[ubuntu-uk] efi boot, Windows 8 and Linux

[John Oliver]

On 22/09/11 10:50, alan c wrote:
> On 22/09/11 09:47, Paul Sutton wrote:
>> We would have to do a lot of awareness raising and support things like
>> install days to get round things like this.   as the borg say "we will
>> adapt"
> The FLOSS world's lack of competence, or even appetite, for publicity
> or marketing is the elephant in the room.
>
> 1) FLOSS, GNU/Linux etc, 'marketing' is pretty well non existent
> compared to non free products. 'I advertise, therefore I exist'
> (apologies to Descartes).
>
> 2) Of all things, marketing is -very- unsuited to the free libre,
> distributed model.
>
To me, the upshot of this decision (if it is allowed to go through)* , 
is that it will simply make it much harder for the non-technical user 
who might decide to try Linux, to do so. I started using Ubuntu, 
personally, after my Windows XP "exploded" (a bit), and so I googled 
Linux, and found Ubuntu.

I do not think that any non-technical user of a computer is likely to 
want to even go into the BIOS, let alone possibly remove a cover and 
looking for small switches. It does act, in my view, as something that 
won't prevent non-technical users from installing, but make it seem too 
hard for them to continue bothering.

* I do, however, believe that the move by Microsoft will see fierce 
competition, and possibly even legal contest, from groups such as the 
FSF or the European Competition Commission, or the EFF. Additionally, 
many OEM's, especially on server systems, do support Linux, or variants 
thereupon, and will possibly disagree. It does make me wonder if big 
OEM's will start pulling out of things like the Windows Logo Program, 
but I'm not sure if it's likely, as the lack of that little sticker 
could indeed make prospective buyers worried, or uncertain.**

** This makes me think of this as another method of spreading FUD, but 
perhaps that's only me.

Regards,
John Oliver


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