How would you convince a windows user to use Ubuntu?

[Lavaeagle]

I work at Best Buy and day in and day out I have to tell the customers about how windows 7 is great and windows vista isn't all that bad.
I want to know if anyone here has convinced someone to switch to ubuntu.

Preferably if you have some sort of saying that strikes curiosity to make the user go out to learn about ubuntu.
Then hopefully download and install it.

[nnamdi]

yeah i think i know that feeling i worked in an organisation where we used windows all the time but had to blend into the system and those were the days of me getting introduced to ubuntu but never the less ubuntu is power like i always say cos if not for anything the fact that i dont have virus attacks anymore is something great so i think ubuntu speaks for itself man

[howlingmadhowie]

an elevator pitch for free software is a difficult thing. this is because most people have been instructed by the media that digital goods are like physical goods. the idea that a copyleft license like the gpl could result in such wealth is totally alien to most people because it wouldn't work with physical goods. it is precisely the near zero marginal cost of digital goods that makes free software so potent (of course many laws are being passed to try to impose a marginal cost on digital goods).

this is already way too long for an elevator pitch and it relies on the reader understanding terms like 'gpl' and 'copyleft'.

[t0p]

+1 for the virus thing. When you're telling the marks how wonderful Windows is, make mention of the fact that it's important to enable firewalls, virus scans and the like. Then make an offhand comment about how of course they could avoid all that fuss by using Ubuntu... Make sure there's a live cd kicking around, you could touch it fondly or something...

[aviedw]

Well it would be a great pitch if customers were given a demonstration. So they can see free software at work. Maybe a power point presentation showing there favorite or most used programs like word or photo shop or windows media player/itunes and show them the ubuntu alternative.

I don't think there is a such thing as a quick sales pitch to convince a long time windows or mac user to switch to a totally different operating system.

If best buy was truly interested in promoting linux, they would have a few system with ubuntu or other flavors set up with people there showing them how it works and how they can use it.

[t0p]

.
If best buy was truly interested in promoting linux, they would have a few system with ubuntu or other flavors set up with people there showing them how it works and how they can use it.

I doubt Best Buy could care less about promoting Linux. They're a big Windows mill... grinding up computer users and pouring them into one-size-fits-all boxes.

[Swagman]

Tell him our office package is not embroiled in a patent dispute !!

[scorp123]

I want to know if anyone here has convinced someone to switch to ubuntu. Yes. The day I stopped providing free Windows support and started charging my usual rates that I am entitled to as Unix admin. It's interesting how fast people will consider free alternatives such as Ubuntu when you start charging them 200.-- Euros per hour ... :twisted:

[cascade9]

I wouldnt say this at work, and its hardly 'news' but in private it should be fine-

WMP was (and still is IMO) spyware-

Microsoft confirmed this week that there is a spy program built into itslatest Windows Media Player that keeps a record of every music CD and DVD movie a computer user plays on his/her computer.

http://www.mail-archive.com/hydro@topica.com/msg00500.html

MGA (microsoft genuine advantange) is spyware-

Windows Genuine Advantage — the controversial program Microsoft auto-installed as a "critical security update" on many PCs starting on Apr. 25 — not only causes problems for many users but has now been proven to send personally identifiable information back to Redmond every 24 hours.

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/060615/

etc etc, theres a ton of stuff that microsoft does that is questionable, at best.

[lethalfang]

On my roommate's laptop, his Vista is completely broken. He could not boot into it.
So I installed a clean copy of Vista for him free of 3rd-party bloat-wares, and I also installed Ubuntu on it to dual boot.
The boot time and shutdown time is so much faster in Ubuntu, in addition to the speed in general, he uses Ubuntu most of the time unless he needs something specific in Windows.

[Paqman]

I work at Best Buy

You're being paid to sell your employers products, so that's what you should do. If you have a problem with that, then you should quit. Your boss is probably likely to take a pretty dim view of you promoting a competitor anyway.

[Sean Moran]

I work at Best Buy and day in and day out I have to tell the customers about how windows 7 is great and windows vista isn't all that bad.
I want to know if anyone here has convinced someone to switch to ubuntu.

Preferably if you have some sort of saying that strikes curiosity to make the user go out to learn about ubuntu.
Then hopefully download and install it.


Firstly to answer your question, No I am yet to get the time to take over the Jaunty CD to even my own Mother's house to demonstrate the wonders of Ubuntu before her desktop's eyes, but patience is a virtue. The tide is turning.

