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IBM

IBM's Upcoming Linux Ad Campaign 171

Posted by CmdrTaco from the with-the-torvalds-seal-of-approval dept.
Chris Soghoian writes: "According to a Wired News story, IBM is going to feature Tux as part of it's 'Peace, Love & Linux' ad campaign. Apparently, the campaign is going to kick off with a 6-story Tux billboard in Times Square next week." I'm looking forward to seeing the CG Tux TV ads.
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IBMs Upcoming Linux Ad Campaign More

IBMs Upcoming Linux Ad Campaign

Comments Filter:
  • Did anyone else notice the bit about "and e-mail" as part of the campaign? I hope that does NOT mean spam!
  • "Critics and non-believers can no longer dismiss the Linux market as a fad," Gillen said.

    Try telling that to someone who bought linux shares.

    "If leading hardware vendors are willing to risk their credibility by endorsing and placing Linux systems in the market, it's easy for customers to conclude there must be something real about Linux."

    Hmm.. Great logic. Of course vendors never risk their credibility by endorsing something that's not real.

  • Re:Wow (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    if they spent that money on *bsd, they might as well just donate it all to MS
  • I guess it's all water under the bridge. To this day Novell has superior products like NDS and ZENworks but still does not know how to sell them or market them.
  • > I wonder: the analogy to the 1960s may work,
    > but should ex-hippies really be the target
    > audience? Are they the ones running all the
    > servers nowadays?

    No. They're running the mainframe. But those old salts aren't hippies, even if they're from from the same generation. Would you call Steve Wozniak a "punk"? (Save it for Steve Jobs...)

    The ex-hippies are busy pestering the recalcitrant, 20-something Solaris/NT/VMS admin to install Napster, RealPlayer, CometCursor, WebShots, WinAmp, and/or DirectDraw on their so-called "workstation." The easiest method to get them to go away is to try to persuade them to install a "free UNIX" on their dilipidated Apple or Wintel junker they have at home. They seem to suspect you're trying to trick them. Linux and BSD sound to them like something British cattle get infected with. Something that doesn't come with any good games.

    Mainframe guys, who probably have a history with IBM gear at some point, are their target. At our company, the AS/400s are marked for death about once a year, and they get an annual reprieve when the MSSQL on NT replacement system just can't pick up the job. Linux for IBM is a subtle way of saying to all of us in-the-know: "Upgrade your crufty old datacenter. Windows NT not required". Sounds groovy to me.
  • I've actually had an opportunity to dine with a very senior designer and architect of OS/2 and did discuss with him some of the issues surrounding the possibilities of opening up OS/2 to the public domain. M$ licensing issues aside (which are major) he did also mention that some senior engineering staff are concerned with revealing some of the tricks/techniques were used to optimize and tune OS/2's kernel.

    Apparently, when OS/2 went from versions 1.2 to 1.3 and later from versions 2.0 to 2.1, someone thoughtfully sent the code over to Watson (IBM main research group) and Rochester (AS400 development) Labs just prior to each release. The researchers and mainframe/mini OS tuning specialists pored over the code for a couple of months, tisked, tisked what they saw and really went to task. As anyone who experienced the improvements in performance and responsiveness could tell, they did an amazing job, but did so by applying very proprietary techniques and algorithms (developed over 30 years and 10's of millions of $$$) found on mainframes and minis.

    I know that IBM has been looking at improving linux's kernel, but I understanding there is some internal debate as to what should or should not be revealed to the general public and their competition (M$, Sun, HP, SGI, et al).

    Just some food for thought
  • "contracting sweatshops"? Where?

    I've contracted to IBM in the past, working at a number of their locations. I knew many people before, during, and since that period who were employees or contractors at IBM. I also know several people from some of their manufacturing plants.

    Not one of them has ever hinted at a "sweatshop" as you claim, nor have I ever seen any news articles alluding to such activities. Their employees are not only well paid, but have excellant benefits, solid training programs, and far more say in how their job is done than most other places I've worked at.

    In addition, IBM's support of the development community with their "Personal Developer Edition" software is far better than any other company I can think of. How many other companies will sell you a multi-thousand dollar package for the cost of media and shipping so you can use it for training? Sure it gets them more trained people in the field who know their products, but that benefit doesn't seem to be enough to convince any of the other companies to provide similar services.

    IBM is a big company, and I'm sure they have their flaws, but your comments have no relevance to reality that I am aware of. If I'm incorrect, please post some links to netzine articles discussing their "sweatshops."

  • There's one thing I want to know: what's so funny 'bout peace, love and Linux? Ohhhh... right. It's lame.

    I don't think many people will get the message behind a giant drawing of a penguin and "Peace, Love, and Linux." They should have Tux shoot Debian CD's out onto 42nd Street. OK, just have an IBM rep in a Tux suit do it.

