There are days when I just want to tell friends and co-workers to just use Linux even when they express so much fear.  Why?  Because there’s nothing to fear!   I haven’t had something as tricky as a kernel panic for the longest time.  When it comes to drivers, there are a lot of helpful forums, plus our sys ads are capable of helping us.  Even if they don’t know everything, they are skilled enough to help us through our problems, whether it’s on Linux or Windows.

I see that some of our co-workers have family members who use netbooks with Linux.  If they can use it, why can’t my co-workers?  Right?  Absolutely!  A lot of our software engineers are actually using Linux on a daily basis because of the development machines that they have come with Linux.  But I do know that there are those who have chosen to use Linux even at home.  Imagine! At home, they even share the computer with other people and yet they use Linux.   This is one of those times that I think that what is really making it hard for people to even give Linux a chance is that mindset of losing touch with the familiar.

I recall the time that I practically made my mom use Ubuntu at home.  She basically just asked me how she’d know if she’s online, what she could use to chat, what she could use for writing, etc.  It wasn’t totally easy but because she asked me what applications she can use, it was actually alright.

Maybe it’s time to emphasize on how much Linux can do even if it’s not totally the same as what they’ve been used to.  The reality is not so happy but we could find something to make it work. :)  Maybe the Linux mascot Tux can help me find ways to make users feel at ease.  After all, it does look cute and cuddly and everything.

Carla Schroder’s blog entry today about changing the world one penguin at a time gave me a different perspective on advocacy. It’s not the same as what I’d normally encounter. I’d usually encounter people saying “Let’s introduce Linux to one and all.” But she has a different perspective: Introduce Linux to those who are actually interested. In her words:

In other words, don’t waste your time on people who are not receptive. Using a well-set up computer isn’t very hard for even the greenest Linux greenpea, despite all the propaganda and FUD to the contrary. But no matter how easy it is, there will always be people who have mental blocks against even trying, so don’t waste your time.

I might have been thinking in terms of “the world must know what Linux is” and so I take into consideration how to introduce it even to people who are not very receptive. I guess it’s because a lot of the people I have around me know Linux already but they are still thinking about it differently, that it won’t work and that it’s scary. Closed minds will find it difficult to accept what Linux could do for them and what they could do for Linux as well. So yes, she’s got a point when it comes to advocating Linux.

However, I personally think that it’s still best to be prepared to tell others about Linux no matter the level of interest they have, as long as the opportunity is there. It’s just that it will not be as effective compared to those who want to know more in the first place.

Whether you are Linux newbie or a veteran, you have a perception of Linux and why you find it easy or difficult to use it, right? Trying to advocate Linux to others would take some knowledge about Linux, the free and open source software world and the philosophies involved, as well as understanding what the users’ needs are. This is especially true for those who want to advocate it to their work place. You can’t just force everyone to migrate to Linux one day just because. It takes quite a lot of work and research!

Perspectives could be as anti-Linux as the following:

• Nothing I use will work on Linux.
• There’s nothing on Linux. It’s boring.
• It’s all command-line and you expect me to use that?
• Using Linux is like going into a new religion or cult.

With the first one, it could be true for someone who uses highly-specialized software. If all the software he/she needs is all on Windows or Mac and he/she is fine with paying for the software, etc. then trying to convince this person to switch to Linux will be quite difficult because of the productivity issues he/she will encounter. However, there could be free and open source software counterparts of the specialized software needed by this user. But you have to take a look at the counterparts well if all the needs are met. If so, maybe you could give your friend or colleague some help in trying out the software you found.

If the person tells you that there’s nothing on Linux and that it’s boring, maybe the person only encountered it briefly and did not give it a try. Also, it could be that the desktop environment or window manager and package manager on the distro he/she tried seemed to restrict him/her from exploring the software available. Some window managers might not feel as intuitive as using Windows, Mac OSX, or another distro with KDE, GNOME or XFCE. Why? In most desktop managers, there’s a menu for the user to select an application. It also has the menu where in the user could check out the package manager. These things may not be as obvious to users who are encountering a Linux distro with Openbox for the first time. In most desktop environments I’ve encountered, a package manager could be seen in the menu as “Add/remove software” or something with a similar wording. Even if you don’t know what a package manager is, at least you still know what you’re going to do and that’s something new users would probably be looking for.