Burn yourself a pack of Live CDs and perhaps 'lend' them out to prospective customers on 'appro' and hope that you never get any back.

In detail, Why Ubuntu?

1. It does EVERYTHING you can do with your computer (once YOU learn how)

2. It is FREE (explain the true meaning of 'free' software ie. open-source GPL but most people will stop at the point of freedom of cash in pocket. Make some sort of facial gesture where you look up at the ceiling as if to ponder something incredibly profound before you mention it, and perhaps they will get the meaning beyond the here-and-now hip-pocket-nerve if you can put some flair into it)

3. Unlike alternative substitutes, it's SAFE. Safe from virii and hackers and those sorts of illnesses, but MOST OF ALL Ubuntu is inherently SAFE from the prying eyes of the commercial distributors, IMHO, because it's open source and if anyone tries to mess with it in hiding, thousands of people will know about it before it gets to beta stage.

4. It is an example of third-millenium human behaviour at its best. Introduce your clients to the works of Eric S. Raymond. The Cathedral and the Bazaar (http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/)

It really is an excellent topic question and thanks for threading it. I am quite interested in answering this same question myself, as there does seem to be quite a lot of fear of the unknown amongst friends I know who cling to the devil they know without having the courage to try something better.

Good luck with the promotions. \\:D/

[XubuRoxMySox]

+1 to the demonstration idea.

I have an aging Dell Dimension that came with XP. When XP became slow and infuriating I decided to try something else and found Ubuntu online. That old Dell flies along really fast - faster than WinXP did when it was brand new!

I have won a few friends over from Windows just by making that old Dell available for other kids to use in between classes at the dance studio. I "remixed" minimal Ubuntu with the super-newbie-friendly LXDE (http://lxde.org) desktop (KDE was much slower on that old 'puter). The other kids don't even know they're using Ubuntu. LXDE has a familiar-looking desktop so that a newbie who has only known Windows or Mac can just sit down and use it without any coaching or learning curve. I renamed some of the icons to remove the mystery: Firefox became "Browse the Web," MPlayer became "Music player," OpenOffice Writer became "Word Processor," etc.

When I get compliments (which is often) on how fast and elegant and simple that ancient old dinosaur is, then I offer that it's Ubuntu Linux and most kids are amazed to hear it. The few that have even heard of Linux think it's way too "geeky" for the ordinary user. "No way! That can't be Linux!"

I've given out some CDs of my super-simple lightweight Ubuntu remix to kids who wanted to try it at home because they had already used it effortlessly and had already tasted it's speed and power and simplicity. These are completely non-geeky kids. We're dancers, not geeks! Yet more than one has become an Ubuntu addict (http://www.linuxforums.org/articles/non-geeky-girls-love-linux-too-_368.html) thanks to simply having it in the studio as a demonstrator.

-Robin

[decoherence]

You're being paid to sell your employers products, so that's what you should do. If you have a problem with that, then you should quit. Your boss is probably likely to take a pretty dim view of you promoting a competitor anyway.

How would he be promoting a competitor? BestBuy still makes the sale, the 'mark' (lol, t0p) will still pay the Windows tax. S/he'll just know about an alternative.

That said, depending on your boss, you may have to tread carefully.


Make sure there's a live cd kicking around, you could touch it fondly or something...

lol +1!! seriously, though... being given a liveCD by a bestbuy employee who is on the clock might imply to a customer that it is supported by bestbuy. probably best to point them at ubuntu.com and, of course, this forum!

that said, I think it would be useful and interesting to have a liveCD to test on demo models for your own knowledge. If the customer is interested in a computer that you've tested and found works perfectly, you can mention that to them. "This computer comes with Windows 7 and it even runs Ubuntu beatifully!" "Wots OoBoonToo?" "An alternative to Windows." Personally I would leave it there and let them prompt for more information or not.

once again, before you start booting your demo models with liveCDs, check with your boss (we know it can't do any harm but there's no accounting for bosses!) I don't want to get you fired! ;) ADD: just to clarify, i'm not suggesting you demo your computers with linux live CDs (boss probably wouldn't like that, either.) I'm suggesting you boot it, see if the hardware 'just works' and if it does, make a note of the model so when a customer is interested in it, you can work that in to the pitch.

I think in general it is important to not appear to be selling Linux, since you aren't paid to do that. There's nothing wrong with discreetly cultivating curiosity and answering the resulting questions, though! Just be prepared to let the uncurious ones stay 'unenlightened.'

