[sf-lug] "Educating Tux: case studies of Linux deployments in high schools around the world"

[Christian Einfeldt]

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 12:57 PM, Lx Rudis <lx_rudis at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>
> i thought Ubuntu could make good penetration, but
> perhaps not.


We are making lots of headway.  We just don't have numbers to prove it.
That is the funny thing about FOSS.  In some senses, our market penetration
can be found only as a negative in declining MSFT net profits (which have
been dropping steadily, but slowly) due to reduced sales.  Also, we could
look at the growing number of LUGs and LUG members.  We could also look at
downloads.  We can look at adoptions by foreign governments.  But none of
these things has the provable numbers that Microsoft and Apple's bar code
events have.

This is one of the reasons that I am calling our film the Digital Tipping
Point.  I believe that it is going to appear to the newbie to happen all at
once.  It is going to happen outside the US first, and it is going to happen
on servers first, and it is going to happen on embedded Linux first, and it
is going to happen on handhelds first, but it is going to happen on the
desktop last, especially in the US.  But it most certainly _is_ happening.
Consider this story, which made the front page of Slashdot:

*"Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have
swept Amazon's 'best of' list for
2007<http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi_menuItemID=887566059a3aedb6efaaa9e27a808a0c&ndmViewId=news_view&ndmConfigId=1000017&newsId=20071228005057&newsLang=en>,
according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The
Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple
MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch
PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And
last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook
notebook PC."*

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/29/1959244


> what's missing?
> what's not being considered?
> what are _we_ ignoring when we evangelize?
>

We are not really missing anything.  I am already getting more requests for
FOSS boxes from the March 1 installfest than I can handle, and I would love
to get some help getting these boxes out to people.  A neighbor of mine just
asked if he could give a box to the UPS guy who delivers to him.  He was
talking about FOSS with the guy, and the guy asked for a box.  We have a box
that we need to get to someone from KPFA; and two boxes to get to people
working at the SFPL (San Francisco Public Library) whom Jim Stockford
contacted.
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