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GNU/Linux Matters is looking for Linux users who are able to present GNU/Linux to everyday computer users (and nowadays, "everyday computer user" means "windows user", but we should also take into account Mac users).
"There are many barriers for adoption to Linux... These barriers are perception as opposed to the fact in many instances but there is one area in which Linux lacks creativity, energy, and innovation. This area, if addressed at all, is done in pale imitation of others and poorly executed. That area? Marketing."
Striking a balance between mindsets might be a factor on which the success of Free software is hinged. Put simply, a struggle against so-called 'pragmatism' may have been one of the greatest barriers to wider adoption of Free software. However, at the same time, such a struggle ensures that Free software never devolves to become excessively assimilated to proprietary software, at which point its fundamental goals are simply not met.
If there were a Linux distribution which appealed to the most common type of computers users, they would be using it already. Some barriers to adoption we can’t remove; the fix relates to things we can’t control.
At Linux in the long run I expressed the opinion that Linux in general could suffer when Linus Torvalds steps aside or dies. That opinion is generally unpopular with the Linux community, but I think it's defensible.
All of these [articles I've been reading lately] ignore one thing which is almost never stated: for a large majority of everyday computer users, people for whom a computer is just another tool or piece of technology, like a refrigerator or a widescreen TV, Windows is just fine.
Linux training has changed a lot in the last 10 years. I have put together a summary of the training options and styles we have provided over that period of time. Many things have changed of course and now with as little as 3% of computer users running Linux on a regular basis, training is really in an infant state. The question is: “Where is Linux training headed?”