[t0p]

You're being paid to sell your employers products, so that's what you should do. If you have a problem with that, then you should quit. Your boss is probably likely to take a pretty dim view of you promoting a competitor anyway.

Jeez, Paqman, you own shares in Best Buy or something? Just coz the OP doesn't like pushing Microsoft products is no reason to quit his job! We all need cash to live, and there isn't exactly a plethora of employment opportunities kicking about at present.

Anyway, the OP isn't planning to not sell Windows. He's just talking about showing customers another option. And that's to be applauded: if I was so ignorant that I thought Vista was the be-all and end-all of personal computing I'd be terribly grateful to a salesman who opened my eyes.

[alindgr1]

I have only been using Ubuntu for a few months, and I have already convinced three or four people to switch. They all had broken/slow computers and wanted me to fix them. I mentioned that since they are fixing their computers, they may as well use software that won't be broken from the beginning.

Since your customers are considering spending money on a new computer, you may mention that they may as well get well more than their moneys worth from the software they are using. Not spending a couple of hundred bucks on windows and office is often a good starting point.

[clancymf]

For me I mention it any opprotunity I have. However, I will never push it, as if they are interested they will look into the option, but I don't want to be the one that they call if they have a problem or worse yet, over wrote their Windows drive.:lolflag:

[Lavaeagle]

Props to dixiedancer, downloading LXDE right now to put on a slower computer.

I work tomorrow and I am definately going to at least start mentioning it in a curious tone, and hopefuly they will hit the bell.(The Magicians Nephew)

I am going to carry a few LiveCD's with me now though hopefully hand them out to some prospective members of the community.
Maybe if there were a few more passionate computer salesmen out there that wanted to help the public instead of sell to the public the community might grow a bit.

No, I'm not going to quit my job.

Quite honestly what would mainly catch the customers(mark) eye would be "No Virii" that can cost up to $80 - $160 more if they stick with windows for something like that.

[TheNessus]

Let people use your computer. When someone who doesn't know how to swim has to swim, he learns to swim and to like it.

[Sealbhach]

I was having coffee with a friend today and he mentioned he was having trouble with viruses in Vista so I said "if you like, I can set up a dual boot for you so you can surf the web in Ubuntu, that way you won't have to worry about viruses" and he agreed.

He knows I have been praising Ubuntu for a long time but I never push it on anyone but I always suggest it to someone who's having trouble with viruses.

.

[Tristam Green]

Paqman's right, though. He's an employee of a place where they are expected to sell the machines as they are in the store, and then to also sell their protection plans (a la Geek Squad). Something tells me that Geek Squad doesn't support Linux officially, and that any protection plan on a Windows machine-turned-Linux would be voided, and the OP would be left holding the bag, since "he suggested I switch, he said it'd be great!"

You work for a company, you can make suggestions in the proper channels (hey boss, why don't we sell these nice Linux-loaded computers?), but you shouldn't overstep and start pitching something you're not fully prepared to support on your own.

[Tamalin]

10 Ways to attract people to Linux:
http://www.seopher.com/articles/top_10_ways_to_convince_a_new_user_onto_linux (http://http://www.seopher.com/articles/top_10_ways_to_convince_a_new_user_onto_linux)

I have always had a problem convincing other people to use Linux. Usually their excuses are:
A) I don't want to deal with that right now.
B) I am happy with what I have, I don't want to change anything
C) Linux is ugly (????? I don't know where this came from, but I've heard it)
D) I have already payed for windows, I am not switching and wasting all my money.
E) You get what you pay for, and Linux is free
F) I am not a technical genious

[capverz]

Some stuff is so good that it sells itself. ;)

[aviedw]

On my roommate's laptop, his Vista is completely broken. He could not boot into it.
So I installed a clean copy of Vista for him free of 3rd-party bloat-wares, and I also installed Ubuntu on it to dual boot.
The boot time and shutdown time is so much faster in Ubuntu, in addition to the speed in general, he uses Ubuntu most of the time unless he needs something specific in Windows.

Sometimes that's what it takes for a person to try something different. I only use Ubuntu and i have a mac laptop, so when my fam or friends come over thats all they have to use. You dont know how many times my friends say "what the hell is this" at Linux, but then after a while they realize that its running the same if not better than windows. Before they know it they're browsing the internet and writing there resume's or loading and editing there pictures.

