Is Linux Still a third Choice?

Is there a right way to bust apart the challenging fortress of metaphor that Apple has created with the “Get a Mac” campaign? With such a powerful dichotomy between the Mac and PC archetypes, is it even possible to insert Linux and have it come out on top?

To answer that question, I think we have to set aside how Linux may be perceived today and consider how we want Linux to be perceived says Reverend Ted
Too few people know that Linux even exists, and those that do often think that a Linux desktop is strictly for geeks. That stereotype is increasingly less accurate. Through the past couple of years, we have seen desktop Linux become increasingly more appealing. I won’t pretend to speak for Linux users everywhere but personally I want people to think of Linux as the option that they really want. That means that Linux needs to be seen as appealing, confclassent and competent.

Do you remember Guy Kawasaki, an ex-Apple-employee, he is credited as being one of the first to use evangelistic methods to promote a computer brand, focusing on creating passionate user-advocates for the Apple brand. Kawasaki has recently switched from using Macs to using Linux, because he’s disappointed in the route that Apple has taken. I’m not trying to say move over because hedid so, no, what I want to say is Linux has no need for an Evangelist because it has thousands of enthusiastic users that are ready to spread the word without a dime.

Guy Kawasaki interviewed Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB. the second largest open source company and the fastest-growing database vendor in the world. Prior to MySQL, Mickos held multi-national CEO and senior executive positions in his native Finland. He holds a masters of science in technical physics from Helsinki University of Technology. Here is an extract of the interview.
1. Question: How do you make money with an Open Source product?
Answer: We start by not making money at all but by making users. The vast community of MySQL users and developers is what drives our business.
At MySQL we LOVE users who never pay us money. They are our evangelists. No marketing could do for us what a passionate MySQL user does when he tells his friends and colleagues about MySQL. Our success is based on having millions of evangelists around the world. Of course, they also help us develop the product and fix bugs.
And the few times that they say that they hate MySQL, that helps us too because complaints usually contain some good suggestion for improvement.

Here are few video taken from YouTube. They try to demonstrate how far Linux has gone and how we can get Linux into Xbox and PS3. HAVE FUN!!!

1. Mac, PC & Linux – Novell Commercial

2. Mac, PC & Linux – Novell Commercial

3. Xbox running linux