To all those "Ubuntunites" in Lebanon,

As the title suggests, the aim of this post is to get the name of Linux and especially Ubuntu out there into the Lebanese circles. MS has a strangle hold on LB and seems to be enjoying the full market share, but more and more people are getting fed up with the security issues involved in having MS on your computer.

What we need to do is get into the schools. As an administrator of a school in Lebanon and a user of Ubuntu, this is where you can change the publics view of linux. As linux users in Lebanon we need to make a push in that direction and get schools to change over to open-source software. The only way that schools will even consider this is if they have support. I know of two schools in Lebanon that have linux partially or fully on their systems and that is because they have support in the school.

If we want Ubuntu to take off in Lebanon as the easiest transition from XP then we as a community need to get involved with our local schools and educational departments and offer help. Personally I have witnessed individuals as staff and students first are 'frightened' by the new look and then as they see that it does the same thing, they embrace it. I have personally installed Ubuntu on 4 teachers laptops as they have had issues with XP and as they get used to the way Ubuntu works they have said how they are enjoying the freedom and lack of viruses.

Nobody likes something different, but we need to offer support and help and then the question is "Why not use an OS that is better, more stable and free?" Schools on tight budgets will have no answer and that allows us to put our foot in the door.

This is how we beat MS in Lebanon.