FreeBSD's Visual Identity: Outdated?

[Nikolas Britton]

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:

>  
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org
>>[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions at freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Roger 'Rocky'
>>Vetterberg
>>Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 4:57 PM
>>To: Simon Burke
>>Cc: freebsd-www at freebsd.org; freebsd-arch at freebsd.org;
>>freebsd-questions at freebsd.org; freebsd-advocacy at freebsd.org
>>Subject: Re: FreeBSD's Visual Identity: Outdated?
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>  
>
>>Im a FreeBSD user. I like FreeBSD because it does not have all the
>>flashy installers and pretty GUI's that many linux distros seems to
>>have today.
>>    
>>
>
>That frankly isn't the reason you should like it.  You should like it
>because it works better than most commercial operating systems let
>alone most operating systems.
>  
>
It does, and that is why I use it. Amiga was like that too.

>  
>
>>But still, Ive been screaming for years for someone to
>>improve the website. Why?
>>Anyone that has stood in front of a boardroom full of CEO's or similar
>>and tried to promote the use of FreeBSD in a big organisation knows
>>why. They might like all the facts about the os, the rock-solid
>>stability, the lightning-fast performance and its solid reputation as
>>a server os, but one look at the website and they will run screaming
>>towards the nearest linux advocate instead.
>>    
>>
>
>Most of the CEO's I've dealt with don't give a shit on a shingle about
>a product website.  
>
Why are you even talking to CEOs? This is a job for CTOs and/or CIOs, 
and if a company didn't have one you wound then be talking to a CFO or COO.

>What they care about is: 'can what I need done
>be done in a way that is a) cheap and b) works and c) won't lock me
>in to you'
>  
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d) support. e) what everyone else uses. Most companys only care about d 
and e as windows is nether a, b, or c... umm how'd it go... "No one ever 
got fired for buying IBM"


>I've frankly never seen a Linux-vs-FreeBSD deal where Linux won
>if the consultant wanted to use FreeBSD, 
>
You assuming the consultant even knows about FreeBSD, most do not.

>and the customer was willing
>to deviate from Microsoft.
>
Know your market, we are not trying to get them to switch to FreeBSD 
from Windows, we are the alternative to the alternative for a company 
that has already decide to go with the alternative instead of windows.

>  VERY few customers are willing to deviate
>from Microsoft, at least not in the Western states.  
>
On the desktop yes, but where not talking about desktops here, where 
talking about servers and Linux has its claws all over the server market.

>  
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>>We, the users, might not care about our image, but if we want to be
>>taken seriously by the rest of the world we better do something about it!
>>
>>    
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>
>I would suggest that if you really are this lit up about this issue
>that you direct your customers to you OWN website which is quite obviously
>superior to the FreeBSD one.
>  
>
Now thats just asinine.

>
>Roger, you really need to be dumbing down your presentations, these
>CEO's your presenting to really don't understand all those big
>words.  Instead of using "FreeBSD" use "UNIX"  It's shorter and
>even the most sheltered of them understand that yooouu-nikx is
>something that runs computers like winders is.  
>
I'm sorry to say but anyone outside of IT/IS/MIS has no clue what UNIX 
is. at best they mistake it for Linux.

>And rather
>than telling them how many mega-bytes and giga-bits the nice
>new server is going to run at, just tell them it's going to be
>big, and fast and powerful like Arnold Schwartznegger.  
>
I agree with you about the megabit and bytes but you have gone to far to 
the other extreme, they are not stupid, the CEO's job is to keep the 
company afloat not know what a megabyte is, this is why we have CTOs and 
CIOs.

>
>In fact you might just consider hiring a professional salesperson
>that doesen't really know too much about what your selling.
>
this is a good idea, I'd have to agree with him.

>You shouldn't even
>be talking about operating systems until you have sold them on
>yourself and your company, 
>
Again this is are target market; consultants, integrators, vars, etc.  I 
bet 80% of them don't even know FreeBSD exists and of the 20% that do 
only 20% would consider using and recommending it based on technical 
merit alone.

I want a part of the linux pie!

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