Mark Van Kingsley for spotting. scanning and sending the ad to me. Mark is a good friend of Helios Project and one of the most determined Linux Advocates I have the privilege to work with.

It wasn't but just a few days ago that I laid into IBM for not only saying something that should make every Linux User wonder...but for saying something so outrageous that it was hard to believe they said it at all.

Some of you took immense umbrage at the article. Some lamented that IBM "is our friend" and that "we owe much" to IBM...

If IBM wasn't making billions from Linux they'd drop us like we were radioactive.

I'd put a few bucks into a sweet deal like that too if I were IBM.

Or HP...

Or Dell.

Yeah...Dell.

There were some of you that actually got angry with me for "kicking the giant". Well, many of you who reacted that way may want to start making your way to the antacid aisle of your local grocery now.

One or two of you might just want to consider getting a prescription for Valium.

One or two of you.

Dell screwed up. No wait...they didn't screw anything up. They fully intended to do what they did. Now tell me they are not under the thumb of Microsoft. Why was this statement necessary? Let the customer decide. So tell me Dell is a friend of Linux or that they are not complete quislings for the Redmond Empire. Oh please...I do so want to hear you tell me this. It will be an Academy Award performance. It will have to be to explain away this.



So, a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Click it...read it in all its glory. The gunshot wound is at the top right hand corner of the picture. Sorry for the large size...But that was done for a reason. Show me on the ad anywhere it physically mentions Linux.

Allow me the ever-so-seldom crude observation:

Linux Community...

You've just been bitch-slapped.

I'm not going to say anything more because it's obvious what it would be. Just look, learn and digest it. If you can't see the betrayal after thirty seconds of looking at this ad, you probably don't have any interest in reading further. Is there a problem with showing the desktop? What's with the disposable coffee cup...Why not a ceramic Dell cup? Subliminal message that this is a throw away system maybe? Maybe the visuals on a Linux System are something you don't want your Windows Users to see? Yes, I fully realize the reasons they portrayed things the way they did. It's called display marketing...front, back, sides, top, bottom...I get it. Still the main point remains just as stark and glaring.

"Yeah we sell Linux...but Windows is what you should use."

That is the message of this ad.

The "evidence" is building folks...how much more do some of you need? This is beyond a subtle faux pas. The Linux Corporate has absolutely no loyalty nor does it possess a shred of concern for the proliferation of Linux on the Desktop. Their "development contributions" serve their mission for the large part...and some of you think they expend their development resources for the betterment of "The Community".

Yeah...and I'm currently dating the Tooth Fairy.

Someone wanna fire off an email or maybe a phone call? We did...several of each. No one has yet to return any of them. We'll publish it the second they do.

Trust me.

All Righty Then

Linux Reaches Out To Portland - Lindependence 2008

"Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present. "
Roger Babson

On a brilliantly cool Saturday, geeks from here and there converged on TouchStone Technology to take part in the second event of Lindependence 2008.

To quote one of them speaking on a cell phone as people started coming through the door...

"Dude, you should be here."

Indeed, "Dude" should have.

The morning brought the most impressive numbers. Within the first three hours, an estimated 40-60 people wandered between two rooms that had been set up with computer stations and laptops...bearing the Linux Payloads.

To say it was fun is an understatement, to say it was a success is relative to one's expectations. While the first three hours gave us cramped conditions and over-worked volunteers, the rest of the day saw an ebb and flow of folks coming in to see and use Linux. A success? Yeah, I think so. It could have been better but we'll talk about that later. What we had is what we had... What I do want to talk to you about are the people that made this thing work.

from l-r, t-b, Dave, Helios, Larry, Chris, Tyler, Terry and Randy. And oh, why isn't helios smiling...? Cafiero is standing on his foot.


And work it did, as you will see. While we didn't bring in hundreds, the ones we brought in either left as converts or at least with a handful of disks and a goal of using them in a more "stable" environment.

It did get a bit crazy from time to time.

