Date: Thu, 9 Oct 1997 10:43:12 -0500 (EST) From: "Pedro F. Giffuni" <pgiffuni@fps.biblos.unal.edu.co> To: Marco Molteni <molter@logic.it> Cc: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Digital, Intel, Silicon Graphics (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.A41.3.95.971009101125.20744A-100000@fps.biblos.unal.edu.co> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971009151438.918A-100000@dumbwinter.logic.it>
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Seems like a good time to report what happened with the CDs Jordan sent me to promote FreeBSD. I had a bet with a teacher in which he would test FreeBSD and I would test Linux (Linux is not very popular here either). One of his students strongly suggested the guy was too stubborn and that I shouldn't throw away the CD. I decided to loan the CD to him for an indefinite time. About two months ago he said he would reserve one box (the slowest he had) to test it. AFAIK the CD is *still* unused: without having it tested the teacher decided it was "not as standard" (read popular) as Linux. I haven't asked for that CD back because there is a small chance he *will* use it one day and he will discover the evident. Other teachers have received the CDs, and I made a copy for the library (I worked there), but in essence the CDs are in a latent stage. I effectively convinced most people that FreeBSD is the ultimate OS, but noone seems to have time to test something new. I don't believe forcing them is the way here, but I do pass around JIC they are having problems. My personal conclusions are: 1) FreeBSD doesn't need certain users. 2) A FreeBSD hacker is required to adequately promote FreeBSD, but it's not enough; you also require certain culture (+ books + web pages+...). 3) Countries like Colombia don't have that culture, and many people don't want it either. I like to think there are some positive things and that the CDs were not lost...I had *better* success with closed cirles of hackers: I think I can convince an NT developer of banking applications to port his software to FreeBSD and unix in general, and at least the community now has the clear knowledge that there are other alternatives. Pedro. On Thu, 9 Oct 1997, Marco Molteni wrote: > > Here at my university, bureaucracy rules (ie, you can't just say: > "hey, a spare pc. Let me install FreeBSD and show you how it > works"), but if Jordan is interested in a foreign country, I'll be > glad to give him a list of my professors email addresses. Uhm, maybe > it's better snail mail, so he could send them some gadgets, maybe > the FreeBSD newsletter ;-) > > Cheers > > Marco Molteni > Computer Science student at the Universita' degli studi di Milano, Italy. > "Whuffo you jump out of them airplanes?" > > >
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