For the command line argument, yes, you could still encounter Linux in a totally command-line kind of environment but a lot of distros give you the option to choose anyway. Most distros have a window manager or a desktop environment that could help users navigate throughout the system. You could counter this by showing your Linux setup and letting your friend use it. There’s nothing like an actual demonstration of what it’s like to use Linux. At least you could answer your friend’s questions by showing actual applications and tools to use. It would be educational and it could convince your friend more. On the spot you could look for the kinds of apps your friend needs/is looking for.

For the last one: Being a Linux user is not like getting into a religion or cult. It might feel like it to some who hear so many talks about the philosophy of Linux and free and open source software. Maybe it’s time to balance it out by showing how the community interacts. If you’re active in the Linux community maybe you could introduce your friend/colleague to other Linux users locally just so your friend knows who else are using Linux and what they think about it personally. It’s not just all about the intellectual stuff, after all.

Want to get inspired? Check out this article about a laptop, a child, a dollar — and a promise. In the Philippines, school starts in a month’s time and I can’t help but be reminded of the state of education here. I am glad that there are still stories that could inspire me like this initiative in South Carolina. This is happening through the Palmetto Project. This is their perspective:

It is our view that somewhere in the world, some community is using an innovative approach to solve the very same problems we face in South Carolina. Our job is to study these ideas, learn what makes them work, and adapt them to the needs of our communities.

The thing that they want to achieve is distribute 50,000 laptops to eligible students. And along with that is the pledge that these students will use the laptops to create something great and a contribution worth 1-2 US Dollars. So in essence, the laptops aren’t free. It’s as if they are still the ones who have paid these laptops, not a total dole out from the group.

I hope that other groups will also find it worth their time and effort to help out school children in this manner. Not everyone has enough to pay for one laptop for each child in each household. I guess I believe in this project because I see young people contributing to their community possibly through their blogs or whatever other personal projects that they begin.

What is the cost of a Linux-powered netbook to some of us? Maybe we could invest in one child we know and give him/her one for his/her schooling. It might not be something as big as this group’s project but it could be the beginning of empowering someone who would make brilliant projects for our community.

If this is the first time you’re reading this blog, well, let me welcome you to my space here on everyjoe.com and I hope that you find something useful for you.  I’ve got some how-to’s and some information about fun and geeky stuff here that you might want to check out.

welcome

I am not an expert in terms of sys ad skills and stuff like that but I do love using Linux. I am just like one of you who — I am looking for ways to improve the way my computer works while using Linux. And it’s not always an easy task. Sometimes it could get quite complicated because of the number of steps it would take to fix the problem/s.  But that’s fun about using Linux anyway.  There are a lot of things to learn along the way.  Sometimes we might feel terrible about ourselves while trying to troubleshoot problems.  But everything has a solution.  Although some of them might not be quite as elegant as we would hope for.

And as new readers and new Linux users, you could share your thoughts too.  I hope that you wouldn’t feel too shy or hesitant. :)  You might have some great insights that musn’t be kept to yourselves.

If you’ve been wondering if Linux distros, especially Fedora, could ever change the way it’s packaged then it’s time to try out Revisor.

Fedora

I read about Revisor on Tutorial: Build Your Own Linux Distro and it looks like a nifty tool for those who would want to help out their friends in figuring out what applications in Fedora are useful. This is great if you also want to help out your friends switch to Linux and you’ve got their needs in mind already.

Whether it’s for a netbook without an optical drive or an old machine with a CD-ROM drive and small RAM or a shiny new desktop with awesome specs, you could make a customized distro. Stuff you could customize include:

• Live Media or Standard Installer - choose if you’d rather have a live CD/USB stick
• Repository - where will the files be coming from?
• The software you’d like to install by default - from the desktop environment to the media player to the internet browser; whatever you or your friend might need
• root password, etc. - There might be a chance you’d need administrator access for stuff like installing applications, etc.