Were working against a big machine. But i think eventually people will come over from the dark side lol. What really got me hooked on linux was the idea of having a portable OS, when i saw how knoppix runs without being installed i was like wow this is really something different.

[Paqman]

Jeez, Paqman, you own shares in Best Buy or something? Just coz the OP doesn't like pushing Microsoft products is no reason to quit his job!

Like it or not, he's being paid to push Microsoft products. So that's what he should do. I understand it'd be extremely tempting to push Ubuntu, but while you're on someone else's time you don't really get to push your own personal agenda.

[XubuRoxMySox]

People are generally not going to switch to something new and unfamiliar unless they feel that they have a good reason or a particular need to do so.

The meaning of phrases like "because it's free" or "because it's better" is too vague to offer any such reason to take such a big, frightening step. And it is frightening for people until they discover that there is no reason to be frightened. I was scared spitless when I removed WinXP and replaced it with Ubuntu.

When they have a compelling need to switch or become so frustrated that they are willing to try anything that will speed up their computer and keep it from crashing, they will express it, and that is the time to offer them a live CD and assure them that they can "try before they buy," running the LiveCD without making any changes to their computer at all. That is very reassuring to a newbie because it offers a "safety net." In Windows I simply got used to the idea that typing the wrong command could result in a catastrophic disruption of the space-time continuum or something - and I just assumed it was the same in Linux. After all, a computer is a computer, ain't it?

Anywayz: I would definitely wait until a user expressed reason to change, need to change, and willingness to try Ubuntu before spending big bucks on a whole new computer.

-Robin

[scottuss]

You're being paid to sell your employers products, so that's what you should do. If you have a problem with that, then you should quit. Your boss is probably likely to take a pretty dim view of you promoting a competitor anyway.

If they buy the hardware, the Windows installation is tied to it. Why would the boss care if the users took the PC home, wiped it and installed a better OS? They've already made the sale...

[Paqman]

If they buy the hardware, the Windows installation is tied to it. Why would the boss care if the users took the PC home, wiped it and installed a better OS? They've already made the sale...

True, although a lot of a vendor's margin is going to be in the extras they try and push on the buyer. As well as the obligatory ripoff extended warranty they're going to want to sell antivirus, MS Office, etc.

I just think that if you're being paid to sell a certain product you shouldn't be pushing a competing product without getting the ok from your employer.

[Tristam Green]

to answer the OP's question of "How would you convince a windows user to use Ubuntu?"

I say, "with a stick, while he sleeps!"

:popcorn:

While Paqman continues to be spot-on.

[bit mad]

To make it less scary for a Windows user, avoid all risks of mangling their PC's bootup by coming up with a software solution as follows :

Ubuntu to be installed on hard disk resized/repartioned as usual (not so scary really)
BUT
the normal bootloader is left alone. To boot up, a USB stick is required (to boot from) which would simply divert the load procedure to the hd partition. Nothing else is on the USB key.

That way there's absolutely NO FEAR of messing up the PC. Everything is as it was before as far as the user is concerned, if the USB key isn't in place. Great security feature too... no-one will be able to mess with running the Ubuntu OS if they haven't got the key.

(I suggested it here http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1213769 but it didn't really catch anyone's imagination. I'm convinced it would be brilliant though)

[slakkie]

I failed at converting users. My dad went to OSX while I advised Ubuntu. But OSX is not that bad. But others.. Only the people that were already familiar to Linux that I know changed to Ubuntu. And others run OpenSolaris, Nexenta (opensolaris kernel, with GNU userland)..

My girlfriend doesn't even want to use Ubuntu.. Stupid woman :P

[nomnomnom]

Repeatedly punch them in the face with a penguin sock puppet until they surrender.

[decoherence]

Like it or not, he's being paid to push Microsoft products. So that's what he should do. I understand it'd be extremely tempting to push Ubuntu, but while you're on someone else's time you don't really get to push your own personal agenda.

I agree that he shouldn't be 'pushing' Ubuntu. There is no reason he can't mention it (in the way I previously suggested; in the context of it running perfectly on a system the buyer is interested in) and answer questions, though. The biggest challenge would be answering those questions in a completely impartial way. If the OP doesn't feel like he can do that, then he shouldn't even mention it.

Informing prospective buyers about the available options -- along with any caveats that go with them -- is being a good salesman.

He should definitely stipulate that it isn't supported by BestBuy or GeekSquad. I would imagine most buyers would be put off by that, but at least they'd go away knowing more than they did when they came in. That's also part of being a good salesman.

