PDA

View Full Version : How do you show off Linux to people?



QwUo173Hy
June 25th, 2007, 03:56 PM
I'm going to try to put together a video of my desktop with a little info thrown in for friends who don't know what linux is like - or think they do because they saw it 5 years ago ](*,)

So far, I'm going to include


Desktop Effects
WinXP running in a VM
Games (Frozen Bubble, Open Arena, Enigma)
Cool utilities (Disk usage analyser ... any others?)
Basics working well (Firefox, Evolution, Open Office)
Graphics (F-Spot, Gimp, Scribus, Inkscape)
Video Editiing (Kino)
Audio (Amarok, Audacity)
3D modelling (Blender )
CAD (Qcad)
Commercial recognition (Skype, Gmail Notifier, Google Earth, nVidia Drivers)
Education ... cant think of anything


And a short blurb on the community, no-cost and Ubuntu philosophy.

Can anyone think of improvements for this list before I go making it? The entire video will be no more than the length of a song so the software will have to be visually able to 'explain itself' quite quickly.

karellen
June 25th, 2007, 04:26 PM
I don't show off Linux to people. I've given up doing this some time ago...

Bachstelze
June 25th, 2007, 04:28 PM
Me neither.

LaRoza
June 25th, 2007, 04:28 PM
Maybe you could show off all the desktop environments. Most users think that the Windows interface is the only way.

LaRoza
June 25th, 2007, 04:32 PM
Cool utilities (Disk usage analyser ... any others?)




How about Synaptic?

FuturePilot
June 25th, 2007, 04:32 PM
Best way: let them actually use it and play around with it. It will sell itself.

QwUo173Hy
June 25th, 2007, 04:41 PM
FuturePilot, from my experience you are actually right on there. But I rent with a few other people and I don't think they'd appreciate me having an open day ;)

LaRoza, Software installation is so easy for Ubuntu, I should have had that at the top of my list! Thanks.

mostwanted
June 25th, 2007, 04:45 PM
I don't. Interestingly, some of my family members switched because of Beryl, but I didn't do anything.

LaRoza
June 25th, 2007, 04:45 PM
FuturePilot, from my experience you are actually right on there. But I rent with a few other people and I don't think they'd appreciate me having an open day ;)

LaRoza, Software installation is so easy for Ubuntu, I should have had that at the top of my list! Thanks.

A good thing to do might be to install a game, like Frozen Bubble, and then play it, so they can see how easy it is.

stmiller
June 25th, 2007, 05:01 PM
Digikam and Amarok.

joep
June 25th, 2007, 05:08 PM
How about Awn and Compiz? That would do it for me. :)

RAH66
June 28th, 2007, 08:10 AM
Lol yesterday I got a hard core Windows user amazed just with the desktop effects and then I turned compiz on then he was dumb struck hehehehe... even gave him one of the feisty cd's (he asked so how much do I owe you "said it's free they send you these for free" )

So thats one way of getting a windows user using linux with: "Look theres more (and more & more & more )" ;) for free........

karellen
June 28th, 2007, 08:12 AM
Lol yesterday I got a hard core Windows user amazed just with the desktop effects and then I turned compiz on then he was dumb struck hehehehe... even gave him one of the feisty cd's (he asked so how much do I owe you "said it's free they send you these for free" )

So thats one way of getting a windows user using linux with: "Look theres more (and more & more & more )" ;) for free........

the magic word...free ;)

RAH66
June 28th, 2007, 08:18 AM
Yeah but then you get the qeustion: Wheres the catch? :lol:

oh and for education you can get stellarium very nice!! when Im not using my pc I use it sorta like a screensaver... people say nice screensaver and I say no it's real time boet hehehe then you get them dumbstruck again...