    Maybe they should have used a stronger message -- like a Zero Wing quote. Because seriously, it's not like IBM has a well-known commitment to peace and love, right? I would have gone with "Linux Opens Your World" if they wanted something warm and fuzzy.

  • Anyone else think this hippie thing is a really bad idea? When I'm choosing a platform for a bunch of enterprise servers, I'm looking for "Speed, Power, Stability", not "Peace, Love & a VW bus full of stoned penguins"!

    Don't be such a square, man.
    --
  • Lets not forget that we are also facing an economic recession (perhaps a major world-wide one) and this campaign could be directly aligned with that. Bad times often results in people to being sentimental and the hippie movement aimed itself directly at the establishment (Microsoft?), idealized a minimalist existence (cheap OS), social commitment and getting along (Open source). This squares nicely against the immediate present and could create an illusion of "returning" to the "Good old days".

    Also the very real need to reduce costs, likely arising from cutbacks, makes an emphases on "free" software very attractive. I suspect there is subtle psychology at play here and my kudoes go the IBM marketing for this.

    The only real question that remains is -- where the hell were these people when OS/2 was around. ;)
  • we all know how successful OS/2 is because it was co created with Microsoft and it's current incarnation is Windows NT/2000. IBM didn't kill OS/2. IBM isn't making the big push on desktop linux, but rather on server linux. A typical server farm's failure rate lies first with NT (most failures) second with AIX and lastly with Sun. So IBM seems to be killing two birds with one stone on this one. They don't want NT (netfinity would be better suited to linux right?) The can run linux on the more expensive powerpc based machines. ...and you can run it on sparc too right? Seems like it's a no lose scenario for IBM in that they can sell more hardware (the bread winner. In addition, who does all the software work for these boxes....and who makes money indirectly from it?
  • >>"Upgrade your crufty old datacenter. Windows NT not required".
    Bingo. Actually, the openness will allow IBM (and its competitors) to sell more hardware, support, services, whatever you want to call it. Curiously, by lowering the bar to competition, IBM is better positioned to dominate the mainframe market. Mainframes allow you to do something big and complicated, synchronously! (Compare synchronous and asynchronous coding ;)
  • Umm, could you be anymore wrong? First of all the company that manufactured the card punch was a subsidiary of IBM like Lotus or Tivoli. Secondly, the company was based in Germany. Thirdly, like many German companies in the US, they were taken over by their enemies. It seems obvious that the germans took over production of this facility (being based in germany and all) and that this writer is clearly libelous trying desparatly to get his Warhol 15 minutes of fame and cash in on a little shock news that ranks with Jerry Springer.
  • That Microsoft owes IBM anything. If IBM helped them great, but they never really asked for anything in return. If they did MS would be paying some form of royalties.

    Personally I think IBM Linux will make about as much head way as Corel Linux did.

    Speaking of Microsoft speaking out on it. Of course they will say somthing. Maybe not to IBM directly but none-the-less they will say somthing. Especially with XP getting closer and closer to release.

    ~AdmrlNxn
    Whistler is to Zeus as Linux is to Hercules
  • like IBM Developer Works, IBM e-business and Software News Alert, etc.
  • Fact: Windows 2000 has 99.999 percent uptime - unless put in the hands of an idiot. Then again so is any OS out there.

    Fact: Windows 2000 is unhackable in the box, out of the box, on the machine, in my backyard, in my trunk.

    Fact: There is no fucking alpha version of Windows 2000. They abandon it because the Itanium was coming. So why not release a 64bit version of it on the next generation of Windows. Of course it won't be for the alpha chip. Too slow.

    Fact: Dr. Pepper is a mighty fine drink

    ~AdmrlNxn
    Whistler is to Zeus as Linux is to Hercules
  • Wht I don't understand is why IBM's attempted use of Linux in the market is receiving so much flak. They may not have a great track record with OS's but they are a huge corporation with money to back it up. More than Corel.

    Now everyone freaks. Oh no, not IBM again. Granted they are better at hardware. It still doesn't change this kinda exposure all of you Linux fans have been hoping for.

    One huge 6 story billboard of a penguin. The push is on yet you complain. Maybe this shows you how pathetic you linux fans can be. You want Linux to be a main-stream accepted standard OS but now you don't want IBM to intervene.

    What? Do you want Linux to just filter to the surface? Won't happen. Linux isn't a bubble that will float to the top.

    Every OS is a fucking brick. You just need to market it to bring it to the surface. For Linux this is god-sent. Embrace it. While it lasts... Once XP hits, be afraid.

    ~AdmrlNxn
    Whistler is to Zeus as Linux is to Hercules

  • Comment removed (Score:5)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @11:32AM (#387237)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • The ads will appear around the world and will be coordinated with e-mail advertising and with video shorts featuring a dancing Tux.

    does this answer your question?

    "just connect this to..."
    BZZT.