Dave Kaplan and Tyler Bearden were the sparkplugs for Lindependence Portland and they did a fantastic job. Dave is simply a Linux User who saw the potential for such an event and acted on it, Tyler Bearden is the Sales and Marketing Guy for TouchStone Technology...they hosted this event and a more gracious and giving bunch I have yet to meet.
Mandriva was also a popular distro and ohh'd and ahh'd over often...note to the Driva folks...we could use some up to date disks.


Randy and Terry Voshell are the owners of TouchStone Technology. Randy is probably one of the most knowlegable "Linux Guys" I've ever met. He had more knowledge of Linux in his sinus cavity than I will ever accumulate in my entire head...

And I wear a size 8 hat.

To look at them outside of their profession and work environment, you would never think they run a "Linux Shop". TouchStone Technology works almost exclusively with Novell and they sell and service "All Things Linux". Every able member of the family rides a Harley and Terry was the first to notice that my coat was a Harley-Davidson jacket. In fact, she arrived at work that Saturday Morning decked out in her Harley-Wear and carrying a Harley helmet.

Ty Bearden answering questions about Linux...he was a tad busy most of the day doing just that.

I knew I was in good company right then.

We'll talk more about TouchStone Technology in a later "Spotlight" feature. The story of this family and what they do, and more intrestingly, how they came to do it, is fascinating.

So...what happened. Initially we were swamped. People came through the door and converged on the rooms. In fact, it took most of the volunteers by surprise. Quickly adjusting, we were able to answer the many questions thrown at us and gladly demonstrated, and in many cases installed Linux on the spot.

There are lessons for us to learn however.

Ron White, one of my favorite stand-up comedians, tells the story of his newly landscaped home and two trees that had been planted in front of his house.

They were obviously dead.

Having paid a large amount of money to the landscaper, he called him and asked him to come out and look. Once there, Ron showed him the trees and asked him to please replace them. With that, the landscaper approached one of the trees, scraped the bark off of one of them and tasted it, then walked back up to Ron and said..."

This is a vibrant tree at its core, it's fine."

White looked at both bare plants and said to the landscaper...

"Hey pal, let me tell you what I'm looking for in a friggin' tree."

That's what we need to do. We need to listen to what people are looking for in a friggin' computer.

We are all eager to demonstrate the agility, speed and beauty of Linux. We know it's superior...and we want them to know that as well. However, we need to come from the angle of the frustrated computer user. The cool demonstrations can come in course. What people want to know when they come to us is simple. Will Linux meet my needs? What applications are available for me to use in the place of Windows apps. How long will it take me to acclimate to Linux?

Dave Kaplan demonstrating the Mini-Me distro...cha-ching...sale made.

Oh and as an aside...not only did we interest many in Linux...we actually created a new Python Scripter. You think I'm kidding. Take a look at Loie Atkinson. Kevin Clement is actually setting her up with her gedit environment and giving her the first "assignment" in coding. She sat there for three hours with him. It is amazing. It's also not the norm, obviously.

Kevin Clement actually teaching Loie Adkinson how to script in Python. A Three Hour session.

We tend to overwhelm some folks with spinning cubes and fancy effects when they really want to know if the .odt document they send someone can be read by a .doc user. They want to know about email and virus control...Firefox vs IE exploder...what about outlook calendering...

So yeah, we sent many people away with the sole mission of going home and putting Linux on their machines. Dave Kaplan

Mepis was a hit largely due to its much improved graphix.

received an email on Sunday morning and I now have permission to share this with you.

This is why we do what we do.

Hi David

Many thanks for your time and kindness you gave me today.

Because of my limited LINUX knowledge I was a bit apprehensive getting into LINUX, but today, thanks to you, I managed to break thru the fear barrier and actually installed the Mint disk you gave me today

It's all up and running, printer and all, so I'm now having fun learning to drive the thing.

Once again "Thanks Alot"

Kindess Regards

Sandy

So a success? Yeah, I'd call it that. We can do better and we will. Next stop? Sometime after the holidays in a little place called Taos New Mexico. First though, look for some upcoming articles and Spotlight blogs on TouchStone Technology, Loye Young of Issac and Young Computer company and of course...one of the people you might least expect to become a Python Scriptor.

