I am only a Linux user, not an expert. I feel good to tell you that I am linux user. Because, when I look around, I see only linux geeks, or linux experts and very very less linux users.
Understanding Linux as a user
The open source theory is not my attraction. I use Linux because it is a good operating system and that’s the only reason.When I write about Linux, I am not preaching freedom and open source or any of those theories… but I am trying to tell you about a good operating system that I use.
My job introduced Linux to me as an operating system that does almost everything that windows can do, and lot of things that Windows can not do. I used linux because I had to, and I did not leave Linux because I started loving it.
This will not happen very often. We do not have platforms where general public get introduced to Linux. Linux and most of the things related to it are shared within the Geek Communities around the Internet.
The next step, reach the common man
What Linux should do now, as early as possible, is to introduce Linux to the common man. This should happen online and offline. There is a great community of Linux users. They can easily do this, using their online and offline contacts.
If you are one of the,here is a tip to get you started. Find 5 friends of yours who does not use linux. Tell them about it, help them install linux on their computer, and train them for sometime.After one month’s time, go back, and review the situation.
Show off your Linux computer to friends and encourage them to use it. Make it a little stylish and tell them how to do it. Your friends will love more stylish laptops, and of course, being different from others.
Is anyone doing something about this ?
Yes, of course. Freedom Walk was such a movement, which got attention last year in Kerala. Guess what, they used Gandhian principles to promote free softwares and Linux. Read more about them here.
Ubuntu, with their “Linux for Human Beings” tag on it, is reaching out to common man. Dell now sell computers with preinstalled ubuntu. There are a good number of Netbooks with Ubuntu on it.
Linux is ready, and so is the commuinty. Lets go hunting, and find more users for it.
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