Linux Social Experiment…People have NO clue

[prathapml]

http://lobby4linux.com/WordPress/?p=63

Linux Social Experiment…People have NO clue

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I spent a day doing something I see people do every day and never give them another thought.

There is hardly a street corner or intersection in Austin Texas that does not have bedraggled soul standing there with a sign in his hand. Sometimes they have spouses, some have kids, sometimes they have dogs…but regardless of who they have with them, there is a constant.

They all hold signs.

The idea came to me while I was helping my daughter with her homework. There was no direct reason why I should have come up with the idea during that event. It was just a random thought on which I followed through. What if I were to stand on a street corner with a sign in MY hand? One in which did not ask for money, food, a job or sympathy, but offered to give people something for free? What if I offered people waiting at the stoplight of a busy intersection free Linux disks?

I spent the next two evenings burning disks, covers and putting them in cheap cases. I made 60 of them and put them in two shoe boxes. The next morning, I traveled about 3 miles to an intersection of William Cannon Blvd. and the I-35 feeder road. I parked my pickup truck in the Kmart parking lot and carried my stuff over to my corner. It was there I sat up shop at 7 AM.

After 20-plus years in the United States Army, I have an aversion to barbers and razors. With the aid of a pair of old blue jeans, run down tennis shoes and a ratty old jacket, I didn’t look much different than any other street person. My “sign” was a 3x3 cardboard boxtop with the following message.

Stop paying for the privilege of using your computer. Get your free Linux disks here.

Ask scroungy-looking guy for details.

And in droves, by the dozen and then by the hundreds…they ignored me. I made it a point to attempt eye contact with everyone in the closest lane to me. When cars were stopped at the light, I had several disks in one hand and the sign in the other. It was amazing how many people found things to fiddle with in their cars when I looked at them. As the traffic idled at the light, I would walk down the median and hold up my sign so they could see it clearly. It was shortly after the morning work rush hour that it began to happen.

People gave me money…

And cigarettes…

4 gave me gift certificates to local eateries.

Some gave me phone numbers.

Go figure.

They were not reading my sign. They just assumed I was begging for money, and they handed it out the car windows and quickly retreated to their sanctuary. Most had the power windows rolled up before I could say thank you.

It was only after the morning rush that people actually seemed to read my sign and asked me what it was all about. Many judged that I had been hired by someone to do this thing I was doing. but in the 200 or so people in that day that actually spoke to me about what I was doing, only 9 knew anything about Linux. I gave away every disk that day. Those that took the time to speak to me were genuinely interested in the concept of a free operating system. All but a handful had the slightest clue that there was an alternative to Microsoft Windows. The thing that struck me most was the relief on their part when they found I wanted nothing from them. Some laughed and joked with me, others just wanted to get on their way. At 4:15 PM, I was out of disks and the traffic was picking up. It was again rush hour and those who waited at the light wanted nothing but the comfort of their homes. They wanted nothing to do with some scruffy-looking guy standing on the corner with a sign in his hand.

It was beginning to hint at darkness when I picked up my boxes, sign and my trash. I had packed a small lunch in a paper bag and put it in one of the shoe boxes. Mixed in with the empty sandwich wraps and chocolate milk carton was my “earnings” for the day. I got back to my truck and started it, wanting nothing but to go to my own home. As I waited for the engine to warm, I looked across the parking lot at the opposite corner of the traffic light. Some middle-aged guy with a worn field jacket and a ball cap stood on the corner holding a sign. I put my truck in gear and entered traffic, then stopped at the light where he stood.

I rolled down my window and motioned him over. He looked behind him and then to the side, not sure if I was signaling to him. I made the gesture again and he warily approached.

“How you doin’ buddy.”

The guy looked at me and shrugged.

“OK I guess…it’s gonna get cold tonight.”

I shook my head in agreement and reached into the shoe box next to me and took out my lunch sack. I stuck it out the window and handed it to him.

“Here you go man. You have a good day.”

The guy took the bag and said thanks without looking in it. I pulled away and smiled. I had spent hours and hours creating those Linux disks I had given away, but giving away that grease stained lunch sack was better. I fought the impulse to look in the mirror and see if he was checking it out. I had already tallied the contents.

Currency = $144.09.

Cigarettes = 4 packs.

Gift certificates for a meal at Chili’s, Applebee’s and Logans = 4.

Standing in that man’s shoes for a day…

A gift that cannot be measured.

All-Righty Then

helios

[Zxian]

Interesting...

It's true that most people have no clue about Linux. My step-mother didn't even know about Firefox until I brought it up at the dinner table last night. I guess the biggest problem is that people are often too scared to change the way they do things. Can you imagine trying to teach all the drivers out there how to use paddle shifters in cars? Sure, they're better than the manual stick, but it's not what people are used to (most definately not for people who drive automatic).

[suryad]

Actually people are indifferent to many things and computers are one of them. They just want it to work and check email and play solitaire listen to some music do some online shopping and print out papers. Thats about all they need and so they dont care about Linux or Firefox.