All-Righty Then...

37 Degrees!

I don't do cold well, and some of you will laugh because you think 37 degrees is a gentle spring day.

None the less, that's the current temperature in Portland Oregon and I am crawling my narrow backside onto a long tube with lots of people on it and we all seem to be wanting to go to Portland Oregon for one reason or another. Mine?

Lindependence Portland.

My thanks to those who helped me get there and if you live in Eastern Oregon, just remember...we might have the coast, but you have the 7 Sisters.

Inside joke, sorry...

Will publish pictures and reports the evening of the event and will do a full story upon my return Tuesday. Tom King will be doing a full analysis of the event for Linux.com so all in all it will be covered.

The next one? Taos New Mexico I believe...or is it Toas....

All Righty Then

37 Degrees!

Thank You Isn't Enough

Waiting for some things to cook in konsole, I spent some time hitting the "stumble" button on my firefox stumbleupon toolbar. I only have a few preferences checkmarked and one of them is Unix/Linux. I stumbled upon something I want to share with you. It came off of a newsgroup and it was published just a couple months ago. I think it is worth sharing...there is a point that follows in the next day or two, so I thought this was a good precursor.

This post is for all of you out there
who have developed or contributed to Linux/Ubuntu projects and all of the open
source coders who read this.I do not know where to send a post like this so I hope this one email will find its way in the sea of posts out there.



I thank you to the point of tears.

Earlier this week I installed Kubuntu
on a refurbished AMD computer I purchased for $184 from a discount
online vendor, it came with no OS. It now runs like a champ.

We cant afford much and this was my 14
year old daughter's birthday present this past week. She is
overjoyed. And she is already trying to tackle Adept Manager and
exploring Linux; adding bling and her music, of course.

I cant tell you how much I appreciate
the work you all have done. Its a work of art. If I could thank each and every one of
you I would.


You have given her the world to learn and explore.

So if you get frustrated or tired in
your work for Open Source/Free Software, just remember that somewhere in Missouri
there is a 14 year-old girl named Hope, an A-student who runs on the track team,
who is now your biggest fan and one of the newest users of
Linux/Ubuntu.

Thanks most sincerely,

R.B.A.

Missouri

You have the thanks of  us at HeliOS Project as well...and from those
who have benefited from our labours.  From helios, Tom King, Larry
Cafiero, Richie, Ryan Gene and Wanda Lake, Ken Jennings, Mark Van**
and everyone else who has made our efforts fruitful.


Thank you.


All-Righty Then

Leave It To The Little Guys...

I had the pleasure of meeting many of the "giants" of Linux not too long ago. I dined and absorbed potables with people who have shaped and changed the Linux Experience for over a decade. It took a full day in that environment to get over being star-struck.

The Second Annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit.....those were the giants of Linux I met...many of them anyway.

And the "Little Guy?"

When I speak of "Little guys", I'm talking about the people that go out every day to make a living AND a difference in what we do.

The two are not mutually exclusive...some would have you believe they are.

I'm talking about people who are not corporate giants...like the ones who dotted the panels during the summit. The giants I measure the rest of us against are IBM, HP, Dell...the movers and shakers in corporate Linux. The 1000 dollar suits many of us stand in awe of and strive to match in stature and wealth.

The Little Guy I speak of are those of us who are not those people. And yes, I am struggling to keep from a single reference of David and Goliath here...wish me luck.

One of the Panel Suits told me as I stood in front of 400 people, that they don't take an interest in advertising Linux because...

We offer solutions, not systems.

Now, to those of you who operate under the assumption that Corporate Linux has any viable interest in the Linux Desktop, I am about to cause you great amounts of disappointment and angst. You in particular need to pay attention to what is said from this point and absorb it to the best of your ability. Your life may need to take a new direction if yours hinges on the Linux Corporate working with the Linux Community At Large. Again...


We offer solutions, not systems.

The person who told me that was Dan Frye, VP in charge of the Linux Technology Center for IBM.

OK...solutions, not systems...right?

