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Re: Linux Popularity



Berry,


I think you missed some points. Let me comment:

> 1. Put ALL Linux commercial applications on a single web site for sale. Tell
> the software developers to "bite the bullet" for a couple of years and sell
> the software at wholesale prices.

The _huge_ majority of linux apps is composed of _free_ software (GPL,
QPL,
BSDL, AL, or something like), then the number of commercial solutions is
(till now) not too representative.
The free software is equally rebiable (even better) as paid software
counterparts
in Windows world. There is no need to pay.

> 2. Use this web site as a CENTRAL LOCATION for ALL the Linux community out
> there. We would all like to be able to find applications for such a great
> operating system, but FINDING them is quite difficult.

Don't you know www.freshmeat.net, www.linuxapps.com, www.linuxberg.com?
They link to paid softare _too_.

> 3. Make sure the developers and customers around the country know about this
> web site. Market-market-market. Include shareware and freeware on it too.
> (Give everybody a chance)

Country? Did you mean world?
Did you say "shareware and freeware too"?
Without freeware Linux could not happen. The freeness of Linux is the
point
that makes our success. Caged software, caged users.

> 4. When marketing, sell Linux's stability, robustness and tell the public
> that Unix (from whence Linux has its roots) has been around much longer than
> DOS or WINDOWS-that large companies around the world have relied on UNIX
> variants for decades to do their business.
> 5. Publicly ask Microsoft to put a daemon in their operating system that
> monitors the number of crashes/hangs/reboots. I guarantee you they can't
> afford to, as we all know how unstable their operating systems can be.

In Microsoft World it is called "service"(?).
Hey, despite some people think we are, we ane _not_ in war against MS.
The majority of us use Linux because it is reliable, stable, secure,
free
and matches with our opinions about software.

> 6. Sell the point that Linux has "the good will" of all the programmers on
> the internet working towards a common goal: a robust, stable, truly
> multitasking operating system whose code is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN, therefore
> allowing 100 times the inspection compared to anybody else's operating
> system.

We don't need to "sell" ideas. Linux exists since 1992(1?) and grew up
without
selling anything. It's one of the sons of a Community who believes that
software must be free, available and open Our Community is made of
computer
scientists, developers, researchers, coders, hackers, not marketers.
Marketing is important to put ideas in someone's head, and get money
from.
Ok, without money we could not have some fine products (at least in the
short
term) like Oracle, ArcServeIT, SAP R/3 and others, but I stay believing
that
the main budget that commercial software companies make come from
technical
support, not direct sales. Who makes real money from software is the
lone
programmer that sells simple utilities (like WinZip, SuperJPG, OnTrack)
to corporations.

> 7. Once the public has a web site to purchase their applications for Linux
> and the developers community sees the need, Linux can overtake Windows.

Our major idea is to give software for free. Even commercial Linux
Distributions think this way. No need to purchase. Linux is on the way
to
set a new(old - good) standard for software in the "market" (community).
This standard is not Linux itself, but the openness paradigm. It will
benefit Linux, FreeBSD, Tropix	or anything.

> May the FORCE be with you.

Don't think MARKET. Think COMMUNITY.


Claudio


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