Polygon
June 28th, 2007, 11:31 AM
my friends turned on my computer and it booted up to ubuntu by default and they asked me to show em for a bit.

im sure all of my friends would go for it if it had a lot more video game support, and im talking like half-life2, FEAR, etc...not just frozen bubble -.-

slimdog360
June 28th, 2007, 11:39 AM
I usually go into bars and talk to single women about linux, it hasn't worked yet but I'm hoping it will in the future.

RAH66
June 28th, 2007, 11:42 AM
Yeah thats the main reason why I still duel boot xp wine just doesn't cut it in this catagory ...

you know what they say once a gamer always a gamer...

( lol thats the only thing windows is good for "playing games" )

Feba
June 28th, 2007, 12:08 PM
once a gamer always a gamer...

Not really. I know plenty of people that don't play games anymore, I personally hardly ever play anything more than a bullet hell every now and then, maybe an FPS match every few weeks. I do miss MMOs though, but linux keeps me from falling back into that trap. None of the linux MMOs interest me :D

super breadfish
June 28th, 2007, 12:09 PM
Talk about programs like Blender or Warzone 2100 and how much they have improved since they became open source. Just showing applications might not be enough, when they already have similar Windows programs they are familiar with.
Lots of emphasis on the advantages of free software will help. Most people that I've talked about Linux with seemed more interested in not having to worry about viruses, more privacy, no activation/WGA/DRM etc than spinning cubes. Not that I have anything against Beryl, it's a great eye catcher, but Linux is so much more than that. It's not Vista after all :D

raul_
June 28th, 2007, 12:24 PM
Showing my 8 year old laptop with 128 mb of RAM with compositing enabled does the trick :)

Circus-Killer
June 28th, 2007, 12:33 PM
I don't show off Linux to people. I've given up doing this some time ago...

ditto to that. there is the occasion that i might take my laptop to a friends place to show them maybe some new music or a funny video clip or something, and then naturally my friends would be like "why dont you use windows" and then the conversation goes from there.

but i dont actually put in the effort to make people change. if they see my running ubuntu, ill answer any questions they have. but if they have no real reason/need/want to change, then whatever. im more than willing to help people that want to switch. but they have to want to switch, im not gonna try tell people what they should and shouldnt do.

RAH66
June 28th, 2007, 12:41 PM
I must say my girlfriend was hard to get around with this one she is so used to windows and ive told her countless times what the advantages are when using Ubuntu "but this isn't the same and thats diffrent"
well I told her thats the whole point in this case change is good then I stuck her infront of my pc and started showing her around feisty :D she agreed to do the big Change this weekend !!! yay... lol I hope it goes well ( probly won't but hey everything can be fixed...)

Well the point is people get so used to things that change means to them like having to go back to school to learn the basics that is why Ubuntu is such a good choice allot of it will have the same feel of what they are used to but the freedom and and .... yeah you all know lol

They just need a little push.... ):P

notwen
June 28th, 2007, 01:43 PM
I wear random Linux shirts(majority from cafepress.com) here and there. I believe this would qualify as showing off, no?

Circus-Killer
June 28th, 2007, 02:07 PM
I wear random Linux shirts(majority from cafepress.com) here and there. I believe this would qualify as showing off, no?

heh, oddly enough, i should be receiving my new ubuntu tshirt in the mail today.

airtonix
June 28th, 2007, 04:05 PM
most people are addicted to windows(cocaine)...try to sell them something that isnt windows(cocaine) and you will end up with unhappy people.

or ...

a child will most likely want chocolate....try to give it carob(the wheat based stuff) and the child will see through your lies and try to kill you (like stewy from family guy)

my point? is that you will wear yourself away trying to pimp linux to those addicted to windows...or those who are part of a peer-pressure group that use windows as their measure or superiority in the playground.....

to those linux is for peasents.....and as long as their isnt this mega-corp behind it making obsecene amounts of money, these people will simply second guess linux or anything based on open-source...

until open-source becomes the measure or superiority in the playground that is.....lol but then humans would have not changed bugger all.