And what is your relationship with Levono? You know, the computer manufacturer that was part of IBM then wasn't then partnered with them...and then broke away? You may be "legally" separated from them but not by much. Yeah maybe IBM does "offer systems, not solutions".

But you are sleeping with someone who whores for Microsoft like she has no choice.





If it makes you feel any better, I can post graphics for about every major computer manufacturer in the market and show the same thing. I simply don't because they had sense enough not to make such egregious statements.

You sat in that chair and told me in front of 400 people that IBM wasn't particularly interested in Linux as a "product"...Linux is only a "component".

Well that "component" has lined your pockets in gold. You've benefited from the work of thousands of developers over a decade on order for you to use that "component". More importantly, The Linux Desktop stands as a digital salvation for those who don't know they have a viable choice in the way they operate their computers. Somehow I get the impression that those people don't rate your attention or concern.

They don't buy Big Iron. And that's what it all boils down to for you isn't it? Big iron.

So yeah, ok...I get it. You make money with Linux, you expand your product line with Linux and sure, you even pay for some development of Linux...thanks.

Now tell me who ultimately benefits from you doing so....developing this "component".

So in reality you aren't "giving" us anything. It's actually a gift of of convenience. And yeah, I understand business...but there comes a time in every prosperous enterprise that you acknowledge those that helped you get there. I don't think it's in you to do so.

You can't advertise Linux because Microsoft has threatened you with exorbitant licensing fees and other sanctions if you do. That would be my guess. In fact, If I were to guess further, I would hazard a guess that those top-secret vendor agreements Microsoft demanded you sign actually states that you cannot actively advertise or promote Linux. I could be wrong...but if I am I'm not far off.

And if I have my way, there will come a day I will lay hands on one of those vendor agreements. On that day or shortly after, we're all going to meet right here and have a good long look at it...then we'll know. Again, I could be way wrong.

But in this case, I'd rather be wrong than gullible.

I want the readers of this article to watch the clip in the link coming up soon. I am going to ask you to pay particular attention to their body language and the way they choose to answer the questions asked them. I attended this summit just for the chance to do this...and as you watch, notice the reaction of the people around me. Focus too, on the single woman on the panel. Her name is Christy Wyatt and she is the VP of Software Platforms at Motorola. Credentials man, Credentials...those alone would disqualify her from the ignorance she displays in her response.

Listen to what she has to say. It seems that Ms. Wyatt is perfectly happy to allow Linux to work in complete obscurity on some nameless set top box. A nameless technology on a nameless set top box? She's perfectly happy with that. Again, watch some of the people around me... They want to know the answers to these questions too. I won't use the word condescending...that is until I find one that fits their responses better.

It seems they found the question amusing.

This is Corporate Linux looking out after the open source community...at their best.


What I find most troubling is that Jim Zemlin, the head honcho at The Linux Foundation stood in front of Tom King and myself at that event and fairly well echoed the same thing. That is disturbing beyond my ability to simply put it aside.

So listen Big Guys...you Giants of Techno-Industry...relax, the pressure's off now. While you set at your conferences and feed us platitudes and excuses, someone has gotten tired of waiting on you and done it himself.

The Little Guy. He's made an ad...the first of many.

Along with the well-known names at that summit, I met people with names you haven't heard and probably never will.

The one's that make a difference, not necessarily a profit.

Here's hoping a ocean liner full of profits to one person in particular.

Loye Young.

I attended a few meetings and seminars with Loye but I got to know what he was all about on the last night of the event. The Linux Foundation, say what you will about them, knows how to treat their guests. It was an upscale Austin-type bistro with Southwestern food and a bar that would rival anywhere in the world. The food was exceptionally good, especially so because I didn't have to pay for it.

It was during that last dinner that I got to know Loye Young...and what he was doing.

Down at the very southern tip of Texas...and I mean if you go any farther south you are in Mexico...down Larado way, Loye Young and his partner wanted to build a computer manufacturing company. But not any computers were they to build. These were to be hi-spec Linux machines. Loye explained his reasoning simply.

