Whenever I read articles or hear discussions about Linux’s ability to take over the desktop market, Whitney Houston’s song “The Greatest Love of All” comes to mind (actually, I think of Arsenio Hall’s–aka The Sexual Chocolates–rendition in the movie Coming to America). “Why?” You may ask. Because the children are the future in so many ways, but especially for Linux.
I’m certain you’re all familiar with that old cliché, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Although this is not the case for every old dog (OD) (after all, I get my technology butt handed to me on a regular basis by some pretty old dogs), it is true for many who don’t have interests in technology. ODs like this yearn for familiarity. They don’t like change–not even from one version of MS Office to another. “Why did they move that thingy from here to over there?” “I don’t understand why they changed that. Everything was working fine until now.” “Why would I want to give up this big, shiny tower that takes up almost half of my desk for that tiny little laptop. Bigger is better, right?” All right, you get the idea. Enough geriatric bashing; I’m not getting any younger and will probably be just as stubborn and more cantankerous in my golden years.
Back to my point. To truly understand where I’m going with this, I need to redefine what I mean when I say old dog. An old dog isn’t someone who is merely old, in fact, many of them are fairly young; rather, they are people who are stuck in their ways–the ones who will sacrifice faster, more efficient, and secure technology for what is familiar because it simply works for their needs. After all, no one wants to relearn how to do the everyday typical task. I know, I know. I said in a former post that intuitiveness and qualitative measures of what is good or better is intrinsically linked to familiarity, and what is most intuitive, a lot of the time, is the one that is most familiar. This is true; however, the true measure of intuitiveness is the ability to make changes while staying familiar. How users adapt to the changes is a good measure–the quicker they adapt, the more intuitive the technology is.
Again, I digress. Back to old dogs. The problem with old dogs is that you can’t force them to change. You have to let them think that they are dictating change. That’s why it’s better to roll out changes slowly, so that the learning curve is flatter. The less painful it is, the more welcoming ODs become. But yanking the entire OS from under their feet is not a good idea. Too much change. Too steep a learning curve. But why bother? Why force ODs to change? If Deepak Chopra’s Fourth Spiritual Law, “the Law of Least Effort,” is accurate, it makes little sense to force ODs to do so. Too much effort. Besides, it goes against nature’s flow. Introduce new technology to them, show them how it works, and then, let them decide if they want to take the leap.
But the kids! Ah yes, the kids. They are the answer. Today’s children have grown up with technology all around them. Nintendos, X-Boxes, Playstations, iPods, iPhones, and so on and so forth. At their age, they aren’t frightened of change. They are just beginning life’s journey and are eager to learn new things. These two factors combine to create the perfect storm for learning new technology. Today, children figure out new technology quickly without much trial and tribulation. I’ll give you a personal example. It took me three boot cycles to teach my 5-year-old son how to load Puppy Linux from the Grub menu, launch Firefox, find the bookmark for his favorite Spongebob game, launch the game, and how to shut everything down when he was done. Three boot cycles…that’s it. I know some adults who can’t even check their voicemail on their cell phones, or how to program the favorites button on their TV remotes after numerous attempts.
If the Linux community wants to see their market share increase, they need to go after the children. I know that sounds insidious, but believe me, exposure to Linux is safer and more beneficial than McDonald’s, Barbie, and GI Joe. Steve Jobs and his marketing team figured this out a while ago. They don’t necessarily target young children; however, they have used a concentrated marketing strategy, and have gone after young adults and teenagers with great success. Look around. How many young people do you see carrying iThings? iPods? iTouches? and iPhones? And now, rumor says that Apple will be releasing their first iTablet next spring. (Sounds suspiciously like a bigger iTouch to me.) I’m guessing it will be very intuitive and will be all the rage if the price is right. Why has Apple become so ubiquitous? Because they figured out which market required the least effort on their part.
Canonical has at least made an effort to reach the children with their Edubuntu spin. It’s a good idea, and a nice starting point; however, it needs much more development. Development in two ways. One that creates apps that are more exciting, appealing, and educational for children. And the other that creates apps for educators–e.g. gradebooks (like GradeL) and class management software. A concentrated effort like this will help get Edubuntu in more classrooms, and hence, more exposure.
There are other distros and interface tweaks that seem to be targeting a younger and more mobile crowd. Android, seems to be making some headway. And although I’m skeptical of Google’s motives, I think their influence and marketing savvy will bring Android to more and more devices. If the multi-touch tablet takes off, I’m sure the heavyweight distros will begin developing for this platform.
I once read a comment on some blog that stated that Linux needn’t worry about Windows, but instead, should set their sights on Apple. I didn’t think too much about the statement at the time; however, in retrospect, that person was right. Why worry about Windows? Linux has overtaken Windows in so many ways, that the point of which is better between the two is moot. But Apple on the other hand, is leading a revolution. They have flooded the market with sophisticated and innovative peripheral devices that aren’t in direct competition with the desktop computer. Slowly but surely, many of these device holders are more and more interested in Mac computing. The iTablet will be another stepping stone to the promise land.
Do I think Apple is on the brink of world domination? No, I don’t. But I have to say, they are surely working towards it. What does Linux have to do? Focus on the children. The more young people who are raised on Linux and Linux devices the better it will be in the long run. Build it fast, beautiful, and easy to use…and they will come.
