[ubuntu-uk] Why some people will never switch

[alan c]

Dianne Reuby wrote:
> I think many people have hit the nail on the head - if it's working,
> most people don't want to change. My dad only switched to Firefox when
> IE suddenly stopped working (have you fixed it yet, MS support - or have
> you taken my advice and switched to Firefox as I suggested?).
> 
> I switched last year because I knew I wouldn't be able to justify
> (financially) a new PC that would run Vista, and thought I'd better look
> into other options before my XP became unusable - I didn't want to have
> a steep learning curve when I had things I wanted to do. I saw two
> articles about Ubuntu, sent for a LiveCD, and liked it.
> 
> I think that's a target audience we need to consider - others like me,
> on a limited budget, who are using a PC as a hobby, and who won't be
> able to run Vista without hardware upgrades.

Yes I think this is a major target audience. I have come to think of 
this audience as 'FOFM' - Friends or Family Members who in practice 
act as a complete network of underlying support for general (windows) 
computing in families, groups or neighbourhoods. FOFMs have a great 
influence, and if even a few begin to take an interest in (ubuntu) 
Linux then there is a disproportional effect.
-- 
alan cocks
Kubuntu user#10391