"Software's free, and that's the way we think it ought to be."

Loye Young is a breed of Texan I've both grown to admire and trust. When you look him in the eye and he tells you something...then you can take it to that bank that it's going to happen. His firm gaze and handshake assure you immediately that you are doing business with someone who rather lose his money than take yours by other than honest means.

Linux means a lot to Loye Young...

So does the Truth.

Linux isn't a "component" of his effort, it's the backbone.

So much so that he started a computer company devoted to manufacturing just a few excellent Linux machines. Last week, Issac & Young Computer Company released their first product...and it's a beauty. The President of Issac and Young Computer Company is as comfortable working in his own production facility as he is in his office. In fact, Loye went out of his way to prove a point. Not only is he proud to offer Linux products...

He isn't afraid of Microsoft And here's his ad to prove it.

And via his message, you can spread this ad far and wide...even to the gates of Castle Redmond.

And then maybe to IBM, HP and Dell.

The Little Guy might be able to teach you a thing or two about Linux.

Alrighty Then...

Portland Oregon Hosts Lindependence Event

To the surprise of many, Lindependence 2008 did not end in Felton California. What many thought to be a publicity stunt has proven to be exactly what the founders planned for it to be...a template. So where do we go from here?

Portland Oregon.

While the initial founders of Lindependence could have looked back on Felton with rested satisfaction, neither of them decided that was what they wanted to do. When David Kaplan and Tyler Bearden approached Larry Cafiero about conducting the event in Portland, Larry and Ken were more than glad to help. With a bit of guidance from the founders, David and Tyler have worked hard to bring this next event into reality.

Now this event has a bit of a twist. Tyler Bearden works for TouchStone Technology. They are a Novell shop so they have an obvious and vested interest in the proliferation of Linux. Open Suse will have a dominant presence there. Again, if the people from different distros don't step in, then they won't be represented, manpower or the lack thereof just won't allow it.

TouchStone Technology has agreed to physically host the Portand project. When asked about why he got involved, Tyler was up front with us.

"I believe that Linux is finally to the point where you can easily pick it up with out too much of an issue, I also believe that when you stop supporting the technology giants it forces them to take a step back and think 'what can i do to my product to make it worth the money that consumers spend on it' in other words why spend $200 when you can get it for free?"

Free indeed. That was one of the real surprises to us in Felton. Mainstream coverage of DRM and Trusted Computing has gotten the attention of the "common user". People are tired of having their music and data restricted and to be honest, "licensing" of these items is no more a hindrance to many than an invisible fence. However, given the chance, people generally will keep themselves honest if they feel they haven't been cheated in the first place. It boils down to one simple thing.

If they feel they've been screwed, they have no qualms about using the data or music to suit their desires...licenses be damned.

Prior to The Portland event, I made over 150 random phone calls using the Portland Oregon directory and took a sort of survey/opinion poll. This is no where in the ballpark of scientific so don't read into it what isn't there. After I qualified them as computer users, I wanted to know a few things.

Identifying myself as a computer user's advocate, I asked them four questions.

1. " What do you find most annoying or troublesome in your computing experience?"

2. "If you could change one thing about the way your computer worked, what would it be?"

3. "Have you ever been attacked by a virus or trojan at home or at work?"

4. "If there were a system available to you free of cost that wasn't prone to viruses and
trojans, would you use it?"

Out of a total of 166 phone calls made, 137 of them identified themselves as computer users either at home or at work. This is what surprised me most.

Out of that 137 computer users, 119 of them reported to have been attacked by a virus or trojan. Out of that same number, 93 of them stated that they would indeed switch to another system that was not vulnerable to viruses OR that needed antivirus software.

And the first question...? " What do you find most annoying or troublesome in your computing experience?"

The fact that they have to constantly update their systems and pay for their antivirus protection. 71 people out of 137 said that they found this to be the most annoying thing in their computing experience. The second most reported complaint was that of slow or crashing computers.

So...for those that think marketing of Linux is a wasted effort, let's take a look at the people reporting these things...and if you think my numbers suspect, then do your own survey. They simply told me things I, and most of us already knew. People are ripe for change...they simply need to know they have a choice.

