Comment Re:Ahem yourself... (Score 1) 536
Like it or not, the ugly truth is that when it comes to all things computers, the vast majority of consumers aren't looking for choices, they just want something that gets the job done sufficiently well so that they can go on their merry way. They have other things they'd rather be doing with their lives such as going out and getting some excersize, having lunch with some friends or even just chatting on AIM. Maybe I'm in the minority, but that sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Think about it for a second. What name sounds friendlier to you: gaim or AOL Instant Messenger. How about MPlayer/VLC or Windows Media Player? Don't get me wrong because I love VLC and use it as my main movie player and I use Adium instead of iChat. iChat sounds a lot friendlier though and don't underestimate the importance of a name. iChat gives a much better idea of what the product does and also comes with the computer. If I say Adium or VLC, most people will say, "what the hell is that?" and then forget about it. After all, they haven't seen any marketing and iChat is working just fine for them, so why should they care?
Bottom line is that consumers would rather have their decisions made for them because they are easily intimidated and uninterested in learning. That's a testiment to poor attitudes by the people who want them to be more interested. If you set someone up with a linux system on their new computer, don't think that they using the software by choice. They trust you that the software will work well for them and they aren't going to bother to see if there's anything else they might like better.
Think about it for a second. What name sounds friendlier to you: gaim or AOL Instant Messenger. How about MPlayer/VLC or Windows Media Player? Don't get me wrong because I love VLC and use it as my main movie player and I use Adium instead of iChat. iChat sounds a lot friendlier though and don't underestimate the importance of a name. iChat gives a much better idea of what the product does and also comes with the computer. If I say Adium or VLC, most people will say, "what the hell is that?" and then forget about it. After all, they haven't seen any marketing and iChat is working just fine for them, so why should they care?
Bottom line is that consumers would rather have their decisions made for them because they are easily intimidated and uninterested in learning. That's a testiment to poor attitudes by the people who want them to be more interested. If you set someone up with a linux system on their new computer, don't think that they using the software by choice. They trust you that the software will work well for them and they aren't going to bother to see if there's anything else they might like better.