We will always mis-directed by superflurous icons and idolatry.

edit: i feel this attitude everytime i deal with people who ask "why you dont have phtooshop? dreamweaver? etc etc".....
"the ragged trouser philanthropist" by jack london talks about these issues i think

-Ghost9-
June 28th, 2007, 04:38 PM
I think it would be important to show them that they can do everything they could do in windows, and show them they can still communicate and interact with all the people they know that still use windows. I think the scariest thing is that they think they will be part of the "outcast" computer OS's, which they will probably feel like since they can't go to a store and pick up the same software everyone else can buy.

QwUo173Hy
June 28th, 2007, 05:00 PM
my point? is that you will wear yourself away trying to pimp linux to those ... that use windows

I probably agree with that, and quite a few posters here seem to think that's what I'm trying to do. But really, I just would like to give a bite-sized summary of where linux is at presently.

GNU\Linux and Ubuntu are actually hard to find out if you've been a long time windows user. I'm happy for others to use whatever OS they like, but I would like people to at least be aware of what linux is and how colloquial it is becoming.

sublimation
June 28th, 2007, 05:14 PM
I think that's a big issue for some. The fact that people can't go buy photoshop, or whatever else makes a lot of people not want to try Linux .
I dual boot for several reasons. I'm still addicted to some programs that only run well in windows.
Presently Google Talk for me. I can't get a VM to handle the mic and speakers well enough. I use Pidgin (read: Gaim) and firefox for 90% of what I do for leisure time. Not a big change to switch to linux for that.
During the semester I write papers here and there, do this and that with spreadsheets, nothing with MSOffice that OpenOffice can't handle, but others have found that they need the Marcos or they are simply getting MSOffice files that actually contain some of the more unique features involved. This can cause a roadblock, and the need for either a well-behaved VM or a dual boot.
I'm and undergrad Mechanical Engineering major, and the need for drafting programs (AutoCAD, SolidWorks, etc.) have made it difficult to transition. The fact that I've been provided with versions of Mathematica for windows, not linux, adds to the frustration.
Linux is being used everywhere (Google runs on linux, I know my university's servers do, there are plenty of programming companies using linux), but not at home. I believe Mac is doing so much better in the home market mainly because of marketing and commercial support. People want to buy printers, cameras, etc. and not think too hard if it will work with their computer. People want the games they get excited about to be available to them. Mac may not get software ported to them for months, but they still get the software eventually. There is common software between the platforms. If that's not good enough, there are windows/mac instant switch PCs and laptops. Not dual boot, but rather a flick of a switch and your mac suddenly is a pc and back again.
If projects like wine improve, or if VMs are easier to integrate, then those who have tried to switch and simply must go back will reduce. Then maybe linux will be seen as a viable option for those who are frustrated with windows or mac.

but I digress....
I think the most impressive thing I've enjoyed with linux is the fact that I can abuse the system without causing fatal errors. Start up about a dozen processes at once, and tell one to close that is hanging. The fact that you can tell it to force quit the first time, and it DOES. That's impressive. The fact that everything else continues without noticing really makes me like running linux.

PhatStreet
June 28th, 2007, 05:18 PM
I don't show off Linux to people. I've given up doing this some time ago...
Agreed. Linux is my hobby, my tools, and my work environment. If others are fine with Windows, then good for them, I guess...

leech
June 29th, 2007, 10:15 AM
To get one guy to start using Linux, all I had to do was tell him that he can browse porn safely, without getting viruses!

It really depends on the person. Obviously your grandmother who keeps getting ****** and ***** enlargement spam sent to her on a regular basis is going to be more impressed by Evolution's bogofilter plugin and perhaps a genealogy program than something like Compiz, but a lot of people are going to be happy enough just to not have to deal with being bombarded with viruses, or having to use a spyware removal tool after every time they use Internet Explorer.