  • Lou Gerstner, is that you? :)


    Cheers,

  • I think it will be a american campain, maybe someone could put up some of the material on a webserver for the people abroad. I'd love to see it.
  • Yeah, could sound like it, but most likely it's one of the many mailinglists/newsletters that you can subscribe to, for endusers and partners.
    That's my guess.

    --------
  • yeah, but I think IBM putting one BILLION dollars into it says something...

    You're right, it says they (well atleast the marketing droids that thought up the idea) are idiots and now would be a good time to sell any IBM shares you own.

    Let's look at this from the business viewpoint rather than the zealots viewpoint...

    I'm going to get an e-business solution from IBM. Let's just say it'll cost me $500,000.00 (don't laugh the IBM partner I work for only does projects worth $500,000 and above!). That might consist of $150,000 worth of software, $100,000 worth of hardware and $250,000 worth of services.

    Why am I going to skimp on buying a commercial, and rock solid, operating system like AIX 4 which'll set me back $1000.00 at most????

    Answer, I won't.

    Whing all you want about AIX but it's second to none for reliabilty and maintainability.

    For serious (i.e. large business) users linux won't even get a look in.

    If it does get a look in, do a total cost of ownership calculation and work out how much out of pocket you'll be and then pick AIX.

    BTW, dollar amounts above are in Autralian dollars.

  • Most "ex-hippie baby boomers" I know are technophobes anyway. This will appeal to them about as much as a draft notice...
  • I don't know about that, but thinkgeek.com sells a poster of it here [thinkgeek.com].
  • I happen to know that there will be absolutely no SPAM. IBM and their ad partners are a lot smarter than that! It's one of those 'I send it to two friends, then they send it to two friends...and so on and so on and so on...'
  • When I meant track record with OSes. I never said OS/2 was bad. Infact it is great. It just wasn't marketed to well. That is what i meant. Sorry if i caused any amount of confusion.

    ~AdmrlNxn
    Whistler is to Zeus as Linux is to Hercules
  • the comercials that ibm did about linux with Cirroc Lofton (ok I may have totally spelled that WRONG) of startrek DS9 fame? I saw it air once and then never again. If you missed it AdCritic has it here [adcritic.com].

  • You put your page in your profile, so this is fair. :)

    http://home.earthlink.net/~admiralnixon/geek/OSR.h tm

    "However, Windows 95 sucks! That is right, it sucks. However, it is still entirely DOS based."

    entirely dos based eh?

    "One system crash a day is an average."

    One system crash a year would bother me.

    "When released it had a counted 63,000 known bugs! "

    I don't think any variant of UNIX has ever been released with that many bugs.

    "System restore so you can roll back your system to an earlier date if it becomes unstable."

    Some of us take stability for granted I guess.



    Now, lets check out your 'expert' review of the linux OS. :)

    "Linux - This is a touchy subject among all fans of Open Source. This is a totally free operating system. It is just totally different from Windows. Do not be expecting an easy transition."

    Somehow I don't see it being a very difficult transition for me.

    "It was built back in 1991 and has evolved into kernel build 2.4. It is stable in a manner of speaking. Different kernel builds mean re-compiling (meaning un-stability"

    Means 'un-stability'. You must be some Linux expert to say this. Usually recompiling adds a feature or improves performance. I think you are confusing recompiling with service packs.

    "that is why ID Software stopped writing for Linux)."

    Last time I checked, ID is backing Loki games and Doom 3 will be released for Linux at the same time as the Mac and Windows version. Care to comment on that?

    "Not to many people know how to do that, in fact 98 percent of people have no idea what compiling is."

    Including you it seems. 98 percent of most people have no idea what brain surgury is like, but that doesn't stop people from learning it.

    "It does not run any Win16 or Win32 apps."

    Really? The WINE developers would be amused to hear that.

    "It has its own API. Its main mode of support is forums where many new users get shot down by the older techno-junkies."

    You sound bitter. Tried running Linux and couldn't do it I bet. With your attitude, it's no wonder they shot you down.

    "It is, how do I say, complex."

    Complex for you perhaps. You seem to be yet another scared windows user that can't learn something new. I feel for you.

    "One upside to it is that everything is free for it. You can download it right now if you want to. Its problems lie in an unstable UI. As in, there isn't any standard UI. Seriously!"

    The hell you say! Having the choice between thousands of 'UI's' or being locked into one. Which do you think is better? How does having the choice to run whatever 'UI' I want make it unstable? Some people are afraid of choice it seems. Especially those that are used to letting microsoft think for them.

    "There are many programs for many different UI's. My advice, if you don't know how to set up a home network or don't know what the word compile means... stay away..."

    Using your logic, I advise you to stay away. We don't need you. However, if there are any windows users out there that would like to start thinking for themselves, Please consider one of the many free UNIX variants out there.

    "there are 11 bin folders and you will get totally confused."

    Naw, they won't. You did though didn't ya. Your page speaks tomes. I almost feel sorry for starting this little flame war with you. You truly have no idea what you are talking about. Heed my advice from the prior post. Please go learn something. The professionals that do use this site don't need your posts. Good luck to you.

