A title like that is bound to get your attention, now that I have it, I would like to say something to all of the Linux enthusiasts out there.
Now I ask you, how many times have you talked to a Windows user about Linux this year? Was there any result from your enthusiastic pitch: i.e. did anyone install Linux? Often we don't know. The problem is, without giving someone a tangible item to remember your conversation and or to take action with, we may have wasted time and energy.
We have let an excellent tool for promoting Linux sit there under-utilized. This tool is the Ubuntu Live CD, not the one we can download, but the one that we can order for free from Canonical. The live CD that we order from Canonical comes in a professional looking package -- some effort and expense has gone into producing it. Therefore it can be trusted by a person whom you have just met and happened to talk about Linux with. We can't give a stranger a home made CD. Who in their right mind would boot their computer from a home made CD that they received from a stranger?
Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere are approaching the good ole winter. Most winter coats have large pockets in them, large enough to hold a least one CD. Why not make the most of it? I suggest that all of us order some live CD's from Canonical and carry some with us in our winter coats at all times. This will have a two fold effect: 1. When you convince a person that Linux is a good idea, then you are able to give that person a CD to get them started. 2. If you have an Ubuntu live CD you are more likely to try to spread the good word because there is a better chance of a favourable result. I would do this even if you do not use Ubuntu but some other distro. Remember it is all about getting more users into the fold.
This worked for me last weekend where I was a volunteer in a booth at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. I got talking to a person working in the booth with me and it did not take long for the L word to come up. This person, who I had just met, was very happy to receive a CD and to learn so much about Linux.
Many large social movements in our history began small and grew to something huge by word of mouth. The free software movement is no exception, we can grow it bigger with just a little bit of effort. Why not make this a challenge within your LUG? You can order a large number of CD's for the group and divide them up. This would save Canonical some shipping costs.
Tips.
Please place your CD's in a clean plastic bag with some extra cardboard to help keep the cardboard dust jacket pristine.
Don't be afraid to do some shameless self promotion by including a card or placing a label that says "Need help? call Joe Lugnut at 555-5555 or joelugnut@whereever.com".
Also, tell people about off lease computers that they can buy for under $200.00 There are many people who are running old equipment thinking that they can't afford a newer computer. It is time to dump Windows Me folks!
Don't forget seniors, they can be very responsive to this new idea called free software as they are looking for ways to save money and they do not carry Windows "baggage".
Remember that the Ubuntu live CD has free software that runs on Windows so that you can use that aspect to introduce people to Free Software.
So if you feel comfortable with this approach then order your CD's from Canonical. You may want to keep the number of disks down to five or so. I have 28 left out of 30 as I was able to give away two in a week. I hope to have none by the end of this winter.
I have a couple of people
I have a couple of people here at work that I'm trying to get to use Linux. One says he is going to get a new, small, laptop to try it on. Someday. I've given him a number of DVDs and some older Linux manuals that I had. The second person is simply not interested. I cannot convince him to even look at it. Part of it is that he is "tech support" for his wife and is convinced that she simply will not learn it. And, also, he doesn't want to bother because both he and she use Windows at work, so he want to do the same at home to avoid confusion.
I have a couple of people
Thank you for your comment
you wrote
"I have a couple of people here at work that I'm trying to get to use Linux. One says he is going to get a new, small, laptop to try it on. Someday. I've given him a number of DVDs and some older Linux manuals that I had. The second person is simply not interested. I cannot convince him to even look at it. Part of it is that he is "tech support" for his wife and is convinced that she simply will not learn it. And, also, he doesn't want to bother because both he and she use Windows at work, so he want to do the same at home to avoid confusion."
There are people out there who just want to stick with what thry know. You have done all that you can with those two at work. Allways give good natured jabbs at Microsoft when you can but I would not try anymore.
Perhaps one of them will come around someday.
Linux is bound to come up in a discussion with someone with us Penquinistas, the key is to have a live CD to give a person who shows some interest. In sales they call it a closer -- something that motivates a person act favourably.
We can only try to do our little bit.
Cheers
John
CDs from Canonical
We go through 50 CDs every 2 months! There seems to be a strong demand in the shop. We've also done quite a few installs for people with invalid Windows XP COAs. We're always very clear with people when we install Ubuntu, making sure they know that they won't be able to run some Windows software (we install Wine), but might be able to install the odd Windows program. We also sit them down and show them Ubuntu (though we're ramping up to offer both CentOS and Ubuntu). And while much of what we build is old (PIII) at $30/$40 people don't seem to mind ;-)
You'd think that people are just buying the boxes for the hardware, but we've had quite a few people come in for support on their Linux boxes, and after dealing with soooooo much malware on Windows boxes we're more than happy to spend 20-30 minutes helping guide people with their support questions. The choice for us is easy (spend hours removing malware on Windows boxes or half an hour yaking it up with someone about Linux). It's fun and people really appreciate having someone spend the time helping them learn.
Off-lease computer source
If you're looking for off-lease computers for less than $200 - check out
www.systime.com
I'm biased as I work there, but we do have an excellent selection of systems from Dell, IBM, HP, etc. in quantity for great prices. Extended warranties of up to three years are an option as well.
(And we have techs with a very deep knowledge of Linux. Enough so that 14 years ago they registered systime as a domain based on the linux command sys time!)
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USB is the answer
Yes, it may be winter in the Northern hemisphere, but do you always walk around with a coat? What are you, some kind of shifty guy?
USB sticks are really useful. It's more useful to wait for someone to come and fix their computer, and casually boot off USB. 'Oh, I didn't know you could do that.' Then Linux really shines. And how many people walk around with USB stick? Many.
USB is the answer
I only wear a coat when the temperature dictates that I should do so.
USB booting is great, but not all computers can do that.
I had an under two minute conversation with a lady with a laptop in a car service repair room.
All I did was inquire about the wifi connection that she found and after she replied I gave her an Ubuntu CD and said:
"here have a disk, when you get tired of paying for software, give this a spin".
As I went out the door I looked over my shoulder and she was smiling and reading the details in the Ubuntu CD.
That is the beauty of the Ubuntu live CD.
USB is the answer
"USB booting is great, but not all computers can do that."
Nearly all since 2004 can. Laptops usually have newer, better bioses.
I have to agree that if there is someone that you don't really know, cds are good, as you can give them away. The beauty of USB booting is that you can clone the stick's Linux, putting it on someone else's stick for their own rescue system.