And you could use Revisor in the Fedora release you’re using. Whatever version you’re using that is the one that will be included in the CD/USB stick. And you have to make sure that you’ve got the latest patch for the release you’re using (if ever) to keep it up to date.

If you’re looking around for a good distro to use for your computer, it will probably take you several installs and months of usage (maybe even years!) to decide if you’d stick with what you have or switch to another. Some will probably choose to stick with what they have… until the day comes that they want other features.

Recently, the CEO in the office saw me using an external LCD attached to my Acer Aspire One. He asked me what operating system I was using and I said it was Ubuntu Linux. He noticed that my two other co-workers using their AAOs didn’t have the external LCD monitor as an extension, they just mirrored the desktop there. One of our sys ads also asked me if it didn’t have problems connecting with the network printer. I even tested it and it works well.

If not for Ubuntu UMPC’s live USB disk, I wouldn’t be using it today. I tried Ubuntu Netbook Remix first, right? But if I knew that it wasn’t as great as Ubuntu UMPC, I wouldn’t have installed it right away. Now our sys ads and my other co-workers can try and see what features they want in a distro and if Ubuntu really is the answer for them.

Hopefully more and more Linux distro teams will realize this and help new users ease into a useful and usable Linux.

I was reading “Why GNU/Linux needs slick marketing” and it pointed out the need for slick marketing. It mentioned that slick marketing still has its benefits for Linux. And I was thinking that in our own way, word of mouth marketing for Linux is still good and that we can do it well.

Maybe if some of us who are professionals in marketing, we could help build up Linux so that it will have slicker image. Through word of mouth, the materials will spread but if they look professionally done more people will be more impressed.
Some day maybe I’d try to come up with a better set of blog posts so that it will be more useful even for companies who want to use my posts in the future as references. Or even in schools.

Maybe you have some ideas and you think you could pitch Linux more professionally then you might be more effective in being a Linux ambassador! And if you love Linux you could contribute something in your own way so that others might appreciate it better.

Original upload from mozpkim.

WattOS is the distro that is said to check out for those who want to go light. Old computer (refurbished ones included) should be able to function in the same way as common computers system should. You could even check out the variants of WattOS:

• wattOS - it uses the GNOME desktop environment
• mwattOS - it uses XFCE
• (mu)wattOS - it uses minimal GUI and it’s said to be ideal for kiosks and old systes
• substation - wattOS server

The live CD ISO could be downloaded here.

As the name implies the project wants to let users “tweak the power consumption and processor performance of their system in an easy point and click fashion.” This project is cool because they also want our feedback so that they could make sure that wattOS will be a distro that is relevant to our needs. This is probably going to be good for organizations and households which use old hardware and have been having troubles with the newer releases which seem to require so hardware upgrades that users can’t afford to make.

If you want to share your thoughts as to what hardware specs wattOS should run on, say it on the forums page.

My take on the topic How not to be a Linux evangelist but this one in the context of migration:

• Don’t change the operating system on the computers without warning. You might incur the wrath of the users. Give them ample time to back up their data, as well as learn something about the new OS.
• Don’t leave your sys ad alone in doing the migration process. What I mean here is that there should be enough coordination between the sys ad, management and human resources so that you could come up with a good migration strategy. The said parties might have specific concerns. As such you need to find ways to make the transition easier. It would be great if you could create a tech support team for that transition stage. It could be a small group of early adopters or users who are already familiar with the OS.
• Don’t leave the users hanging. Especially when they need help. When they get frustrated, the more resistance you will receive from them. However, don’t treat them like babies either or they will be too dependent on you. Your team of sys ads and tech support will not be able to handle it if you do that.
• Don’t force the users without even the slightest training. I think this will cause more headache for you. And less productivity.
• Don’t do the migration without any plans. If you have a really big organization, you’d probably have to divide the migration process into phases.

Some of these items I learned the hard way, through experience. Some are from the experiences of other people around me.

Got any tips to share? Just post them in the comments section.