  • Yep. That's why IBM is on the bandwagon.
  • Ugh. First, all of those stupid blue-letterbox ads trying to get to your humorous side, and then they focused specifically on Linux. When will the insanity end?

    At least they finally ditched Avery Brooks, but the farce doesn't end there: currently, Lotus (bought by IBM a while ago) is running two ads at South Station in Boston: "Looks like a dot-com, acts like a dot-com, moneyed like a blue chip." and "Casual dress code, your birthday off, a business plan that really works." The funny part is that Lotus just laid off 168 people on February 28th. So that's why they're hiring.

  • Who the hell moderated this?

    Note to moderators. Please try and read the post before moderating it up.

  • should ex-hippies really be the target audience? Are they the ones running all the servers nowadays?

    Sure. Ever worked a gig in the Bay Area? Freaks, Deadheads, long-hairs, and flower children everywhere, and many working for high-tech firms, pardon the pun ;^). IBM is doing a lot of this linux work in Austin, which is a pretty hippified place...

    At least that's how was. That's how it looks. Word has it that several of the coolest stoner spots have closed (White Rabbit, Steamboat, Electric Lounge, Liberty Lunch, ...) have closed up, and most of the big tech outfits there (Moto [motorola.com], AMD [amd.com], ,and [dell.com]Big Blue [ibm.com], all have drug tests [testclean.com]... Austin Comedian Steven Kendrick [rawtime.com] says that "Austin Sucks" now because of it... (Of course, you can always refuse to participate in FORCED URINATION, and help make the world a better place in the process...)

    The moral of the story is that it may be hip to *look* like a hippy, but just don't *act* like a hippy...

  • I just left a company that did a "Peace, Love, and Integration" theme.

    The "60's" theme sent the wrong message, especially internally.

    Ever get the impression someone giving a marketing seminar just got around to watching Austin Powers?

  • They're the ones *buying* all the servers nowadays...

  • Why not sex, drugs and Linux? (Score:3)

    by sepulcrum ( 161180 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @08:46AM (#387255)
    Or is that too commercial for an opensource OS?
  • Novell blew a bunch of opportunities. Most of this was because I think they were not evil enough. It never occured to them to make sure you could only connect to a novell server via dr-dos or simply bundle DR-DOS with every novell client install. If they had done this it would have been a huge boost to the market share of dr-dos and would have slowed down MS some.

    Also I think they blew an opportunity when they did not make perfect office into a server app (which they had hinted at). If they made perfect office a NLM and ran it from the server it would have been a major player in the corporate market.

    MS understood bundling and cramming unwanted software down their customers throats but Novell never went down that road. Maybe they were stupid maybe they were just too nice.

    They really should have hyped the fact the novell was significantly faster then NT at file server but you never heard a peep about that.

  • You're right on the money (Score:4)

    by Global-Lightning ( 166494 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @11:46AM (#387257)
    The PHB IT mantra:
    "No one has ever been fired for buying IBM, Intel, or Microsoft"

    IBM's reputation standing behind Linux will have a profound effect on decisions made in the board room, especially combined with other factors:

    It will effectively neutralize Microsoft's eternal strategy of ignoring the IT staff and concentrating on the managers to sell their products. Here IBM will offer, in the eyes of management, a serious comptetitor to Microsoft offerings, particularly in servers.

    IBM will build upon support from administrators. Should decisionmakers have to choose between to viable solutions, the preference of the IT staff may actually be taken into account

    Cost, cost, cost, and cost. Given two solutions, both backed by solid and reputable companies, management will tend to gravitate towards the cost effective one.

    Overall, this ad campaign will do for Linux what IBM's adoption of MS-DOS did for Microsoft.

  • It's a helluva lot better than "Where do you want to go today?"

    That sounds like you're selling cars.

  • I understand that IBM is still making a lot of money from OS/2. Last I checked their OS/2 profit was larger then RedHat Revenue!
  • Well, at your request I've done a cursory search for pertinant articles. Unfortunately I've found few online supporting articles. My comments are based on the book I'm currently reading, No Logo [amazon.com]. (the Amazon.com reader comments at previous link are relevant to IBM). In NoLogo, the author relates of her trip to the Cavite "Export Processing Zone" in the Phillipines where workers in the sweatshops produce, among other things, IBM components.

    Online I've found at best a casual mention [getethical.com] of IBM's foreign labour practices.
    On a related note, but cursory to my original post are some troublesome studies on miscarriage [igc.org] at hightech factories in Silicon Valley. (IBM is mentioned)

    It's possible that the slashcode based nologo website I discovered as result of this search will have more information as it develops it's content. [nologo.org]

  • I agree that the debian packaging system is probably better than RPM. In fact, I used to use Debian before I switched over to Redhat... simply because it was easier to find the latest-greatest stuff available in .rpm format than .deb.

