[CoLoCo] Promoting Open Office

[Kevin Fries]

I have often thought about Linux advertising.  I remember the IBM Linux ads from several years ago, and while quite clever, I wondered about their effectiveness.  They pointed out Linux's ability to learn and adapt to almost any situation.  But is that what people think about when they pick an OS?

The ads I have often contemplated would follow a theme of "What are you paying for".  To me, this gets to the heart of the Linux and FOSS argument.  It also gets to the heart of the OO.o argument in specific.  The ads would be some thing like:

Anti-Virus Software:
  Windows:
    McAfee Total Protection 2009: $40/year on sale (reg $80)
    Norton Internet Security 2009:
      Basic: $40/year
      Advanced: $60/year
      Includes spam & spyware protection: $80/year
  Mac:
    Norton Internet Security 2009:
      AV Only: $50/year
      Includes spam & spyware protection: $70/year
  Linux: Includes several programs all for free

What are you paying for?

Office Production Suite
  Windows (recommends MS Office)
    Office:
      Standard: $400
      Professional: $500
      Small Business: $450
      Ultimate: $680
    OpenOffice: Free via download
  Mac (also recommends MS Office)
    Office:
      Standard: $400
      Special media edition: $500
    OpenOffice: Free via download
  Linux: Includes Open Office for free right in the box

What are you paying for?

Operating System
  Windows:
    Basic: $200
    Premium: $240
    Business: $300
    Ultimate: $320
    Commercial Support: Price varies for every product you own
  Mac:
    Leopard (10.5.4): $130
    Apple Care: $250/3yrs for only Apple products
  Linux:
    Ubuntu: Free
    Support contract: $250 for all software on each desktop per year, Free web support

What are you paying for?

Ditto this argument for Browsers (Firefox/IE/Safari); Graphics (Gimp/Photoshop); etc.

The idea is not to jump up and down and say "Buy Me".  Everyone does that.  The idea is to challenge the status quo.  To challenge people to justify what they are getting for the price they are paying.  Money is at a premium right now, and if you challenge people to think about what they are spending, and what they are getting for that price, you will get people thinking about what is in their best interest.  And lets face it, neither Microsoft nor Apple are prepared to have that debate because they know they can not justify their prices and vendor lock-in.  Best of all, getting people the challenge the status quo and think about what is in their best interest causes them to feel that they came to this decision themselves, and that will be much harder for either of the big two to fight against.

Just my $0.02

Kevin Fries
Senior Linux Engineer
Computer and Communications Technology, Inc
A division of Japan Communications Inc
(303) 708-9228 x326
________________________________________
From: ubuntu-us-co-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com [ubuntu-us-co-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com] On Behalf Of Jeffrey LePage [jeffrey_lepage at yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 8:25 AM
To: ubuntu-us-co at lists.ubuntu.com
Subject: Re: [CoLoCo] Promoting Open Office

Pushing OpenOffice is a great idea, but a newspaper ad may not be the best way to do it.

I think we should create an ad first, and then decide how to distribute.  Fortunately, there is already an ad we could use: http://homepage.mac.com/bhorst/
Of course, this is already a little dated; we need to change the version number, etc.  It's licensed under Creative Commons and the original design docs are available.

I would be willing to put up some links on my school websites.  For those of you associated with libraries and schools: how about putting flyers in the library/school newsletters?  Or posters around the schools?





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