Linux in mainstream culture
April 12, 2008 by Clair Ching
Filed under Questions, The Free World.
(from Kino-eye’s Flickr photo stream)
Even if people are not comfortable with the idea, Linux is beginning to become more mainstream than we imagine. The production of machines such as the Asus EEE, Dell’s selling of Ubuntu-powered machines, Acer’s computers running on Linpus and now we have HP with small notebooks which run Linux — these have all helped in making it more known to the general public. However, there are still some challenges when it comes to Linux adoption:
- Mindset. – Geeks must understand that other people are beginning to use Linux as well. And the new users who probably don’t consider themselves as geeks must not feel terrified of asking the geeks. Sometimes mailing lists and forums would have so many newbie questions and there are those who hate reading such mail or questions but it’s part of the growing number of uses and converts to Linux.
- Advertising/Campaigns – It’s not enough to let people know about Tux and give an idea of the culture behind Linux. There should be more campaigns or ads that would show users why it is useful or why they really should use Linux instead of other operating systems.
- Support. – For manufacturers who are selling laptops with Linux pre-installed they have to be sure that their tech support representatives are skilled enough and know where to look in case that there are tricky issues that the users are encountering.
In your experience, how would it be better for users now that that Linux is more mainstream?
9 months ago, I did not know what a linux distro was. Now, I use linux (PCLinuxOS) as my primary OS on the laptop and desktop. I recently bought an Asus Eee PC for my 5 year old daughter.
If I can use linux in a desktop environment, anyone can. I am your average computer user, albeit with a keen interest and adopter of technology.
My foray into the linux world was timid and frought with teething difficulties. However, a hugely supportive community saw me through that. The jump from XP to linux was almost inevitable from the day I inserted a linux distro into the laptop and ran it as a livecd. It is a generally, and I suggest wrongly, held belief that linux is not ready for mass adoption. The less than convincing adoption of Vista and its hug e demand on system resources, make the case for linux as an alternative stronger that ever.
I agree with your article. The uninitiated is not widely exposed to linux as an alternative through the media and advertising, although the adoption of linux packed hardware like the Asus eee pc will pave the way. However, the “hello world” moment for linux can only be round the corner.
1. A Linux users group consisting of server admin, developers and techs will never attract the average desktop user, they are in a different world and speak a different language.
2. Videos of spinning cubes are meaningless to folks who use a computer everyday.
3. Books that explain Linux to average computer users should stress point and click solutions first and center on the GUI and applications more than the OS.
Well we can use embedded Linux in the oilfield with nary a question about it from the VP level. The board support package is ltib. http://www.bitshrine.org we will not be using busybox in the product because of their licence.
Arnold has it right:
Explanantions for “. . .average computer users should stress point and click solutions first and center on the GUI and applications more than the OS.”
I’m just trying to find out how to change my linux-box network name, something that should take minutes. It is taking me hours of wading thru how-to’s, man pages, etc. And, I still haven’t found the answer. It’s not a question of not enough information, it is a question of not the right kind of information, sufficiently focused.