    Thank about that: that's probably why I'm in favor of an IBM distro... the most popular always gets the most stuff for it. Whenever I get binaries from Sourceforge or Rpmfind it's usually the RH6 or RH7 specific stuff that available first... though not always... but you can bet IBM-distro specific packages would always be there!

    As for IBM buying RH, I'd like to see them make the next version of RPM as a .deb clone... it would certainly go over well with the community. And to make it even less politicized, change the meaning of the acronym from "Redhat package manager" to "RPM package manager" ... in the tradition of GNU/Linux recursive acronyms :)

  • I'm sorry but it's not necessary for IBM to make any standard distro.

    A strongly standardized distro would simply stiffle inovation completly. We really don't wan't that to happen. Granted that different distros appears very different to the eye but this is OK. However all of them are using glibc2.x and that is what really matters.

    IBM are allready doing their part in getting glibc2.x and other important libraries in good shape together with FSF/GNU, RedHat, SuSe ..

    IBM has chosen a road into their Linux operation that is very 'nice' and 'peaceful' and have got some 'love' back from many Linux users. I'll bet IBM people are treated very well when meeting Linux users.

    They could make fine polished versions of RedHat/Suse CD's for their customers but that hardly counts as making a distribution of their own.

    //pingo

  • Plus, I heard that GE is about to start an ad campaign for their new refrigerator line featuring those rascally hip-hop superstars Kid-n-Play. I tell ya, these megacorps are just sooooooo cool!


    Cheers,

  • So your're saying the book is wrong?

    It's common knowledge that IBM provided service and leased equipment to the Nazis.

    The real questions are less about whether IBM is evil than they are about worshipful attitudes toward American tycoons. Don't you think it's important that the leader of a major industry probably knowingly provided equipment for use in a mass murder? The fact that the victims were Jews is irrelevant.

    Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. - Some Guy
  • " The ads will appear around the world and will be coordinated with e-mail advertising and with video shorts featuring a dancing Tux."

    E-Mail Advertising??? I hope that is not in the form of SPAM. The marketing of Linux is a great thing for IBM to do but I hope they dont start sending a whole bunch of SPAM out to people on there "mailing lists".
  • Sex, drugs, and Linux subconsciencly associates Linux with Rock & Roll. The RIAA and MS would definetely use this to their advantage by associating Linux users and the GPL with thieves who trade illegal Rock & Roll MP3s. After all, we already know that Linux is un-american. Then we will have an un-american thief operating system and I don't want that.
  • And you, my kind sir, are a COCK.
  • dear god what radio station has advertisements for servers? that's just scary.
  • I'm surprised Rob Malda is so "excited" about this ad campaign which stems from a company as excited about open source and the current state of affairs as a shark caged in a goldfish bowl.

    1. what the? [mikegallay.com]
  • Plus, I heard that GE is about to start an ad campaign for their new refrigerator line featuring those rascally hip-hop superstars Kid-n-Play. I tell ya, these megacorps are just sooooooo cool!
  • Well as the guy said, Novell couldn't even digest all of the stuff it had just bought, and it sounds like that the one thing they might have been able to execute on (UnixWare) was kiboshed in favor of the WordPerfect client strategy. As it was, WordPerfect barely had Novell's logo stamped on it before falling NetWare sales forced it's fire sale to Corel.

    SuperNOS would have been great - Novell could have leveraged their huge userbase onto UNIX, and would have had a compeling product to stop WinNT's tide into server rooms. As it was, later versions of NetWare were never that compelling of an upgrade, and the Unix on PC hardware was probably set back 5 years or more.
    --
  • When I worked phone tech support, and I always tried to make a mention of Linux any chance I could get so someone would ask me what it was, and I could spam them on company time. Several times I heard someone say 'I didnt know you could use a comuter without windoze' I enlightened them :)
  • Of course you really meant, "Sex, Linux, and MP3".
  • ...the American public's intelligence...

    ROFLMFAO!!! And yes, I am American. Err, actualy its And Yes, I love in the U.S. Thats better :)
  • This is not a flame/troll, I just wondered: would a Linux kernelprogrammer now be transformed into an IBM volunteer (i.e.: an employee without a paycheck)?

    Think about it: GNU is about free software. Now the people who worked HARD to make it the way it is today and free are in fact working for a big bad money hungry company. Without any reward.
    --

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @09:22AM (#387284)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Sex and drugs is ok (from a Linux perspective)

    Sex and Linux is ok (although I imagine RMS doesn't get much these days)

    Drugs and Linux get risky... might want to disable your r00t account for a while...

  • "Embrace and advance."?
  • A few observations and guesses:

    Opening the source for OS/2 was discussed in the OS/2 community, and the fact is that parts of OS/2 are copyrighted by... Microsoft. IBM doesn't want to spend the money to redevelop those functions, one might surmise. Open source projects exist to do this, however, and maybe someone involved in them will speak up.

