[Promotion] Re: Because you have better stuff to do than fixing your computer

[Thilo Pfennig]

( I also reply to freedesktop)

2006/10/19, Quim Gil <qgil at desdeamericaconamor.org>:
> Can we borrow the "Just Works! (tm)" slogan?
>

Actually I don't think that such slogans are a good idea. I think
Windows, Mac, Intel and AOL already go that line that THEY enable the
user to do cool things.

I really think that we rather should communicate other values, that
might not be as "sexy", but maybe in the future.


I would rather like to communicate:

 * GNOME is free software: "Free your Desktop" (I love to see this
slogan to be a shared slogan of KDE, GNOME and others like:
 * "Free you desktop with GNOME" or
 * "Free your desktop with KDE"

I think this is the most important one. It is not distinguishing GNOME
from other desktops, but I really would not worry too much about the
others. I think the simplicity GNOME has is more implict in relation
to other desktops and does not matter much. You can not compete with
Apple on the "it just works" metapher, because we really do not have
the money, and on the other hand if we ask the question of freedom no
proprietary desktop will ever be able to compete with a free desktop.

 * With a free desktop you get many applications and functionality
without haveing to download and try shareware or buy applications that
you then find out do not what you want.

This is the other free desktop bonus. This should be formulated much
simpler. This is also a point where Windows and Mac can not compete.
They have some free programs like iTunes or Internet Explorer but they
are not trying to provide everything.

I also think that it does not makes too much sense to communicate how
GNOME might be better. The thing is that GNOME is no distribution and
we do not want people to get GNOME, really. But we are sending mixed
messages.

We really only can advertise the use of a free desktop and not the use
of GNOME. We only can advertise GNOME as a basis for software
developers. if we advertise GNOME instead of the use of a free desktop
(like some kind of Linux) we are rather trying to say: GNOME is better
than KDE. The same is true for the other way round. I think our target
grouo should not be Unix/Linux users that use a free desktop but users
coming from other platforms.

So what i would vote for is some kind of coordinated attack of all
forces of the free desktop movement including Mozilla Foundation. We
are all in the same boat. And the boat is the free desktop. I would
love to see more than just contacts and some exchange of information
but rather an answer to:

 * How can we enable as much users as possible to free their desktop?

How can we play together? I think it is essential that we all send one
or two same message out repeatedly and also that we concentrate on
those aspects.
I think if we try to communicate with the "just works"-thingy we are
actually trying to be good geeks that just not only try to have a
geeky desktop but something that is betterin the same category as all
the other "just works"-desktops. I would be very pessimistic in the
success of such a try. I think it is a good sign that we try to make
things work, no question, but I am quite sure that we would be a lot
more successfull if we concentrate on those categories where we are
the leaders. I have the feeling that we all have the tendency to
forget about those values/categories because we are thinking for years
that we have to catch up with the others. But this has kept us beeing
desktop underdogs. Thats why I even do not try to convince people that
a free desktop is more easier than what they are used to work with.
Most people will always have more of the "just works" effect with what
they are used to than with anything else. So there it just does not
matter if GNOME or KDE are really somehow simpler.

We must get to the people that are starting to think about their
freedom on the desktop, that are tired of the dependency of the
company policy of Apple and Microsoft. I think of people like Mark
Pilgrim: http://diveintomark.org/archives/2006/06/02/when-the-bough-breaks

I think we can really build the best common ground on the arguments of
why we think software should be free.

I think people are not silly. We might not get everybody to switch,
but that should not be our goal, either.


Thilo





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