On Thu, 2011-09-22 at 22:15 +0100, alan c wrote: > On 22/09/11 18:06, paul sutton wrote: > > If a friend complains their computer has a virus, ask what is a > > virus?,and say you use Ubuntu and never have that issue, offer to dual > > boot their computer or at least boot a live cd and recover that > > essential file, they a) leave happy, b) get a good impression of how > > ubuntu (or any linux) is a good thing, and c) hopefully ask for it to > > be installed. > > The timescales in such a situation can be quite long. > > I am in contact with a lot of Windows users at perpetual novice > level, and if they know me they seem to regard my knowledge with some > awe (which is touching because as Ubuntu users go I am on the novice > side of experienced). However, people -simply- -do- -not- -believe- > what I say and what others say, about, say Ubuntu. > > I have a friend who I worked with before we both retired some years > ago. He was/is a mathematician and engineer. He was senior to me in > technical matters. It took literally *several* years, until his XP > laptop ground to a halt, before he was prepared to accept my help to > make a dual boot machine. He now uses only the Ubuntu os. The turning > point was a conversation, when I (again) (tactfully) mentioned the > Ubuntu alternative. He suddenly said > 'I HATE' Windows! > He said he had another friend who was saying the *opposite* to what I > was saying. That if he could not do Windows, then Linux was NOT for > him (the 'L' word again....) He trusted us both. And had a conflict of > direction. His existing XP at least was familiar. > > So, we live in a situation where only complete desperation will prompt > users to risk change. Then they need a lot of hand holding because at > every turn they are faced with a Windows user prompting them to stay > in the club. > > This is more than a monopoly of retail supply, there is a long term > effect, fed I guess from Microsoft and their very skillful marketing > people. There is psychology and emotional issues. Part of the effect > arises from users being and feeling unable to understand or control > what happens. They get to feel helpless. Things go wrong as they try > to go through hoops, and they get frightened. And stay frightened. > > They get so un confident that it really takes an exceptional friend > and exceptional situation to prompt a change. > > -- > alan cocks > Ubuntu user > I have managed one convert and one potential convert in the last two weeks by using the "try it on an old machine" approach. The first person is a member of a computer club where I help out. He had an old Acer laptop that originally had Vista on it, and ran so slow that it was almost unusable. 48 hours after installing 10.04 he sent me an email saying he was delighted with the revitalised machine and asked for me to put Ubuntu on his desktop and also on his Win7 net book, which he says runs too slow. The second potential convert is a young work colleague who is attempting his own install of 11.04 this weekend. I will have to wait until Monday to find out how successful he was. I hope that they will tell others about their experiences and encourage them to give Ubuntu a try. I also have a spare laptop running 11.04 that I offer to loan to people who express an interest in Ubuntu so that they can try it at full speed with no perceived risk to their own machines. I find that Windows users do not fully trust the live CD concept; to them a CD = Install Software. It helps to get past their initial fears.
Barry T -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