So Lindependence marches north to Portland. You can already see it's affects in parts of Europe where they had their own style of a Lindependence event.
This is just one shot of the project in Italy.

There are other Lindependence events being planned as we speak. New Mexico, California, Colorado, New Jersey and Florida are just a few of them that are in the inital planning stages. If you want to find out more or see how you can get involved, visit http://www.lindependence.net.

And as for marketing? Watch this space in the next 48 hours. We will publish a special article on one guy who spent the money to advertise Linux.

It is beginning to happen folks...stay tuned.

All-Righty Then...

Well, this is a little awkward...

Always a touchy subject but it's one I need to talk to you about...

I want to go to Portland to both cover the Lindependence event and fill a chair as an assistant in getting these systems installed on new users computers. Portland promises to bring in a bunch of new users...

I just can't get there on my own this time and I need some help.

Now I cannot mix any funding with heliOS Project monies so Larry Cafiero is taking care of this for me. You can go to Lindependence.net and on the bottom quarter of the front page is a donate link. If you would be so kind as to help me raise my airfare to Portland, I would be more than appriciative.

Thanks for giving me a hand.

Austin meeting reveals keys to Linux marketing success

I looked around the room and two things struck me immediately.

I was the starting pitcher in a league five levels above mine.

They were here because I had asked them to be.

Being overwhelmed with humility and panic isn't the best position in which to chair a meeting.

The people assembled in that room were there because I had posed a question. How does a person wishing to market a relatively unknown product defeat the market "branding" currently in place?

I was there to find out how best to not only market Linux, but how to defeat the consumer fear of change. I've been in this game for 4 years now and I've seen the impact Linux can have on the everyday computer user. I've also seen the power that Microsoft Windows holds over those who use it. This is a formidable task and I knew a while back that I was going to need help.

These are the people who came to our aid.

Dr. Daniel Robinson, Associate Professor of Learning, Cognition and Instruction at the University of Texas/Austin. His particular field of interest is how his science intertwines with computer use. He was the perfect person to head this query. Dr. Robinson is the person who orchestrated this meeting and did the "arm twisting" in order to get the other Doctors and Professors to attend. Actually, there was no arm twisting involved. They all have a huge interest in what we are doing AND an interest in seeing Linux proliferate on the desktop.

Of particular note was the presence of Dr. Paul Resta. Dr. Resta "serves as Director of the Learning Technology Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He teaches advanced graduate courses in instructional technology, including technology planning and management and computer-supported collaborative learning. His current work focuses on web-based learning environments, computer-supported collaborative learning, and planning and policy issues in the use of information and communication technologies in teacher education."

His presence especially humbled me. His knowledge and stature in his field will be invaluable to our efforts.

Others in attendance and only linked in order to facilitate the reader were Dr. Karen French, Dr. Joan Hughes and Ken Tothero.

So what came out of this magnificent braintrust? Some things I think we all know and some things that personally, I've never thought of. Of course...that's what I went after...the stuff we don't know. Here are the highlights from the meeting, paraphrased of course. You REALLY want my verbatim notes? That's funny...

*Let people know they have a superior and legal choice in how they operate their computers.

OK, that sounds over-simplistic and even a little silly on it's face, but let me tell you what happened to me a bit over a year ago. After an initial meeting with a School District Administrator, a PhD he was, I was told on my second visit...the one where I thought we would begin the Linux Migration...that they would not be using Linux. Why? His senior systems administrator told him it was illegal.

Yep...a senior systems administrator, a MCSE oh by the way, told his boss that it was illegal to take Windows off the computers and put Linux on the desktops. When I physically showed the good Doctor that he indeed WAS running Linux (debian thank you) as his server base, he was unimpressed and still not convinced. That is why people need to know this...that it is not only superior, it is perfectly legal. A system admin in fear of losing his job is indeed a powerful foe. *People are being on one level or another, cheated when they use Windows. Now this has to be delicately put of course but the fact remains constant. When you have to purchase/use one or two other products in order for the initial purchased product to work...and you wern't told so, then that is certainly a less than honest sale. We are of course talking about the need to purchase/use antivirus software in conjunction with MS Windows. What makes this even more incidious is the fact that Microsoft has turned Windows into a Bazzar of sorts for about every antivirus product known to mankind.

