Assuming We Want FreeBSD to Grow: Who Is It For?
Chris
racerx at makeworld.com
Tue Feb 15 18:56:51 PST 2005
Anthony Atkielski wrote:
> Chris writes:
>
>
>>To me? They are users that are:
>>
>>1. Fed up with the MS upgrades
>>2. Fed up with paying too much for software (apps and OS)
>>3. Looking for a viable alternative to the MS empire
>>4. NOT your average Windows user.
>
>
> All the wrong people, generally. FreeBSD is not a solution for people
> who hate Microsoft. It is not a viable alternative to MS desktop
> software by any stretch of the imagination, except for a handful of
> geeks. About the only group above that might be in the market for
> FreeBSD would be the "non-average" Windows user ... provided that
> "non-average" means "computer geek."
Not intended to implicate a hatred for MS. Pure and simple, people get
tired of a company that puts out an upgrade to either an app or an OS
and must pay a somewhat healthy price. Home folks and companies alike
are hit with these high costs.
That's why OpenSource is looking more attractive to your "non-average"
user and company IT nuts.
I never mentioned a "hatred" to Uncle Bill and his empire. Simply people
growing tired of the same old, same old.
> If you aim at these markets, FreeBSD will never go anywhere. Even Linux
> is unlikely to ever make a dent in Windows, and it won't be for lack of
> trying. You can't be successful with a slogan like "anything's better
> than Microsoft."
Somewhat true however, Think of Porsche. Certainly there is a market
place for the auto - albeit somewhat limited, but yet there still is a
demand and a market.
So I say, why not? Target the people that want to do more with the PC,
that happen to be a bit more sophisticated in "geek-dom"
> Most computer users don't love or hate Microsoft; they don't care about
> Microsoft at all. Trying to market to people who hate Microsoft is thus
> a waste of time. And even of those with an irrational hatred for the
> company, only a fraction have the technical knowledge required to try an
> alternate desktop OS like UNIX.
Again - I never implied a "hatred". I specifically said people whom are
tired of (insert reason).
>>As a desktop environment, we would need to ensure that the average
>>Windows user is aware that it's an OS NOT for him/her.
>
>
> Not a problem currently, since even sysadmins who could be installing
> and benefitting from FreeBSD on the server side don't know about the OS.
>
>
>>Do we really want to develop FreeBSD to be used by these groups of users
>>(No offense intended)?
>
>
> No. But neither do we wish to target Microsoft-haters, either. Trying
> to get someone to adopt an OS just because it's not from a certain
> much-hated vendor is a very, very poor way to market the software.
> Hatred is not synonymous with technical competence, and many people who
> hate Microsoft (particularly some of the most rabid MS-bashers) don't
> know enough to use any other OS, whereas many people who are very
> computer-literate and could profit from FreeBSD do not harbor any
> irrational hatred of MS.
Again - I never mentioned MS-Haters. Linux users tend to be that.
Re-read the wording I typed.
>>I think not - for when you start to create an OS for the masses, you
>>are doing nothing more then creating a Windows Clone...
>
>
> Yes.
Here we agree.
--
Best regards,
Chris
Performance is directly affected by the perversity of
inanimate objects.
More information about the freebsd-advocacy
mailing list