Re: [TCLUG:361] Re: Fwd: [TCLUG:352] Promoting Linux to businesses

[Michael Hicks <hick0088@tc.umn.edu>]

> With Corel embracing the Linux platform, hopefully we'll start seeing
> more business- and consumer-level applications soon.

And this brings up a thought -- will I be able to go down to Best Buy
and see Corel WordPerfect 8 for Linux sitting on the shelf?  It'd be
nice..  I wonder how many sales of RedHat they get..  I know I've seen
people looking at the boxes, even though most probably put them back on
the shelves..

Anyway, one thing that I mentioned on Slashdot earlier today was that
there are a ton of gamers who run Linux as their prmary platform, but
have to reboot to run the games.  (ok, I didn't start the thought, but I
extended it a bit..)  What if companies would actually take the time to
ask their users what their OS of choice is?  I know these sorts of
demographic studies get done from time to time...

This sort of study would be different from, say, RedHat's guesstimate of
the number of Linux users.   It would directly measure the percentage of
customers who _already_ use Linux, and would therefore like to have a
version of the game for Linux (Er, well, I've never met a gamer that
_likes_ rebooting from Linux into Win95..)

Unfortunately, this doesn't translate well into the business
environment, where a lot of places are using Microsoft products as
'enterprise' solutions -- MS Schedule+, MS Windows, MS Office, MS
Everything..  I don't think that MS wants to poll its users to see who
runs Linux.  However, other software companies may be more receptive
(unfortunately, I can't think of any off the top o' my head..)

Well, hopefully you get the point I'm making -- there are Linux users
hidden under their Win95 apps.  Companies just have to look for them,
and then they realize "Whoa!  Maybe we _should_ port such-and-such
product to Linux!"

Ideally, at least..  (but, I'm an idealist (but not a great physicist --
I think I bombed my final..))

Mike Hicks
-- 
Linux: Because a PC is a terrible thing to waste