A post on this subject on the UK list gave this link:
>> http://tlug.jp/articles/Windows_Is_Free
It is well worth reading. It is closely though out and argued. The
article is a pro linux response to a linux critical one of a similar
subject.
For this list I copy some extracts here of points which caught my eye:
===================================================================
Title: Windows Is Free: The impact of pirated software on free software
by Dave Gutteridge on August 15, 2007
[...]
A recent article...... The implication is that Linux can't even give
away their software.
..... here is to simply use his article as a starting point to discuss
in depth an issue which, so far as I've ever seen, is missing almost
entirely from the debate over Windows versus Linux versus Mac.
..... The Elephant in the Room: The fact is that there's a distortion
in the idea that Linux can't be given away. There's something wrong in
the idea the price difference between Windows and Linux is
representative of the actual quality difference. There's an elephant
in the room that no one is talking about.
Windows is free.
..... The elephant in the room that no one is talking about is cracked
software. People treat Windows as being free not because they didn't
have to buy the copy that came with their computer. People think of
Windows as free because when they need a copy, they can get it from a
guy they know. Someone has a copy they can just burn to a CD for you.
Or you can get it on........
..... Hopefully the points I've made above have precluded the idea
that Linux is not spreading faster simply because Linux falls down on
some technical point. If I haven't drilled in my point enough already,
here it is again. Linux is close enough to any other major operating
systems that its price should have made it irresistible to a huge
segment of consumers. There are enough consumers out there for whom
200 dollars is worth keeping, and whose computer needs would be easily
met with Linux. But they use Windows, because they were able to do so
and keep their 200 US dollars.
"... pirated software is often easier to obtain and set up than making
a legitimate purchase."
..... offered to give the other a copy of Dreamweaver. Just give it to
her. The receiving woman didn't balk at being given a piece of
proprietary software worth 400 US dollars. No, she merely said thanks
and wondered if it wasn't too much trouble. The man joked something
about burning software all the time, so it was no big deal.
..... Consider how different the whole interaction would be if the
woman receiving the pirated software was offered a 400 dollar stolen iPod.
..... The Most Effective Form of Anti-Piracy: But here's where we
should mention the real cap on the sharing of cracked software. There
are some people who do the honest thing and pay for their software
because they fear cracked copies. Are they worried about Microsoft or
Apple anti-piracy SWAT teams bursting through their windows and
dragging them off in the middle of the night?
No, they just don't want to get a computer virus.
..... "They stick to audio and video downloads knowing they can't get
a computer virus from an MP3 or AVI file."
..... There is enough fear, uncertainty, and doubt about getting a
virus through downloaded software that most people want to get it from
their buddy......
..... I just bring it up because I believe that the threat of getting
a virus is more effective than....
..... So when someone looks at Linux, all they see is the
unfamiliarity of it, and nothing there that's so good to make them
switch from Windows. After all, they're not saving anything or gaining
anything by switching.
..... This idea that Windows is, to most everyone, effectively free,
is in my opinion the single most significant factor in explaining why
Linux isn't doing better than it is.
..... But to convince me that Linux isn't good enough to take for
free, you'd have to not only show me side-by-side comparison where
Windows did what Linux couldn't, but, more importantly, I won't even
start the discussion with you unless you show me your proof of
purchase (for every copy of Windows you have for personal use, and all
your applications) to convince me that in your mind the features
you're comparing were actually worth 200 US dollars or more.
===================================================================
When people ask me what is good about Linux (K/Ubuntu) I reply
1) It does not get viruses!
2) It is high quality,
3) and it is Free!
4) And there is a good help community too!
I am quite *sure* that the non viruses statement gets their attention.
Professionals using only windows then reply - 'Ah but it is not
targeted much'. I reply: most of the internet runs on linux. And it is
very hard to install a virus on linux. Try it yourself. Here have a CD!
My comments in the UK list were as follows:
Also see:
=========================
How Microsoft conquered China
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/07/23/100134488/
Extract:
Today Gates openly concedes that tolerating piracy turned out to be
Microsoft's best long-term strategy. That's why Windows is used on an
estimated 90% of China's 120 million PCs. "It's easier for our
software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's
not," Gates says. "Are you kidding? You can get the real thing, and
you get the same price." Indeed, in China's back alleys, Linux often
costs more than Windows because it requires more disks. And
Microsoft's own prices have dropped so low it now sells a $3 package
of Windows and Office to students
=========================
Comment: historically, the Good GUI of windows appeared sooner than
the good GUI of Linux, so market momentum for windows has been well
established.
To *change* market momentum, we need a marketing approach which pushes
at an open door - many people I know are worried about computer
related security. It is a rising public awareness, in media too. They
often are well aware of microsofts unpleasant ways of doing business.
'sucking blood' was an actual phrase used to me last weekend.
Microsoft is helping us out with Vista.
An added bonus could be that we have a wonderfully helpful and
knowledgeable Community!
Can we put these together in to a (truthful) FUD package of our own,
surely this is possible?
--
alan cocks
Kubuntu user#10391
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