    IBM is also in a corner with OS/2. Some basic structural elements like the single queue of the Workplace Shell and the fragile implementation of the INI files were arguably poor design choices, but any redesign would likely break many custom business applications built by some very large IBM customers. Faced with a partly broken system design it can't change without causing major customer grief, and having suffered a decisive humiliating defeat through Microsoft's predatory monopolistic practices, IBM is apparently cutting its losses and sunsetting further development of OS/2. (At least, one can guess this is their thinking, but I don't know.)

    Stardock tried to talk IBM into releasing OS/2 to them, but that proved not to be feasible, partly due to the Microsoft owned code mentioned above.

    Serenity Systems is bundling IBM's subscription based Convenience Pack upgrades with additional functions as eComStation.

    Software also exists to enable running Linux software under OS/2: XFree86-OS/2, Gimp, etc.
  • Not the ones who were hackers in the 60s and 70s. They're still hackers at heart, even if they're into IT consulting or management now. Linux won't be a hard sell to them, especially with IBM behind it.

  • IBM Linux commercial (Score:5)

    by AntiBasic ( 83586 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @01:17PM (#387298)
    IBM Linux commercial [63.210.62.130]. It has got Captain Cisco in it but I haven't seen it on TV with that line of commercials with him in it. I guess they've been saving it.

  • The way to win people over... Even me myself. (Score:3)

    by StarbuckZero ( 237897 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @09:27AM (#387299)

    I figure some MS folks are on this site reading this as I smile because I'm happy to see IBMs move. The people at Microsoft do not understand that to win people over(like IBM is doing) is not by fighting and buying companies out. It's giving back to the people so they will love you for it.

    Things are diffirent from the way it use to be. When you got a computer back in the old days it came with DOS of all forms. Now people that pay for a PC at Bestbuy and take it home don't know that MS is doing it not for them but only for themselfs. These people don't know that... they are blind and they don't see that there are hurting other companies. That's why I think it's good that IBM is making Linux ads.

    A long time a go I didn't know of Linux, I was thinking MS as the way and the only way. There are people who never heard of Linux and from it being more a *nix makes it even better. People are able to do things that they wouldn't ever be able to do with Windows and at the same time don't have to pay for half of there server and develment tools that they will get for free. When there is a day where Microsoft plays fair that's when I'll be happy to boot up there goods. Into then Linux is the place to be...Why some may ask? It's the people that's making it better, MS don't know what we want... IBM do and there are about to start flashing the light in other people eyes. Thank you IBM and all there staff for supporting the backers of Linux right along with the Linux movement.

  • IBM should do a Linux distro! (Score:5)

    by PRR ( 261928 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @09:28AM (#387300)
    It's nice that IBM supports Linux in general, but I've said it before here, and I'll stick by it... IBM should do a Linux distro. They should probably buy RedHat, which already seems to have close ties to IBM at RTP, and the stock is cheap now anyway (and no, I'm *not* a RHAT stockholder).

    First of all, an IBM Linux distro would become sorta like the "IBM PC" in that it would be a quasi-defacto standard that everyone rallies around, but IBM doesn't really control. This already happened with the PC. The GPL would ensure it further, and IBM's emphasis on being a *hardware* company would also help ensure it's impartiality even further. I believe IBM would be a good citizen with it's own Linux distro.

    Secondly, IBM's good name would help it's acceptance with the PHB's :) This already happened with IBM's name on small PC's which were still seen as curiosities by management types when they first appeared years ago. Once you get this kind of acceptance, the momentum builds, more folks get involved, and things get even better.

    Finally, let's face it.... there's really only one company big enough to stand up to M$'s bullying and that's Big Blue. I'm sure some of the older OS/2 engineers at IBM don't need to be reminded about M$. Without any *major* competition, M$ will just do whatever they please. A very successful IBM Linux would keep them in line. M$ also has the advantage in that it has one standard API for developers to shoot for whereas there's still a bit of fragmentation with Linux with a variety of packages and little discrepancies. I really wouldn't mind a "defacto standard" Linux distro that an IBM could provide as long as it's GPL and open standards compliant. There would still always be specialized distros like Debian and Slackware.

  • Have you looked at the ads? (Score:3)

    by evanbd ( 210358 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @09:31AM (#387301)
    They don't really seem to be promoting the "Hippie" culture beyond trying to get a sense of community. I think they are actually a decent set of ads, targeted of course mainly at IBMs customers.
  • Holy shit! A billion dollars in R&D, and they're making it their reference platform for development. Me like :-)

    --

  • At the very least, no one has the time to maintain a meaningful intimate relationship while also finding the time to configure X.
  • I wonder: the analogy to the 1960s may work, but should ex-hippies really be the target audience? Are they the ones running all the servers nowadays?