That said, I understand that many big box stores aren't necessarily interested in having 'good' salesmen as much as they are interested in having someone who can move anything they sell, even if it's garbage. Obviously it is up to the OP to determine, with his boss, what is appropriate. I've stated how it worked in the sales jobs I've had. The information you give a customer is part of the 'Added Value' of being a VAR. But the customer must understand that you are not making recommendations but simply giving your best effort to inform the customer. I don't know if that could work in a place like BestBuy.

[zboot]

an elevator pitch for free software is a difficult thing. this is because most people have been instructed by the media that digital goods are like physical goods. the idea that a copyleft license like the gpl could result in such wealth is totally alien to most people because it wouldn't work with physical goods. it is precisely the near zero marginal cost of digital goods that makes free software so potent (of course many laws are being passed to try to impose a marginal cost on digital goods).

this is already way too long for an elevator pitch and it relies on the reader understanding terms like 'gpl' and 'copyleft'.

GPL and copyleft have little to do with convincing someone to switch/try Linux, unless they are a person who is intensely idealistic - ie vegetarian or something - where they do something not because they like it, but because they feel it is right.

You convince someone to use linux the same way you convince them to use windows - by showing them that it lets them do the things they want to do while being the safest and least costly and easy to maintain.

It's the reason why American car companies may end up winning the hybrid war. At the moment, they are being marketed as cars for the environmentally concious, instead of cars that get you from point A to point B while being stylish and cool and luxurious, and powerful (ok, maybe not so much).

Most people at the end of the day when it comes to making normal decisions find things like promoting free software and environmental friendliness to be a nice side benefit to whatever decision they make, not the driving factor.

Part of the reason is that when you stick to ideals, you tend to have to compromise. (ie, in the past, hybrids were pretty much the ugliest cars). So, when you promote linux, you don't want to use language that makes the person think they are going to compromise something - so tone down the GPL and copyleft and tone up the zero cost (or low cost), security, and other things that make GNU/Linux great.

[Lavaeagle]

The car situation is very similar to what I am doing in very many ways.

I have some people though that want to help themselves but just lack the direction and windows has them locked down.

ie. I had this one gentleman who really wanted to learn about computers and installing drivers, OS's and something else, but he had a wife and kid, his wife said they didn't have enough time was worried something might happen to it. Ending result was that he lost out on a possibility to learn. Mind you this was before I was on Ubuntu a month ago.

Thats how I view Ubuntu a chance to learn something entirely new, but thats not what people want since they think they need to program the entire comptuer in order to run it.

It seems after reading through a lot of these posts a great "elevator pitch" would be something a long the lines of "Well there's always ubuntu, it's free, and pretty much virus free"

[Devilfish303]

The bigger challenge is convincing people that are impossible to motivate as far as learning new things (I'm not even going to scratch the surface with old people). For example I've met plenty of people that are fairly computer literate but haven't tried linux because they are aware that they would have to do plenty of workarounds and such to run windows intended software such as games and stuff like autocad would have to go through a vm running windows, some of them are even well aware of the benefits of linux but for them reformatting and reloading windows is a routine I've known some of my friends to do bi-monthly, and they've gotten to the point where they don't mind it because it has become as routine as taking out the garbage.(I used to be one of them until I found CAELinux.) One personal story: I installed Xubuntu Jaunty as a dual boot to xp x64 on a box I built for my best friend and the guy being computer illiterate to the point where he has trouble with ms office '07, freaked out and practically yanked the live cd out of the drive and tossed it. If you can convince these types you should be hired as a US Diplomat.

[Lavaeagle]

Actually just got back from work and I got 1 person after buying a computer to put Ubuntu on their old computer and donate it like that to someone!

Very excited about that. Particularly because that computer donation could really spark into a chain of events.

I just talked to them and they were wanting to donate it but do it safely and they could format it them selves because they had no Vista disc. I mentioned that Ubuntu would wipe the HDD and even give them a virus free and user friendly interface.

Bada bing bada boom I wrote the name and instructions down on how to do it and they were quite giddy about it.

Goal: 1 Exposure a day.