[EchoNoise]

Actually people are indifferent to many things and computers are one of them. They just want it to work and check email and play solitaire listen to some music do some online shopping and print out papers. Thats about all they need and so they dont care about Linux or Firefox.

Yeah, thats pretty much it!!... I've only successfully converted 2 people over to linux, and they have been happy for about 6 months now (Ubuntu)... They said to me about why its free, why would people use windows after they used linux, about viruses and spyware... Its just about change, people afraid of change!!

Edit: I love linux debates, its funny what these microsoft-fanboys come up with

Edited December 13, 2005 by undeadsoldier

[prathapml]

heh, not many fanboys here.

the majority of the members on this forum are rational, intelligent people - which is what draws me.

As for myself, I am neither MS-oriented, nor a linux-fanatic.

I believe I'm sufficiently deep into both, and choose the appropriate platform depending on the task.

[Crash&Burn]

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Edited December 14, 2005 by Crash&Burn

[kalo]

That's deep man.

I got a box of 50 Ubuntu CDs for free from the mail order form on the Ubuntu site, and tryed to hand them out at my local supermarket with a few mates. Most people would ignore us, it doesn't matter what you do in public, people will think the worst and keep walking. Anything to avoid confrontation. It makes me really sad..

[EchoNoise]

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Awww... what did you say

[keytotime]

The Achille's heel of linux is driver's. That's why so many people stick with windows. I've tried to use linux, but my onboard raid and my printer are incompatible. Also having to compile things from source is a huge pain. If Linux finally made a universal system for driver's it would gain a lot of support.

[EchoNoise]

Or you can be smart and search around for drivers, if that doesn't work, try and build them yourself

[prathapml]

Umm.... Thats what he said.

Searching for drivers, & building your own, is what freaks out a lot of people on Linux.

[Zxian]

Or you can be smart and search around for drivers, if that doesn't work, try and build them yourself

*playing the average joe\jane* - "Search... for drivers? You mean I actually have to do something to my computer?"

Don't even start talking about building drivers... I'd guess that the people who frequent here are among people who are in the top 5% (at least) of the computer-knowledge/intelligence scale. I'm not meaning to sound snotty or anything, but it's pretty true that we're all nerds here...

[Noise]

I'd never take Linux disks like this. A good linux hacker could easily pre-install a rootkit on the distribution.

[mark]

heh, not many fanboys here.

the majority of the members on this forum are rational, intelligent people - which is what draws me.

I'd guess that the people who frequent here are among people who are in the top 5% (at least) of the computer-knowledge/intelligence scale. I'm not meaning to sound snotty or anything, but it's pretty true that we're all nerds here...

What prathapml said but outside the 5% group ( I guess I could, if I had to, compile that is. ). There are very few here who are snotty or arrogant. There are a few who are slightly intollerant at times and/or get annoyed, but I can't blame them.

What you guys have to realize is that not only are you fairly bright but you think differently. You have an allacrity in learning and mentally digesting the information to put it in an organized form. You look at some text about computers and everything falls into a logical order and you remember it. I read posts that, for some people more than others, have come off the top of your heads. I read it and I can see that it has come off the top of your heads. And when it hits the paper, it is thought out and clear. You pare off the extranious junk and it never clogs your thoughts.

It's shame that what really puts people off of Linux is that when they see it will take a little extra effort to get things up and running, it negates the 'free' aspect.

144 x 5 days = $720 tax free, from sitting on their a**, not producing a **** thing, whining about how hard life is (and this guy wasn't even trying to get any money!!!!!!!!!). It's more than what a lot of people make honestly. Yeah, I'm one of those a$$*(@s that just drive by. Once in a while, someone, for some reason, will catch my eye and I'll stop. But not often. 50% of the time when I have stopped, I've regretted it. Bogus sob story or there's something freaked out about the character. The other 50% I'm quite glad to have helped. Ok, mini rant over. No, it's not. He wasn't even trying to get any money!!!!!!!!!! $720 + $50 (4 packs of smokes x 5 days) + $200 (4 gift certificates @ $10(minimum) x 5 days) = $970 a week and not even trying. Arrghhhhhh. Does anybody here resent them pulling in that much? I read a story in the paper several years ago about an old guy who panhandled in NY city. He was there every summer in his 'territory' and most people in the area knew him. They liked him and helped him out. During the winters, he would just disappear. One summer rolled around and he didn't show up. Time went by and the locals got worried about him. Enough so that they investigated. It turn out that the old guy had died. In his winter home. A mansion in Florida.

Don't get me wrong. I look, quickly. I know what crack-heads, bums and mooches look like. They have a a slightly better than a .1% chance of leaving a positive first impression. I've driven people 30 and 40 miles out of my way (one way) and given them more than pocket change. I don't mind helping those in need.

And for your information- I have re-read what I have written, deletted and rewritten to keep some coherence to what I have written and tried not to offend anyone.

MSFN fanboy

DL

[keytotime]

First of all i have a photo printer no linux driver's work with it(. My motherboard cause's all linux install's to go into hissy fit's and die. So I'm not gonna go out and build myself a custom distro of linux and driver's for linux, and wait for hour's for linux to compile stuff from source, when I Have all the software free from where i used to work.