linuxmigration.com On 10/29/07, M. Fioretti <mfioretti@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Mon, Oct 29, 2007 12:49:34 PM -0700, Les (hlhowell@xxxxxxxxxxx) wrote: > > On Mon, 2007-10-29 at 17:42 +0100, M. Fioretti wrote: > > > > > > Considering the audience you described, I'll also dare to suggest > > > that, before going to the talk, you read my "Seven Things we're > > > tired of hearing from software hackers" at > > > http://digifreedom.net/node/56 : while it's not about Linux > > > specifically, it may help you to not spend too much time > > > presenting to your audience arguments that are really NO relevant > > > for them. > > > > > > Hope this helps, > > > Marco Fioretti > > Only one comment, Marco, > > Actually more people program than ever before. > > Strictly speaking, yes, but are they meaningful? Of course, more > people "program" now than in the preindustrial era, it couldn't be > different today. Going by your definition, every cell phone user is a > programmer. > > But this doesn't mean that they see at all the underlying issues and > care in the slightest about them. This is still a world and age where > most VCRs clocks still blink at 12:00. Where people who have been > using personal computers for many years still tell you "to save the > file, click on that small TV picture up there" or, to see a landscape > picture in portrait mode during a slideshow, turn their laptop > sideways (yes, these are both real things that I or my wife witnessed > personally). > > So the limits I mention still apply: the overwhelming majority of > those "programmers" simply doesn't really understand what they are > doing, no matter how cool and savy they may look, and they'll never > sync in on the usual pro-FOSS arguments (the "seven things") that were > enough to convert software users of the 80's. > > Actually, I also fear that this complacency that I've already noticed > in many FOSS activists may be one of the biggest obstacles and dangers > in making FOSS really mainstream: "hey, look at how many computers and > other processors (clocks, TVs, cell phones) all the folks around me > have and use daily: it's obvious that we're all geeks by now and that > this makes triumph of FOSS unavoidable". > > Ciao, > Marco > -- > Help *everybody* love Free Standards and Free Software! > http://digifreedom.net > > -- > fedora-list mailing list > fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list >
