The State of Tux: A survival guide for Linux

My buddy Tac from newcommbiz.com called me out today for losing my OS Agnostic roots and not writing much about Linux lately. Of course blamed my employer for an affiliation switch, and that’s not true, but he is definitely on to something. Most of what I have had to say about Linux lately has come in the form of defending Windows or stating the flaws and problems with Linux. I would be a poor advocate of OS Agnosticism if I didn’t stand up and put my words where my mouth is and explain my stance on Linux, where I think it fits in the world and it’s future.

I am writing this post to the crooning sound of Chris Cornell and Soundgarden’s BadMotorFinger album and I think that is very fitting. Linux has had somewhat of a Seattle Grunge experience of late. Of course every year we hear the “year of Linux” talks, but in 2008 I think there was more truth to that possibility than ever. We all know Linux is not only in, but entrenched in the server market. Linux has had quite a different level of success in the desktop department. It’s used heavily by tinkerers, fanboys, academics and researchers, but has never quite gained any steam with the consumer. All of this was set to change with the arrival of netbooks. It’s not very often that a new class of computers hits the scene and are so wildly successful. I am sure the makers of tablet PCs had anticipated the same type of wildfire, but we know how that went down. So here we have this new format, a wild wild west of sorts, a different way for people to work with an incredibly low price point. Linux was and is a great fit. Yet somehow it has been failing. Vendors speak of 4 to 1 returns on Linux netbooks vs. Windows XP netbooks. How can an operating system that’s so advanced, so secure, and works on just about anything you can attempt to run it on, be beaten by a nearly 10 year old operating system that has been riddled with security holes and stability problems over the years.

I am going to draw a strange analogy here, but bear with me. Imagine it’s 2003, and you are Californian. You need a new governor. There are many options, but only one that you have been watching on TV since you were a kid. Only one who has spit out memorable one-liners like “I’ll be back.” I am sure there are some people out there that will cry out a case for his suitability for the position, but let’s get real. If Arnold Swarzenegger wasn’t Arnold Swarzenegger, he wouldn’t be the Governator either. We know who he is. We have an idea of what he is like. We relate to him. Sadly, that’s what it takes sometimes. People’s trust is a weird and fickle thing, and sometimes it can be bought by something as simple as familiarity.

Beat Down Because of Brown?

When I look at how I use my MSI Wind netbook, it’s a perfect storm for a lightweight Linux footprint. I use Gmail, Flickr, browse the web and that’s about it. There is no legitimate reason that Ubuntu wouldn’t be a perfect fit for me. But I am guilty of the same subconscious prejudices that the Californians that voted for Arnie are. My biggest complaint may seem simple, but think of it on these terms. Ubuntu is brown, it’s very brown. It’s brownness is so substantial that it clouds my judgment and turns what could be familiarity into something alien. Could something as simple as the color of the OS hold the key to my first impression? YES!

I would be interested to take a focus group, say fifty people, and give half of them standard Ubuntu installs, and the other half the same install yet themed and set up to mimic a Windows desktop. Go as far as to give them the familiar rolling hills default wallpaper, move the taskbar back to the bottom, and give KDE a very XP like theme. I am willing to make a very large bet that a significantly larger number of users are happy with the XP-like Ubuntu installations than the poop-stain brown ones that come by default. We are talking a drastic change in first impression based on color alone.

There is a lot of theory based on color preference. If you were to consume some of it, you might be led to the conclusion that brown is a brilliant color for your operating system theme. Research shows that brown represents “stability, reliability and approachability. It’s the color of our earth and it’s associated with all things natural or organic. The color brown effects us physically and mentally referencing concepts like the feeling of wholesomeness, stability, connection with the earth and a sense of orderliness.” Great right?

The problem is that Microsoft and Apple, Linux’s main competitors are coming at the public with angles of sexy, new, fresh, high-tech, fancy, stylish, trendy and fast. Not a single one of those words are associated with brown. Let’s look at some of the other colors that are defaults with Microsoft Windows and OS X.

