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Old 09-08-2004, 05:25 PM   #1
Jmcatch742
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Why doesnt linux advertise?


Why doesnt linux have comercials or banners or ads like microsoft does. It needs to get its name out there!!! Most people who arent comp freaks dont even know that it exists! Im serious I mean the distros should put up some comercials or something, I know the fact that its free will get tons of people attention!!!
 
Old 09-08-2004, 05:30 PM   #2
sether
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why don't harvard and yale advertise? devry and itt tech advertise, why can't harvard and yale?

people who know computers know the *nix world. yes, advertising might help, but i view that sort of as selling out. linux and unix have good reputations and those who want an alternative OS already know where to look.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 06:01 PM   #3
amf57
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I have certainly seen a few Linux commercials before, however the biggest issue is that Linux is not an operating system, but rather any operating system that uses the Linux kernel. I could feasibly see a commercial for "Red Hat Linux" or "SuSe Linux", but those are merely distributions.

What separates the distros is what they give you with the kernel and what they have done with the kernel before they wrapped it all up.

Debian Linux is not even a company, but rather a consortium of about a ga-zillion developers.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 06:09 PM   #4
sether
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yes, that too. besides, i don't know if redhat or suse would waste money advertising. i think a majority of their desktop users just download it, so advertising isn't really going to get them anywhere with personal desktop users. i believe most companies pay for their linux OSes on their servers. advertising would therefore only be useful if it were presented to people setting up a server, and i think those people probably already know about linux.

by the way, i saw an ibm commercial about linux on tv a while back.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 06:09 PM   #5
Peacedog
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did everybody miss the ibm linux server commercials, w/the little boy growing up, learning , adapting, i think that was the quote anyway?
 
Old 09-08-2004, 06:14 PM   #6
sether
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yeah, that's the commercial i'm talking about. i haven't seen any other linux ads though.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 07:05 PM   #7
wapcaplet
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I've seen HP taking out ads in prominent business magazines (Money, Forbes, or ones like them) pushing Linux as a server solution. Most of the TV ads I've seen were IBM - remember one a couple years ago when the boss was going crazy saying "They stole all our computers! Where did they all go?" And the tech guy just calmly says "Um, yeah, we replaced all those with that little Linux box over there. Gonna save a bundle."

I'm not sure how "Linux" could advertise, though. I don't think "Windows" has taken out any ads lately (I certainly hope it's not that sentient, yet). But seriously, the question about why there aren't many ads comes down to who will pay for them. Some companies (like IBM and HP) are using Linux in their B2B service solutions, and some companies (like Red Hat and SuSE) are making money selling Linux distributions - it's those companies that would have the motivation to pay for ads, if they thought it would help their business. If ads aren't going to help make them money, they aren't going to bother with it - I'm sure in many cases they trust the reputation of Linux to advertise itself.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 07:18 PM   #8
trickykid
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Old 09-08-2004, 08:11 PM   #9
Milky Moo Cow
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Linux is meant to be Open Source. That means that if you don't want to pay for one distro, you can just ask for another that isn't charging.

Windows runs on money. In order to make that money, Microsoft pump out advert after advert. Linux just rears its head once in a while and proves to the world that it's much better, and that generation find all the holes in the Windoze ads.

Linux doesn't even need to advertise. It just needs to prove itself publicly once in a while.
 
Old 09-08-2004, 09:09 PM   #10
R00ts
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I agree, Linux does not need to advertise itself. I think word of mouth is the best way to really push something, and that's what I think pushes Linux. Several of my professors when I was an undergrad would tell our class "You need to install Linux if you are going to be Computer Engineers!" Like most else of what they said in lecture, I'd ignore it, or I'd be napping. But I did get around to it my senior year and then never looked back. Even my mother (who is very technically challenged) said she wants me to install Linux for her because she reads Wired Magazine and she told me that they always say how great it is in there. Yup yup, so there.
 
Old 09-09-2004, 05:25 PM   #11
Jmcatch742
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Yes, I could see it as a way of "selling out" but it would helkp so many users who dont know linux to get to know it. Who knows maybe one of them could be the next Linus.?!
 
Old 09-09-2004, 11:01 PM   #12
laceupboots
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Quote:
did everybody miss the ibm linux server commercials, w/the little boy growing up, learning , adapting, i think that was the quote anyway?
Yeah I saw that commercial too. It's kinda hard to know what they are talking about if you don't already know about Linux, though. With IBM involved however, I think it will become more and more of an option in the future.
 
Old 09-10-2004, 02:30 AM   #13
spaniard
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Linux doesn't advertise for the same reason why, while 'McDonelds' advertise, 'food' doesn't.
 
Old 09-11-2004, 12:39 AM   #14
Megamieuwsel
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Quote:
Originally posted by spaniard
Linux doesn't advertise for the same reason why, while 'McDonelds' advertise, 'food' doesn't.
Spot on!
 
Old 09-11-2004, 09:07 AM   #15
trickykid
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Well I think too much advertising shows weakness in sales from companies. And I think some things simply don't need advertising.

Take for example, your up late at night and you see that cheasy law firm commercial on tv. You think to yourself, wow, that commercial was cheaply made, its on in the middle of the night probably cause its half the cost then to air.. but then you think, that lawyer must be desperate for work. So their advertising. I don't ever recall once seeing Johnnie Cochran or any big time known good lawyers making commercials. Their actual work does their advertising for them. People know their good and that's why they get all the big publicly known cases, charge millions, etc.

I think Linux sells itself. Company A uses it or Person A uses it and recommends it to Company B or Person B.

That's my 2 cents....
 
  


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