How Do We Introduce FOSS and Linux to Those Who Resist It?
June 18, 2009 by Clair Ching
Filed under The Free World.
There are users who are totally resistant to change. Why? Because it disrupts their workflow. It makes them less productive. Change makes them cranky. However, there are times when change is needed and we have to lobby for it no matter what. If you think about your own home and your budget, sometimes you might think: Heck, the money spent on a license for a certain application could have been used for books of my child. I could have used an open source software of good quality and donated money to that project. I could donate small increments of money to that project instead of a one-time payment which could affect my cashflow in a great way. Or I could even contribute to that project, aside from giving something financial in return.
However, not all people think that way. Most people would still prefer to pay for licenses. Well, or download the application for free. So how now?
At home, it’s more manageable, in a way. You have less users to deal with but they could be more stubborn than 10 other users combined. In any case, it’s easier to study the habits of your family and/or housemates compared to an entire organization. Studying them will take time and interaction with them too. But then you get to have a better grasp of what software they need, what tasks they need to accomplish etc. In an office, it gets trickier because each person has different needs and there’s a whole lot of them so you have to study them a lot.
But here are some ideas that might help you:
1. Give them training time. Sometimes this is all what is needed but it is often neglected because we sometimes assume too much.
2. Show them that there are really awesome software for their tasks and make sure that the software you tell them does answer their needs. Else, they might not like it either.
3. Guide them if possible. Some people might have tasks that are critical and the tools they use are too specialized. New software might take some getting used to and so patience is a must! If they get too frustrated right away they might give up altogether.
4. Force them to use Linux. Sometimes people learn because they have no other choice. This could backfire. But on some people it does work. Just make sure that their tasks are not highly specialized or else: they will just complain.
5. Show them that the software works. This convinces people a lot. If the application has a good user interface, the better. People do not just care if it works — they also care about how they’re supposed to be using it.
I want to know other ways to show to others that FOSS and Linux in particular are awesome. It’s just that there are people who are very difficult to convince. How have you convinced others about Linux?
My wife got a new laptop with Vista on it. It only came with a 60-day trial of MS Office, and she didn’t want to shell out another $200-300 US for a full copy of Office. So I asked her if I could install OpenOffice.org, and she agreed. (She won’t let me install anything without permission. It’s her computer.)
She loves it! I think there’s some things that she tries to do that are different (menu items and buttons in a different place than she’s used to), but she can do everything that she could in MS Office with free software. I still haven’t convinced her to switch to Linux yet, but I’m still trying.
I have a really simple method that works for me. When I get asked to repair a broken Windows system I take them a Live Linux CD and boot it for them.
Then I tell them to use it to rescue their data off the Windows partition before taking the windows box somewhere to get it fixed. Once they find out they are looking at a $100 repair bill and having to reinstall everything they become a bit more interested in using the live CD for a few days and maybe switching to save the repair bill.
I find the words, “Sorry I don’t do Windows” to be the greatest time saver I have ever seen and now with Linux I don’t have to just abandon friends with busted computers, I can give them a choice.
You convince someone to change by demonstrating that what you are sitting them down in front of is at least 10x better than what they have been using. Better base system, better interface, better apps, better over all experience.
I’m sorry, but for me you have to use more than money as a motivator. Linux is NOT 10x better than the desktop OS I use. It is not even on par with it. So what possible reason is there for me to switch to something else when it will be little more than a disruption and annoyance?
For me the operating system is transparent, and that’s the way it should be. I generally run a computer for 4 years or more without even an OS reinstall, and yet the OS and applications may be kept up to date and relevant. With Linux I either worry about what the next dist upgrade will break, or wonder how long I’m going to be able to support a rapidly aging system where “long term support” seems to be calculated in dog years when compared to support given by proprietary vendors.
No, there is no argument that you can possibly make to convince me to switch and become a life long beta tester for a perpetually unfinished platform that has few compelling apps. Most of the good FOSS apps are available for commercial platforms, so there goes that argument. If I want to use the Gimp, or Open Office, I can. Can you use Dreamweaver or Premiere, etc? No, and you’ve nothing in FOSS that matches either of those nor many others.
As I said, unless you can demonstrate to someone that your platform offers at least a 10x improvement across the board over what they are using now, there is no chance in hell that you will win any long term converts. That leaves you people with $300 Walmart PCs who participate in email chain letters and web browse and who would still be running Windows 95 if their Pentium 133 hadn’t died 4 years ago.
ie: the lowest end usage scenario.
And, by the way, since when is “forcing” someone to use Linux compatible with the concept of “freedom” of choice?
Freedom is keeping your religion to yourself and practicing Live And Let Live.
Peace, Out.
We don’t.
We let the losers suffer through their crappy Mircosoft operating systems until they come to us.
And with the major Vista fiasco and the upcoming Windows 7 failure, it won’t be long.
Don’t throw an entire operating system at them at once. Give it to them in small pieces. Start with Firefox. Then OpenOffice. Then expose some other open-source tools from FreeBase (http://www.freebase.be/), SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/index.php) and PortableApps (http://portableapps.com/). Increase the level of comfort gradually along side proprietary software on the proprietary operating system. Then, once they are comfortable with the applications, the leap to a new operating system won’t be very big.
The wallet is the perfect selling tool here. As the “free” tech support for friends, neighbors, and some coworkers who assume from all of the old parts in the garage that I fix for free (often they show up unannounced with the entire system) it was until 2-3 or years ago. But the amount of “repeat business” was getting out of hand, hey it was free as in beer, and 90% of it was Windows “registry cancer” issues or Windows malware issues. It was cutting into my time to do my chores and home improvement issues of my own…..So now I show and demo the PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, and Fedora (all default installs) boxes I have ready for just this purpose. Then they are given four choices: 1) Fedora with the software they need configured (free as in beer), 2) Ubuntu with the set of apps they need (free again as in beer), 3) PCLinuxOS (same deal), or 4) attempt to repair their windows box and getting it minimally working $50.00 or a clean install with all their apps $100.00, these fees are mmeant to drive them to a repair shop OR to pick 1,2,or 3. And for options 1,2,3 I even promise free support with no grudges knowing very well the GNU/Linux is not going to corrode and the questions will be honest learning curve ones….BTW most take 1,2,or 3, some 25% take 4. Money talks……very few have gone back to Windows.
I am a big fan of both Linux and FOSS. I have introduced many to the freedom derived from using both.
With Linux, I find it best to be there when someone is trying it out or doing their first install.
This week I discovered an issue that would likely frustrate and turn off new users of Linux. I installed new ATI PCIE cards on two computers which also had on board video. Both computers were duel boot with Windows. Windows accepted the change while the Linux OS failed. I used the latest releases of three very popular distributions I.E. Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Fedora. This is the first time in recent years that I have experienced frustration with Linux.
I finally tried the Knoppix 5.3.1 DVD. It worked because the ATI drivers are included. This is not an ideal solution as most would prefer a complete hard drive installation.