OS X Leopard is primarily purple. “Purple embodies the balance of red stimulation and blue calm. This dichotomy can cause unrest or uneasiness unless the undertone is clearly defined at which point the purple takes on the characteristics of it’s undertone. A sense of mystic and royal qualities, purple is a color often well liked by very creative or eccentric types and is the favorite color of adolescent girls. Purple is perceived to be uplifting, calming to mind and nerves, offers a sense of spirituality and encourages creativity.” Is it me or did that almost exactly describe the demographic of the Mac user. Is it a coincidence?

Purple is perceived to be uplifting, calming to mind and nerves, offers a sense of spirituality and encourages creativity.” Is it me or did that almost exactly describe the demographic of the Mac user?

As far back as I can remember Windows has used Blues and Greens, primarily blues. “Blue is the overwhelming “favorite color.” Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The color of the sky and the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives. As the collective color of the spirit, it invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming; however not all blues are serene and sedate. Electric or brilliant blues become dynamic and dramatic, an engaging color that expresses exhilaration. Some shades or the overuse of blue may come across as cold or uncaring. Blue is the least “gender specific” color, having equal appeal to both men and women. Blue is seen as calming and sedate, cooling and aids intuition.”

What does that say to me? Familiar, comfortable and always been around. Kind of like Windows.

By now I am sure you feel like I have gone off the deep end into drugs-era Steve Jobsism, but there is truth in the nonsense. Feel free to read all about the emotions that color create @ www.squidoo.com/colorexpert, you might find some of the information useful when you are designing your blogs, etc. Color says a lot as any user interface expert will quickly tell you.

Internal Competition

If you were to ask an every day Linux user what OS you should use, it would be a slam-dunk. They would tell you to use Linux for a grab bag of different reasons, some more legitimate than others, but at least you would get one answer. Now take a group of Linux users, and ask them which version of Linux to use. All of the sudden you are wishing you only had to pick between Windows, OS X and Linux. A quick look at the Wikipedia page on Linux distributions shows a non-exhaustive list that even in it’s incompleteness tops 160 without even getting into the madness that is the same distributions that are packaged with different window managers, which can add an even more maddening level of complexity to any compatibility matrix that you could cook up. Let’s imagine for a second that you are looking for a productivity suite, for Windows you would have to juggle one variable. Which version of Windows do you have? For OS X, there are two. What version of OS X are you running and are you on intel or PPC? When you break that same type of searching down for Linux it gets much grayer. Of course any Linux user will tell you that you can just use your included package manager, search for the application you want, and it will drive you the right version. That’s absolutely correct in most cases. But there is one flaw in that logic…

Today I was at a demo of a product I can’t really talk about, but I can talk about some concepts that were discussed. Users are creatures of habit. For example, users are trained that when they want to install an application they either insert a CD with said application on it, or they download the application over the internet and install it. There is something psychologically that triggers distrust when it just does it for you. As illogical as that may be, when you are trying to earn market share, sometimes you have to do things illogically to retain familiarity. Users want to download something and install it.

This is the actual table that you select your version to download from on the openoffice.org website. Windows has one column. OS X has two columns. Linux has 5 columns. Now I am betting that many of you reading this are Linux users and you are saying “duh!” The problem is, random computer user that bought an EeePC from Best Buy with Linux on it, has NO CLUE what version they have. None. This is enough to make some users cut and run without ever having a chance to get to know it.

I work in the software business, I have sat in on usability labs, and I have seen mountains of user feedback. I can tell you that users do not like change. I can also tell you that 90% of the computers on this earth use Windows. By sheer obvious logic, you have to assume that your best best to convert a user, is to make him or her have to think as little as possible about the transition. Change is scary and the more different you make it, the less likely an every day user is to tackle the unknown.

Conclusion

So what do I mean by all of this babble? I mean that Linux needs help. Linux needs to assimilate somewhat. Linux has a platform to be successful on. Mobile devices, internet enabled devices, and netbooks are just the stepping stone that Linux needs to build the familiarity that will be required to make an assault on the desktop market. In more interesting terms, this is warfare. If you look at how modern combat works, your best bet is to move into an area, assimilate with the locals, and break it down from within. Come on Linux, right now you haven’t been trying hard enough. We know there are some super smart geeks doing the coding, show us some savvy and street smarts and do something to win the hearts of John every-man instead of trying to please the fanboys who make up such a small part of the market.

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