[Sussex] Will Debian survive the rise of Linux?

[Geoff Teale]

John Wrote:
-----------
<snip>
> Still, an interesting article though. Just a shame that one or more of the
> big commercial supporters of Linux can't sponsor some "proper" marketing.
> 
> Generate some interest outside "specific interest groups" like us, and at
> the same time to "gee up" some of the slower hardware/software producers to
> do/make stuff just a little more "Linux friendly".
<snip>

John.. 

I seem to have spent the last five years addressing this same issues -
most people just don't get that software can exist without the average
man on the street ever having heard of it.  TO the average non-IT person
on the street names like Oracle, SAP, Software AG, Hummingbird and TF
Europe mean nothing - yet each is a leading vendor in its software
sector.   Chances are all of them will have heard of Apple, Electronic
Arts and Microsoft.

A lot of people would take this as an indication that Apple and
Microsoft are more important players in computing than SAP or
Hummingbird - well, it may well be true for Microsoft, but the "man on
the street" is deluding himself - I've got a shock for him.  Almost
every company I've worked for ran it's accounting software on whatever
OS the accounting software they liked the best ran on.  Be that IBM
OS/400, SCO UNIX or whatever.  The reason the average man on the street
knows the names "Apple" and "Microsoft" is because they advertise to him
because he/she is one of their target markets.  

Here's some examples of things you miss when you just watch the ads:

Daewoo:
They make cars right?  Oh yeah, and TVs and fridges.  Did you know they
also make super-tankers and commercial rockets?

SAAB:
They make cars... and most people know they also make commercial and
military jets, and Scandia trucks. ... but did you know they are also a
world leading specialist in the design and manufacture of tensile steel
substructures for suspension bridges and skyscrapers?

Hitachi...
TV's, fridges, microwaves, ....forklifts, cranes

.. and these are just the ones I know about.