    They aren't running the servers but they are the ones telling the server jockeys what to run. They are the CTOs, CIOs and CEOs. They are the ones who need to be convinced that "Linux is ready for the Enterprise" and who better to do that the the behemoth from their earlier years, IBM, the Microsoft of their generation

  • Re:Wonderful (Score:5)

    by grappler ( 14976 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @10:12AM (#387307) Homepage
    Between putting a "Linux" billboard in Times Square and calling it "open source", I would not like to be the one to bring this news to one Richard Stallman.

    --

  • Sounds like IBM is still sore that MS destroyed their pet operating system.
  • Captain Sisko was the captain on Star Trek, Deep Space 9. That thong song was done by some guy names sisqo or something.
  • The right hemisphere supports Linux.

    The left hemisphere supports CPRM [theregister.co.uk].

    They need help.

  • Who's captain cisco?

    And what's the meaning of "gateway to america" in the window?

    W
    -------------------
  • and Big Blue, all have drug tests...
    Appartently many place have different rules for contractors; I'm contracting at IBM (their Annapolis telephony lab, where I the token long-haired freaky person) and wasn't asked to pee in a cup. (I was suppsoed to have to sign a paper saying I agreed to testing if they asked, but I was able to write in "I don't consent to any drug tests".)
    (Of course, you can always refuse to participate in FORCED URINATION, and help make the world a better place in the process...)
    Damn straight. [infamous.net] I pee in a cup for no one except my physician.

    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | http://www.infamous.net/

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I really agree about an IBM distro. If someone goes looking for a distro to pick, they'd be confused by all the RedHat's, Mandrakes, Debians, Corels....etc etc, but IBM is a household name - and would stand out as an obvious choice.

    I disagree about the RH buyout though - I'd rather see IBM pile cash into a company like Ximian, stick the IBM logo on the front of everything, and they'll sell like hot cakes :) I'd go for it....if it were a debian based distro of course :) wouldn't touch rpm ever again.

  • Re:IBM should do a Linux distro! (Score:3)

    by seeken ( 10107 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @09:45AM (#387325) Journal
    I don't think that would be good for IBM. I think they're aware of the kind of outcry that would ensue if they bought their way into the de facto standard. They're better off being friends to the community. I'm sure if IBM wants something put into linux, they can acheive that simply by writing it well, in full view of the community. It's not going to piss me off when jfs is finished. Besides, no one has proven that managing a distribution is profitable. If Red Hat, et al fail, IBM and others would pick up the pieces, and no one could really critisize them for it...

    chris

    Surfing the net and other cliches...
  • Hey, linux is doing decently in the server market. If we want to take over the desktop market we're going to need a *LOT* of buses full of stoned penguins.

    -antipop
  • A billboard in times square, and ads on American TV. It's wonderful that IBM is commiting support by getting behind Linux in the right way, but will this fanfare be equally presented in other countries?

    Will televisions in the UK, France, Australia, etc. be showing the same message?

    --Cycon

  • No IBM Distro..Bad Idea.. (Score:4)

    by Slicker ( 102588 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @10:39AM (#387333)
    IBM decided not to make their own distro because they were concerned that the community might suspect them of "stealing Linux" as the Gartner Group suggests is already happening. IBM could do this by becoming the de facto standard and then extending the standard with proprietary componants. The GPL doesn't allow such modifications to source code, but it does allow the addition of non-GPL componants as in tools and such. That's all it would take.

    Besides, supporting multiple distros helps IBM market the product to fans of all the various distros, to join those companies in the IBM Partner Program, and to allow software for any of those distros to be easily ported from laptops to PC Servers, to Risc Boxes, to the AS/400 to the S/390. This helps them sell expensive hardware and keep old customers by having massive amounts of software for those systems.

    Licensing schemes of IBM mainframes are annual payments for each software application or tool based on the CPU size of your mainframe. Therefore, UNIX competitors have been pulling away market share by writing applications to take over sub-tasks of the large mainframe applications, hence reducing the mainframe software licensing fees significantly. For example, a PKZIP utility for our OS/390 Mainframe costs $10,000 a year to use.

    --Matthew

  • asdf (Score:3)

    by Salieri ( 308060 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @08:50AM (#387334)
    With ads that feature

    strong 1960s-style psychedelic graphics -- a heart and a peace symbol along with Tux -- to appeal to ex-hippie baby boomers, whom IBM hopes will find the idea of a free, community-developed operating system appealing,

    I wonder: the analogy to the 1960s may work, but should ex-hippies really be the target audience? Are they the ones running all the servers nowadays?

    --------------------------------
  • "Worst Ad Campaign Ever!"

  • Overall, this ad campaign will do for Linux what IBM's adoption of MS-DOS did for Microsoft.

    I'm skeptical but hopeful. I know too many people, both management and technical, that are very much into their little Microsoft world and heavily resistant to ideas that challenge their concepts of how computers work.

    Especially if it's Unix. It's kind of funny how they talk about Unix like it's anal sex or something that they're afraid they might like even though they think it's disgusting. Heheheh.

