[KLUG Advocacy] Re: Mudslinging

[Robert G. Brown]

On Thu, 08 Apr 2004 09:16:43 -0400, Adam Tauno Williams <adam@morrison-ind.com> wrote:

>> Fear Doubt Uncertainty
>
>At least around here FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt)...
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. The "and" doesn't make it into the acronym.
The term was invented in the 1960's, in response to some of the tactics used 
by IBM at the time (and since).

>...just doesn't have any traction anymore.
Well... it's no longer legitimate, but... (more about this later).

>Shoot, you can't even watch prime time TV without
>getting whacked in the forehead by IBM's Linux commercials.

>And during the shows intelligent suit-wearing people watch (McNeal
>Letter
Lerher
>...News Hour, CNN Business Report, etc...)....
Yes, I don a suit just to watch! :)

>it is almost a constant pro-Linux barrage.
These people know when they're being sold an idea, and they'll investigate, at 
least a little. If it fails for them, they will NOT be back any time soon. So
if we get their attention, we'd better make something stick.

>My favorite example is those full two page adds Microsoft was running in
>every trade rag for awhile.  The weird green ones with the white letters
>saying "UNIX Like Stability And Performance"; in a Windows add!  Now
>that add designer probably got fired.  Our CEO walks into my office with
>the add and says 'So are they really almost as good as LINUX now?' [
>"Like" was a very poor word choice. ]  This coming from a man who
>stuggled with the concept of "logging off".  

This is a good sign, and it's being propagated all over Corporate America,
and elsewhere.

>The war of legitimacy is over,...
In the sense that IT people in general now understand, more or less (and like 
it or not) that Linux is a long-term part of the landscape.

>the current purpose of M$-FUD is just to hang on to those last enclaves
>of Windows-only people.
One characteristic of these last enclaves is that they have a LOT of people in 
them; it is probably the van of Microsoft's market share. I'm speaking of the 
Joe sixpacks who bought their Win98 boxen at Sam's, Sears, and Wal-Mart, etc.
and didn't know what the heck they were really buying, but knew they wanted a 
computer, since computers were the big thing....

>....they'll hold that ground for along time because even mongers like Dr.
>James Dobson manage to hang onto their loyal disciples after they
>humiliate themselves.
Perhaps one reason. The longer term reason, I'll claim, is that it will take 
a good deal to convince many of these people that they have to buy anything 
again for some time. Let's see where we are in 3 years, when some of this 
older stuff (with pre0installed Windows 98) begins to really go...What is 
available at that time will determine what OS the fairly uninformed will get.


							Regards,
							---> RGB <---