I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way…
Steve Jobs and his marketing team figured this out a while ago. They don’t necessarily target young children; however, they have used a concentrated marketing strategy, and have gone after young adults and teenagers with great success.
I grew up in the early 80s, and I seem to recall Apple either donating computers to schools or offering some kind of special deal to get elementary school children early exposure to the Apple brand. That certainly did pay off, and a lot of my 30-something peers are now hardcore Macbook and iPhone people.
Offering CDs of operating systems people have to install and configure for themselves isn’t quite the same thing. If Canonical is serious about Bug #1, they need to start donating Ubuntu and Edubuntu computers to schools… or selling and properly advertising well-configured preinstalled options (the Dell Ubuntu options do not fit into this category).
A.Y.,
I grew up in the early 80s, and I seem to recall Apple either donating computers to schools or offering some kind of special deal to get elementary school children early exposure to the Apple brand.
I grew up in the 80s too; however, don’t remember this. Not that that means it isn’t true. There are many things I don’t remember about the 80s.
Maybe that’s why my earliest memories of computing are of me using an Apple. I was privileged when I was young. My father bought us an Apple IIe pretty early in the game. My elementary school eventually got about 8 IIes by the time I was in fifth or sixth grade. As time went on, we (my family and I) slowly moved towards the PC platform. At one time, before I found Linux, I considered going back. The only problem was that I could never justify the hardware cost. How fortunate in retrospect.
As for Canonical donating machines, I think you’re right. I know that smaller non-profits and forward-thinking institutions are beginning to donate machines running Linux to elementary schools, so it’s happening. If Canonical got behind it…that would be something! I have talked to people here who are willing to refurb some older PCs with LInux to donate to the schools. I really hope this happens, and happens soon.
Better preinstalls would be good too. The next time I buy hardware, I’m going to try a company like System 76. Their Linux support is supposedly top notch.
Thanks for the reply…me ke aloha…
J.
I was born in 1982, and remember seeing Apple IIe, or was it IIIc, computers in school early on. I don’t think using those machines had any influence on my own brand loyalty at the time, as personal desktop computers were still a very new thing to everyone.
Things are so different now that computers are part of the mainstream of north american culture. What’s ‘cool’ is readily defined by TV and other forms of visualized advertisement for evereyone to see. In this respect I think windows and mac os are doing really good jobs, although in different ways.
Windows seems to have hit on a good strategy for marketing itself as a child friendly OS (I’m a PC and I’m 4 years old!) While mac os, as you mentioned, has great social caché with young adults. I very often see Mac laptops on TV shows and movies used by characters who are supposed to be appealing.
However, i think that because of this ‘cool’ image that apple likes to maintain, their computers will always be more expensive by default. Being more expensive, they may never have a majority in the market (correct me if I’m wrong). This leaves room for linux, which i hope can gain a more child friendly image like windows, and a broader appeal to young adults like Mac OS. Most importantly, it should always be the free alternative!
Cheers,
Inkhorn
Hi Inkhorn,
Advertising/marketing has definitely helped MS and Apple become successful. You know, I always used to think that marketing and advertising had little affect on me and my buying habits; however, more recently, I have noticed how it does. Not in blatant ways, but very subtly. For example, I buy certain brands of everyday things only because there is a familiarity in the name. You know? Would you buy X brand motor oil over Penzoil, to save a few cents?
For Apple, it is definitely based on coolness. Do you want to be that 20-30 something guy in the jeans and t-shirt, or that portly, “old” suit guy?
And, you’re right about TV. My daughter likes to watch iCarly; the computer gear portrayed on the show are Mac-like, except the logo is a pear and not an apple. Her nemesis on the show has different looking gear…no pears if I remember correctly.
I think Apple can overtake MS only if they can garner the enterprise markets. They would probably have to detach their OS from their hardware too–very unlikely methinks. After all, they are making money on their hardware too.
They will make headway because they are building good brand loyalty with the 20-30 somethings, and because their stuff is innovative and of good quality. They rarely release duds, and that should keep their consumers happy. I’ll be interested how their tablet affects the market.
But if we can get Linux into schools and on more peripheral devices that appeal to young adults, Linux can and will make a lot of headway. And you’re right, it does need to stay the free…
Thanks for the reply…aloha…
J.
My wife is Brazilian and I lived in Brazil for a few years. There the federal government has taken steps in recent years to embrace open source software, even creating its own distro based on Kubuntu Hardy Heron. They call it Linux Educacional 3.0 and are working on deploying it pre-installed on hardware for school computer labs across that country. If a similar initiative were to take place in the United States I’m sure Microsoft would weasel its way in.
Hi Adam,
I’ve heard of similar initiatives in other countries–running custom distros–specifically in SE Asia. That’s awesome that Brazil has taken those steps. They (and their children) are going to be ahead of the curve. And you’re right, MS wouldn’t let such an initiative go ahead without getting a piece of the pie. The problem here in the US is that the MS is a big business interest, and so, has a lot of clout in the political arena.
Aloha…
J.
There is an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area called Partimus.org (meaning “we share” in Latin) that is focused on getting Linux computers into schools. They are currently supporting 4 schools with free Linux computers. You can support Partimus.org by going to that website and donating.
Christian Einfeldt,
Producer, The Digital Tipping Point
Hi Christian,
Thanks for the info I’ll check out Partimus. Do you know if they are interested in doing outreach to other cities/states? I wouldn’t mind helping an organization like that get started here in Hawaii.
Aloha…
J.