But I know this isn't really what the OP was asking. If I were you, I'd try to show off a bit of the actual default install of Ubuntu, then go on to show the Add / Remove bit to show a lot of the various categories of other software that is available.

What could be useful as well is perhaps a overall demonstration, and then a more specific ones with the applications themselves. I think it'd be fantastic to see some video tutorials for Gimp, F-spot, OpenOffice.org, etc.

Leech

Circus-Killer
June 29th, 2007, 10:21 AM
To get one guy to start using Linux, all I had to do was tell him that he can browse porn safely, without getting viruses!


that has got to be the No. 1 reason for switching I have ever heard! Bravo Leech!

karellen
June 29th, 2007, 10:45 AM
To get one guy to start using Linux, all I had to do was tell him that he can browse porn safely, without getting viruses!
that was a tough one :)
the most compelling reason...:D

diskotek
June 29th, 2007, 12:08 PM
well, i gained two friends of mine to linux yesterday night.

1. why don't you use antivirus? (because they were yelling for slowiness of their anti-virus stuff)
1-5. so this really don2t have that much viruses & spyware???
2. is that all free? (openoffice.org)
3. damn, how you print webpage as a pdf & print openoffice document as pdf)?? (cups-pdf & openoffice)
4. your messenger thing is cool & fast (pidgin)

well after these i made a speech with a bottle of wine on free software, and especially economical and social effects of it here (for example money saved on licences fees, many language support)

they will visit me tomorrow for installation. i need to customize their laptops for cups-pdf & mp3 thingies also :)

crimesaucer
June 29th, 2007, 01:14 PM
I post screenshots onto the site "StumbleUpon", of the themes that I create...and I link some of those photos to the Ubuntu Forums (Gallery), deviantART (Linux), Beryl, and the themes section of Xfce-Looks.org...

...all of those sites are Linux sites that show the creative/artistic side of Linux.

I think everyone that knows a little about Linux, already knows that it is faster, and more secure than most other Operating Systems, and they know that it is Open Source with many free programs...but most people have a negative view of it when it comes to appearance....so I show a different side to Linux with nice artistic themes, and once they click a link and end up in the Ubuntu Gallery, or the Linux section of deviantART, then they can see how much more customizable it is compared to Windows or Apple.

This is my StumbleUpon site (SFW): http://crimesaucer.stumbleupon.com/

My SU page is a "Safe For Work" environment...so don't be scared if it says "Adult"....I just don't like to censor my StumbleUpon results when "Stumbling" other people's pages...and I don't care what other people post, because I don't mind seeing someone else's nude art pages... I only post Linux/xubuntu things so it's not really an adult page.

AndrewGene
June 30th, 2007, 06:35 AM
Be sure to show them this forum. It is a lifesaver for many. Any and every--I mean EVERY--problem that I had as a noob was talked about and fixed on these forums. And people's responses are often very fast.

The absolue coolest thing about linux to me (a Windows user all my life until the release of fiesty fawn) is the ability to open a terminal type "sudo apt-get install "something"" and it finds it in the repos and installs it. Can't beat that.

DeadSuperHero
June 30th, 2007, 07:15 AM
For me, don't try to directly convert anyone. Instead, be very casual.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine came over for a sleepover, and brought along the three Saw movies. We couldn't watch them on the TV because that was upstairs, and Dad was sleeping, so we tried to run it on my brother's Windows box. He spent an hour looking for codecs when I casually said "Hangon, let's try it on my computer."
I popped in the disc, and it worked perfectly out of the box in Totem. And we watched the whole thing in full screen!
That was the starting point. I also pointed out that with Linux, everything is in Beta in one way or another, so you're bound to get a bug or two here and there. He seemed ok with that, and my friend is sort of the hacker type anyway, so when I explained to him what Open source and Linux was all about, he about peed his pants.
He's currently thinking about getting Ubuntu to work on his constantly crashing computer.
So, think about it. Take baby steps.