[Dr. C]

The bigger challenge is convincing people that are impossible to motivate as far as learning new things (I'm not even going to scratch the surface with old people). For example I've met plenty of people that are fairly computer literate but haven't tried linux because they are aware that they would have to do plenty of workarounds and such to run windows intended software such as games and stuff like autocad would have to go through a vm running windows, some of them are even well aware of the benefits of linux but for them reformatting and reloading windows is a routine I've known some of my friends to do bi-monthly, and they've gotten to the point where they don't mind it because it has become as routine as taking out the garbage.(I used to be one of them until I found CAELinux.) One personal story: I installed Xubuntu Jaunty as a dual boot to xp x64 on a box I built for my best friend and the guy being computer illiterate to the point where he has trouble with ms office '07, freaked out and practically yanked the live cd out of the drive and tossed it. If you can convince these types you should be hired as a US Diplomat.

One can introduce FLOSS gradually. For the really tough cases:

1) Replace Microsoft Works with OpenOffice. Once they get over the shock that a free as in beer program can be so much better they are ready for the next step, more FLOSS. This is also a good time to introduce the concepts of Free Software Open Source etc.
2) Replace Outlook express or Windows Mail with Mozilla Thunderbird. The big gain is the built in anti spam filtering.
3) Install Firefox
4) Introduce them to quality FLOSS on Windows that of course is also free as in beer.
5) Make sure to install all the Genuine Windows / Office notification validation tools etc. Nothing like a non genuine message to motivate them. Microsoft can be a real help here.
6) For a business if they have any questionable software there is nothing like a software audit from Microsoft to motivate them. It is in many cases a free call, and one can get a financial reward to start that FLOSS project.
7) Once they have enough FLOSS on their system, have had a few run-ins with DRM, maybe a software audit etc., then they are ready for the move to GNU / Linux, including Ubuntu.

[stinger30au]

Repeatedly punch them in the face with a penguin sock puppet until they surrender.

hahahahahahahaha...

let them tineker with a laptop/desktop of our won with ubuntu loaded on it for a while or use wubi to install it to windows so they get a feel for it

[aviedw]

It so weird because if linux was to catch on, then computers would be cheaper and vendors would sell more systems. I think dell tried it but i guess the profit wasn't there. You would think it times like this people would try a cheaper option. Why cant a people simply do a little research on Linux and then make a choice? Why is the world filled with close minded people?

[Katalog]

I'd surely like to know the definitive answer to this question, because I just got done with my first public event promoting Ubuntu, and some people are an awfully tough sell. Some of them can't even grasp the concept of what an operating system is in the first place, and after you get over that hurdle it seems to require some serious hands on and excessive use of analogies to get them to understand what you're talking about in the first place before you can even get around to the part where you try and sell them on the concept of FOSS and Linux in general.

[MikeTheC]

I've heard the Women of Ubuntu's solution goes something like this...


http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20080117/ShootingKitty1_540x405.jpg

"Yeah, that CD that says 'Ubuntu' on it. You really want
to stick that in the DVD drive and boot from it. Now,
you bat-brained Windows user!"

[JECHO]

Usually when I show a windows user compiz-fusion, they're sold. :)

[Lavaeagle]

It so weird because if linux was to catch on, then computers would be cheaper and vendors would sell more systems. I think dell tried it but i guess the profit wasn't there. You would think it times like this people would try a cheaper option. Why cant a people simply do a little research on Linux and then make a choice? Why is the world filled with close minded people?

Yes everyday I deal with this, even my brothers.

"I just want it work"
"I'm computer illiterate"
"I want to spend extra money I don't need to spend even though with a miniscule amount of research on that slow computer that you already have which could end up being one of the best decisions in your life, which is even virus free, would rather buy the extended warranty, even though comparing a mechanic and cars to a computer hobbyist to computers is like comparing heroin to anything."

I think Mark Twain would have cried in our century.

Edit: Even while sailing the mississppi.

[pmlxuser]

Nothing just nothing, all the inteligent people find ubuntu on their own.

[emrys]

The eye candy, WGA and the like work quite good on motivating people to take the first steps, but then, problems arise. Why my .doc/.docx file look so weird?

I think compatibility is the primary concern for most users so we should work on that. Every retained is worth a lot more than every user that tries and leaves... At least in my experience that is scaring away users. They become frustrated with Windows because of virus, WGA, etc, they try Ubuntu, and they go back to windows.

I started this to get people thinking on how we can solve that:

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/20877/

[ithinkitschad]

I let them use one of my Linux systems

[kpkeerthi]

I wouldn't try to convince anyone. They would start looking for alternatives themselves if they need to. If I was asked which distro is good to begin with I would recommend Ubuntu or Mint.

[paok4]

I let them use one of my Linux systemsThats the easy way !!!:)