Marcia Wilbur wrote:

> Why make a distinction? Why not Debian?
> Microsoft is visible in stores, therefore people think MS invented the
> computer.
> 
> Representing only distributions that already are visible is kind of silly.
> When you go to a car dealer, do you only see the models of cars that are
> shown most in ads or a selection of any  you wish to get? While it's
> true the car dealer may have only certain makes and models, if you drive
> up McDowell Road you will see many car dealers. A GNU/Linux distributor is
> like a car dealer. Just because it's not advertised doesn't mean it
> doesn't exist. I don't see the millions of clones of tetris on the
> shelves yet people play those all the time. Incidentally, Lindows and
> Lycoris are based on Debian. By the way, which do we want to promote a
> long standing distribution like Debian which isn't on the shelves, or a
> distro like Corel Linux which complete abandoned its users, though it was
> on the shelves?
> 
> For example, we can show users KDE and GNOME as up to the most flashy eye
> candy driven settings that we can configure. We can show them the simpler
> configurations for KDE and GNOME. We can show them a simple window manager
> set up... no desktop environment at all. We can show them anything in
> between. Not everyone wants to wait for windows to start up completely
> before they use their computer. They might prefer a completely blank
> desktop with only a few windows for applications, no icons or clutter
> whatsoever. Not everyone is a newbie.
> 
> Others are not even happy with all the fluff and flash and gadgets MS
> provides. For them, having a clock, a stock ticker, Xeyes and penguins
> running all over the screen is just the tip of the iceberg. They might be
> satisfied with even that much distraction while they work.
> 
> We can show people you can use Linux right up front with a CD.
> We can show people that they don't even need to perform a Debian
> installation to run Debian on a new hard drive.
> We can show people different desktop environments
> and managers.
> 
> This installfest can wake people up to the whole thing. I don't see Best
> Buy talking about the GPL. I don't see CompUSA giving discounts on updated
> source CDs. GNU/Linux should stick out like a sore thumb. It's not an
> also-ran, an upstart, a runner-up, a challenger. It's a whole new way of
> looking at software, technology, and computers for users.

All very good points.

The only reason I bring up the "what's in the store" thing is that this 
is one of the three primary places that a newbie is going to get his 
first Linux.  The other two are at an Install Fest and from a friend.

If we are to have a "preferred distro" and therefore a "preferred 
support" knowledge base (mostly likely in the form of individuals), we 
would want the preferred install to catch the most number of newbies.  A 
newbie at an Install Fest will get the preferred distro, by definition. 
    If we make that preferred distro be one that one can purchase at a 
store, we have now covered two of the three ways that a newbie could get 
a preferred distro.  Therefore we could support a larger number of 
newbies with our "preferred supporters"  This is all theoretical, or course.

I have nothing against the Debian distro.  I love apt-get on my Red Hat 
systems.  I'm just thinking in email about how a targeted support 
infrastructure could actually hit the largest number of needs out of a 
very diverse array of choices.

Thus, the difficulty in picking a group preference.

Alan