[Mageia-discuss] Wish List

Wolfgang Bornath molch.b at googlemail.com
Sun Oct 3 23:11:48 CEST 2010


2010/10/3 Graham Lauder <yorick_ at openoffice.org>:
>
> That is your opinion, and of course unprovable.

Same as yours.

You write a lot about how the naming and the colors ate away market
shares. I never ever heard any Ubuntu user (nor even fan boys at
events) talking about names or colors when describing the benefits of
their distribution. Oh, and BTW: Ubuntu changed colors because a lot
of Ubuntu users did not like the colors - how could they have been
attracted by colors they don't like and want to be changed?

What Ubuntu did very well and what made their success is based on 3
parts (and I do not mean lots of money to win tenders in the business
world):

1. Give the users the illusion that it is their distribution and that
it is what they are doing, not some company far away. With all
appearances, all speeches and all publications Shuttleworth gave out
one message: Ubuntu is you, you are Ubuntu. That was the top reason he
succeeded to build a critical mass of organised users who became the
most valued asset - a cost free PR system.

2. Ubuntu lets people download ISOs just as all the others. But it
also sends you CDs for free - I tried that once and 10 CDs were
delivered to my door within 3 days. For new users this is far more
attractive than any downloadable - what's it called, ISO?.

3. PR, PR, PR, PR and then again PR. The media, print and web were
flooded with PRs from Canonical, from local user organisations, etc.
Ubuntu succeeded to have their name hammered into the attention of
website and magazine readers, even non-IT media. Once started this is
a runner.

None of this is related to the color or some names. Ubuntu would have
the same success, not one user less if they had never thought of those
names.


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