[Haifux] Idea: "Welcome to Open Source" instead of "Welcome to Linux" this year

[boazg]

IMHO it's a branding issue. Linux is a brand name. When you say "Welcome to
Linux" it has associations. When you say welcome to FOSS, people give you a
blank stare, and then you have to explain, all the while making sure your
arguments don't enter tin-foil-hat land.
It's not as if Welcome to Linux involves compiling your kernel, loading
modules, or creating device nodes. It has very little to do with Linux
itself and could be done on BSD or HURD for all intents and purposes. You
show them gnome/KDE, firefox, OOo, gimp, etc.
So in short, while it's a great idea, I think there's an advantage to the
branding that gets people to come.

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 12:19, Shlomi Fish <shlomif at iglu.org.il> wrote:

> Hi all!
>
> When talking with someone a few days ago, I had a moment of Serendipity
> (see:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity ). Why don't we do a "Welcome-to-
> FOSS" (Free and Open Source Software) this year instead of
> "Welcome-to-Linux"?
> We could show people some cool stuff about FOSS in both Linux and Windows:
>
> 1. Cross-platform (or even Windows-only) User-oriented FOSS - Firefox,
> OpenOffice.org, Inkscape, VirtualBox, GIMP, 7-zip, Notepad++, Audacity,
> various FOSS games, other stuff here -
> http://wiki.perl.org.il/index.php/FOSS_on_Windows and here -
> http://www.opensourcewindows.org/
>
> 2. Open Source Development with a focus on rapid scripts/GUI-programs/etc.
> development using Perl/Python/Ruby/etc.[ScriptLang]
>
> 3. "Don't be afraid of the command line." - why the UNIX command line can
> be
> useful.
>
> 4. The Free and Open Source Software philosophy and ideology and its
> positive
> implications on FOSS development and the computer and software industry:
>
>        - http://www.shlomifish.org/philosophy/foss-other-beasts/
>
>        - http://www.shlomifish.org/philosophy/obj-oss/
>
>        - Also see the links from there.
>
> (Ori would probably be happy to give it.)
>
> 5. And naturally and possibly - something about how to try out Linux,
> possibly
> using a VirtualBox/etc. VM.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> I think that now FOSS is more ubiquitous and mainstream than just on
> alternative, fully open-source, operating systems such as Linux. One should
> also remember that the main issue at hand is not Linux vs. Windows but
> rather
> the freedom of software and its open nature. Porting to Windows is no
> different from porting one's software to proprietary UNIXes such as Mac OS
> X,
> AIX, HP/UX or Solaris before it became OpenSolaris. [Windows]
>
> So what do you think? Am I crazy or am I on to something? Two people I
> talked
> with liked the idea, and a different one had some doubts.
>
> Regards,
>
>        Shlomi Fish
>
> Footnotes:
> ----------
>
> [ScriptLang] - we can have a colour of the bikeshed argument of which agile
> language to teach later on, but ultimately it's up to who volunteers to
> prepare the slides and present the presentation.
>
> [Windows] - Windows is indeed less compatible to Linux than other UNIXes,
> but:
>
> 1. There are many incompatibilities between the different UNIXes.
>
> 2. There are some operating systems that are still being used (such as HP's
> VMS) which are even harder to port to than Windows.
>
> 3. "Reality to be conquered must be obeyed."
> --
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> Shlomi Fish       http://www.shlomifish.org/
> First stop for Perl beginners - http://perl-begin.org/
>
> Chuck Norris read the entire English Wikipedia in 24 hours. Twice.
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>



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