[ubuntu-uk] Sad but true? From the Register

[Paul Sutton]

Rob Beard wrote:
> On 15/01/2009 16:35, Sean Miller wrote:
>   
>> On Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 4:31 PM, Yishay Mor<yishaym at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>    
>>     
>>> No WKOW, something else stopped her. But that's no excuse, computers should
>>> work for dumb people too, and everyone deserves to know what they're buying.
>>> It doesn't matter that we all know that FF is better than IE, for some
>>> people internet=IE, and office=M$. Dell need to explain the concept of
>>> compatible slowly, probably using shorter words.
>>>      
>>>       
>> I was about to say something similar.
>>
>> She clearly didn't know she was buying a Ubuntu machine and wanted
>> Windows... when Dell support got her call they shouldn't have tried to
>> evangelise, they should have sorted it so that she had what she'd
>> expected.
>>
>> In my experience a lot of so-called "Linux evangelists" do the
>> operating system more harm than good.  Especially when they try to
>> persuade people that Windows is bad and Linux is good, and that if
>> they stick with Windows they're somehow showing a lack of
>> intelligence.
>>
>> There's a man in Glastonbury who does just that, and he's put more
>> people off Linux than he's tuned into it.
>>
>> Sean
>>
>>   
>>     
> With any luck maybe one of the members of her local LUG will offer to 
> help her out and show her how to actually use Ubuntu and open her 
> documents etc.  If she does get this sorted out and sticks with Ubuntu I 
> hope that the TV station do a follow up story about how the LUG helped 
> her out (although no doubt it wouldn't happen, she'd probably end up 
> getting the laptop replaced by Dell or something).
>
> Rob
>
>
>   
This is one of the reasons I have downloaded and printed 3 flyers off

first one explains free software
another explains what ubuntu is
the third is a devon and cornwall Lug flyer so they can get help

i hand these out, and will chase people up, if they are interested, then 
I will suggest they join the lug, What is needed perhaps is for local 
users to get together and have demo events, question / answer sessions 
etc, anything really to help educate users, before they take the plunge,

in that order, so they can read about fsf and carry on reading about the 
others if they want,

Who is to say this person is dumb, its up to sales staff to know what 
they are talking about, so the right product is sold, i saw a cheap 
eeepc in currys the other day (cheap as it was mis sold), so its 
happening elsewhere too, most people assume computer = windows
most sales people perhaps think the same (why do we see things like 
"company A recommends windows XP, Windows Vista) or whatever,


Paul

-- 
Paul Sutton
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