    I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.

  • Re:Why not sex, drugs and Linux? (Score:3)

    by Salieri ( 308060 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @08:52AM (#387342)
    "Sex, drugs, and Linux: Pick two"

    --------------------------------

  • Wonderful (Score:5)

    by Uruk ( 4907 ) on Saturday March 03, 2001 @08:52AM (#387345)
    "Peace, Love, and Linux"?

    That will go a long way to getting rid of the "hippy" stereotype that comes with GNU/Linux.

  • Anyone have this ad in a non-sorensen version? Preferably mpeg, but anything playable by aviplay would work...
  • I am sorry, but this is too good to be true.
  • Yep, and this is an important problem. A few days ago, when I first heard about the campaign, I went over there [ibm.com] and submitted the following:

    Being a geek and Free Software enthusiast, I'm of course happy to see IBM join in with the effort to get Linux into the mainstream (yeah, it's there for a large part allready, but most people doesn't realize it yet).

    However, more important than Free Software, is free expression, and it is my opinion, an opinion I share with many socially responsible computer pr ofessionals, that the so-called "content protection schemes" are the greatest threat to free expression in the Western world today. Obviously, there are far greater threats in other parts of the world, where human rights is violated on a daily basis, but content protection, is our greatest problem.

    Well, the point being that while it is good to see that you withdrew the first CPRM plan, I don't think you will get broad acceptance among geeks unless you pull out of the whole idea.

    Content protection is evil, it is impossible to balance the rights of the users and the rights of the content providers by using content protection. It can't be done.

    Now, on the Internet, we all become content providers, and with my writing speed, I'm a big one too ;-) and of course content providers must be compensated by society, othervice they can't realistically provide content. What society needs to realize, however, is that the days where there was a certain scarcity in the distribution medium is gone. When there is no scarcity, the Right Thing [tm] to do is _share_, so what has to happen is that society (that means every one of us), figures out a way to compensate the creators when everything is shared. Content Protection undermines this, and therefore it has to go. Since I'm not among the Libertian geeks, I think Content Protection should be banned, but that's a looong discussion.

    Anyway, I hope you will pull out of the CPRM entirely.

    I got a short and a-bit-personalixed response shortly thereafter. I suggest people head over and let them know that this CPRM stuff is the worst thing they can do if they really want acceptance.

  • What better way to promote the latest rehash of a 30-year old operating system than an ad campaign rehashing culture from 30 years ago? :)


    Cheers,

  • An AC trolls:
    Richard Stallman needs to understand the media simply aren't interested in weirdy-beardy types with a quasi-religious zeal for thier obscure political philosophy.

    Said another way...

    The media/world doesn't give a shit about the goals and overall objectives that lead a man to labor year after year to ultimately bring a great system with tremendous benefit to the masses. He looks funny and speaks with a passion about deep issues, which doesn't appeal to common shallow interests, so it's ok to ignore him and ungratefully reap the fruits of his incredible efforts.

    The story of an affable young student single-handedly taking on the OS giants is much more exciting (never mind that it's a myth).

    It's so much easier to (inaccrately) report what and ignore why .

  • Great....now half of America will stop and think...Linux? Is that some kind of new Microsoft software? I am still surprised that some people don't know that you can have a PC with a non-M$ OS on it. But then again, I forgot that I was overestimating the American public's intelligence/attention span/interest in this stuff.

    Personally, I doubt I'll ever see a Linux tv commercial, but we can always hope. Either that, or they should make some kind of "Tux: The Movie". Just as long as they make him as bad ass as "Feathers McGraw" (from Wallace and Gromit fame).

  • Link to the online IBM ad (Score:5)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 03, 2001 @08:57AM (#387370)
    http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/linux/passpor t.swf [ibm.com]
  • How did MS get involved in this?

    And how did you get rated +3 funny?

  • Wow. That's a fairly strong message and committment. I liked the part about their "love" not being fluff. I'm throughly impressed.
  • I've seen this on TV before. It was on during a hockey game.
  • The media just isn't interested in facts. Secondhand heresay is good enough for them.

    --
  • "...strong 1960s-style psychedelic graphics -- a heart and a peace symbol along with Tux -- to appeal to ex-hippie baby boomers..."

    This sounds exactly like Apple.

    Long haired hippy freaks >>> The Linux Pimp [thelinuxpimp.com]

  • The CNET article said that they'd be using culturally appropriate iconography in the world-wide campaign. I.e., we'll get the four-sticks-in-a-circle peace symbol (no idea what else to call that) but other places might get doves or things like that. Marketing guys get paid the big bucks to thing of that type of thing... IBM wouldn't pull a Chevy and advertise the Nova in Latin America :)
  • i don't know what else (other than the peace symbol) to call it either, but those sticks are supposed to be the semaphore signals for the letters "N" and "D" for nuclear disarmament.

    "Pull a nova" sounds like a good catch phrase to sneak into the language.

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