[Sussex] "I'd rather break the law than use open source..."

[Thomas Adam]

 --- Matthew Macdonald-Wallace <matthew at truthisfreedom.org.uk> wrote: 

> Surely if we can see this as an opportunity to spread the use of open
> source, then we can suggest that they use open office, then once they
> trust that, Mozilla, then once they trust that, something like Mandrake
> or lindows.

You have a problem here. Change, and the fear it brings. Trying to ram
Open Source things down people's necks is not going to help the cause
either. If people are to embrace alternatives then they have to be made
aware of them, but more importantly they must *want* to change to it. This
is perhaps where Knoppix and its kindred come into play in showing a (new)
user potentially what Linux can do (and hence, the use of free software).
 
> I often hear "I don't like windows, but there's no alternative". OK, MS
> have a huge marketing budget, however we have word of mouth, the most
> effective advertising tool.
> 
> Anyone else found a way of addressing this issue?

I believe possibly you're looking at it from a brute-force approach. Why
is it that there is so much piracy? It's because people don't want to pay
for the software, and they feel comfortable with what they already have. I
could go on and on, but this polemic and my views are scattered throughout
several different mailing-lists and on-line magazines.

-- Thomas Adam

=====
"The Linux Weekend Mechanic" -- http://linuxgazette.net
"TAG Editor"                 -- http://linuxgazette.net

"<shrug> We'll just save up your sins, Thomas, and punish 
you for all of them at once when you get better. The 
experience will probably kill you. :)"

 -- Benjamin A. Okopnik (Linux Gazette Technical Editor)


	
	
		
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