On Monday 12 November 2007 18:13, alan c wrote: > > I'm not convinced that it's worthwhile putting the effort into simulate > > something that your average user can actually do fairly easily.
> Many cannot do this easily and *without risk*. Windows users are ultra > sensitive to risk. Agreed > When the more ambitious windows users iconsider jumping out of the > swamp for the first time a proportion of them face things like > partitioning, disk and partition naming, boot managers, file system > type, and even a need for serious backup (!), for the first time. This > is noticeable in various local computer clubs where I find a good > interest in say ubuntu, but in some clubs, only one person in 15 has > ever installed a (windows) OS from scratch. One person was keen to try > ubuntu, but got frightened when I recommended they did a good backup > first! > > I think it will apply to a proportion of windows users, ones with > ambitions but little experience or confidence. > > A good simulation will also be a service to the many helpers in forums > too because the advice they give about *exactly* what is seen on > screen with this or that version under certain circumstances is > invariably vague. It does take a lot of time and effort to keep a test > machine, with a certain configuration, windows etc, in order to offer > exact information to a nervous beginner who asks a pertinent question. > One person recently stated they had not seen the 'slider' bar before > the partitioning sequence and why not? I think there may be occasions > when I have not seen it either, but I could not accurately answer > their question of why and when. Agreed. As far as the backup goes, yes that is a big thing. But, should we see a "market" for backup services? Could that mean PC assemblers being happy at the thought of users switching to Linux? But keep in mind that making this web app is not that huge a task if many people join (about 5 full time** + lots of install-bug-report contributions) [** 5 full time _worldwide_, not only from the ubuntu user community] We could start with just HTML pages in the first week and then scale it weekly by adding more and more real use cases as they are reported. Also, forums are a source of all kinds of bugs and suggestions. We already have quite a bit of the data needed. ----------------------------- Maybe we could sell those $100-$150 laptops (NOT OLPC, but custom) which are good only for document editing and connectivity as cheap install training systems, one to each PC assembler. (various notorious and common marketing schemes come to mind, but let us keep them aside) Meaning that they connect to this web application and so your local PC assembler can go about carrying his first level helpline with him. Assuming the backup goes well, and the switch to Linux causes the problem, he can quickly check up the site to see if the problem is simulated - then he "solves" it online and then actually solves it on the customer's PC. Does that make practical sense? Finally, I think the following sums up very well what i feel: ----------------------------- Can you ever think of making a full car with *extendable chassis*, running on *air* as fuel, *all from scratch*, with passion and hard work, sitting late at night and early into morning *for years*, and then say, I will not *paint* the car? Can any car manufacturer actually say that and expect to be in business even if the car is the real solution to the problem? Exactly the same here. To solve Level-2 problems, you need Level-*3* solutions. Thanks, 2stepsback -- ubuntu-marketing mailing list ubuntu-marketing@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-marketing