The popups that frighten people into purchasing the AV products as the 90 day trial expires is not only brutal salesmanship, it is dishonest. Even discounting the fact that dozens of hours a year must be devoted to the upkeep of this software, they are not telling the customer that a free product doing the same thing is available.

For that reason alone, I dispise Microsoft.

*The Linux user will never again have to worry about windows viruses.

I want to personally thank Dan of Sassifrassin.com for pointing this out so well.

The argument that Linux is only secure because it is fairly unknown is easily defeated but still a powerful argument to those who don't have a friggin' clue as to what they are talking about. Even a fairly well known blogger, a user of Linux has used this statement in the past. She should know better. If she doesn't, she really doesn't have any business writing a Linux blog.

Linux is secure via it's file system. Even if you are silly enough to execute a script sent to you that hoses your system, that is where it ends. It doesn't (and probably can't) seek out your emal address book and send itself to every one in there. I have over 2000 entries in my "A list" address book and to have them infected would be a disaster. Linux cannot and will not ever come close to being the security nightmare that is Windows. Here's the easy way. Just point them to this.

*There are no draconion restrictions on using Linux.

This probably is one of the worst-articulated points made concerning Linux. With all respect to my colleagues,... shouting "free as in freedom" from the rooftops means absolutely nothing to the everyday user of a computer. Most don't give a flip. Some do but not many. They don't want to "get down with our cause". They don't give a frigg about our philosophies or enter into the Linus vs Stallman arguments.

They want a computer that works without having to do a bunch of crap and maintenance.

Of course, as my associate and friend Derrick Devine states, that is the problem with computing today. Too any people approach using a computer the same way they approach using a microwave oven or an alarm clock...as an appliance. This is where a bit of education is in order. Computers DO require a bit of maintenance. They require some working knowledge of their hardware AND software systems...not much, but some. Is a blue screen of death the end? Can you say "Return to last known good configuration? Do you know how to get to the last known good configuration and how to make it the default working configuration?

I honestly know a person that has paid in excess of 400.00 to "fix" their computer...and all the tech had to do was f8 into that command structure then defrag the drives. Unlike Carla Schroder's server, the Linux Desktop requires, oh, I don't know...call me silly...maybe a click on the "update software" icon from time to time maybe? Ya think?

We have our work cut out for us on this level...but you know what? We're good at what we do, you and I. I think we can "get 'er done." The good Dr's in attendence liked my figures. Only one out of 6 computer users will be serious canidates for Linux, but man...that is a bunch of new Linux users.

*Push...don't pull

This pleased me just shy of table-strutting, chest thumping celebration. All in attendance believed that something I've preached for years is necessary.

YouTube alone isn't doing us much good.

Putting a video on YouTube about Ubuntu's cool cube is great. There is no doubt that some of those better-done videos have caused people to give Linux a try...but it's pull marketing. People "pull" the data to them.

We need to "push" Linux.

People stuck in traffic need to hear Linux commercials. Stay-at-home moms who spnd 5 hours a day listening to talk radio need to learn about Linux...the teenager lurking by the radio waiting for the song she just requested needs to hear about Linux.

Folks, good marketing works. It is a Trillion dollar a year industry. You can't just shrug that off...

And some of you have tried to do just that.

I can't let that happen. We can't let that happen. Just because a few people are not motivated or deathly afraid they'll be asked to contribute to the effort on one level or another, doesn't mean the ones of us that believe in this should just go along to get along.

The laws of physics can get ugly...stationary obstacles in the path of high-velocity projects stand to lose the impact contest.

So...what do you think? What are your ideas? Did you know that we have an official "voice of Linux"?

Give Greg a listen. Chances are, you are going to be hearing him again.

Now...idea session is open. Let 'er rip.

All-Righty Then...