From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Operating system advocacy
Operating system advocacy
Operating system advocacy is the practice of attempting
to increase the awareness and improve the perception
Advocacy and specific operat-
of a computer operating system. The motivation behind ing systems
this may be to increase the number of users of a system,
to assert the superiority of one choice over another or FreeBSD
out of brand loyalty, pride in an operating system’s abili-
FreeBSD is served by a mailing list specifically for advo-
ties, or to persuade software vendors to port specific ap-
cacy discussion. Advocacy-related materials and links are
plications or device drivers to the platform.
provided on the FreeBSD website, including a page of lo-
Operating system advocacy can vary widely in tone
gos.
and form, from published comparisons to heated debates
on mailing lists and other forums. In its most extreme
forms it can veer into zealotry. Advocates are often nor-
Linux
mal users who devote their spare time to advocacy of As there are a large number of Linux distributions, there
their operating system of choice; many have a deep and are many organizations involved in Linux advocacy, in-
abiding interest in the use, design and construction of cluding companies directly involved in the development
operating systems and an emotional investment in their of distributions as well as purely advocacy-based groups,
favourite operating system. such as SEUL. Promotion takes on a wide variety of forms
Operating system advocacy can be compared to advo- from Tux plush toys to t-shirts and posters, and even to
cacy in other fields, particularly browser and editor wars, more unorthodox forms, such as body paints and video
but also advocacy of programming languages and video games.
game consoles.
Macintosh OS
Usenet and other advocacy fo- See also: Apple evangelist
From the 1984 Super Bowl advertisement and "Test Drive
rums a Macintosh" to the Apple Switch and Get a Mac adver-
tising campaigns, Apple Computer has a long history of
Due to the often emotional nature of advocacy debate
advocating its platform through innovative techniques in
and its sometimes narrow appeal to the wider user pop-
traditional media. This also covers advocacy of the Mac-
ulation, forums for discussion of advocacy are often sep-
intosh hardware, peripherals and even lifestyle choices,
arate from those for general discussion. For example, the
with both fans and the company projecting a hip and
comp.os.ms-windows Usenet hierarchy has a group re-
trendy image while negatively portraying Microsoft Win-
served solely for advocacy—the Guide to the Windows news-
dows, IBM or other competitors as anything from awk-
groups exhorts Usenet posters not to "get involved in
ward and dated to a totalitarian Big Brother figure.
arguments about Windows vs. OS/2 vs. Macintosh vs.
NeXTSTEP except in the comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
group."[1]
Microsoft Windows
Operating system advocacy discussions, on Usenet Neowin.net wrote editorials opposing Windows bashing
and elsewhere, have spawned a variety of jargon describ- in the media.[6] Microsoft has attempted to boost popu-
ing commonly seen behaviour, including "MicroDroid"[2] larity of Windows 7 with a launch party program.
[7]
and "Amiga Persecution Complex".[3] The emotional
form and negative characteristics often associated with
operating system advocacy have led some to create NetBSD
guidelines explaining what they consider to be positive Like FreeBSD, the NetBSD Foundation hosts a mailing list
advocacy, such as the Linux Advocacy Guidelines[4] and the especially for advocacy. This mailing list is automatically
Guidelines for Effective OS/2 Advocacy.[5] archived and made accessible online.[8] They also provide
some official advocacy material, such as posters and fly-
ers and an official "powered by" logo[9] with a license
permitting use on any product running NetBSD.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Operating system advocacy
OpenBSD See also
See also: OpenBSD#Distribution and marketing
• Apple evangelist
Like FreeBSD and NetBSD, the OpenBSD project provides
• Comparison of Linux distributions
a mailing list specifically intended for advocacy, advoca-
• Comparison of operating systems
cy@openbsd.org. It was created on July 21, 1998 for dis-
• Computer zealotry
cussion of user groups, stickers, shirts and the promo-
• OS-tan
tion of OpenBSD’s image and also to host all flame-wor-
• Security-evaluated operating systems
thy discussions. As a part of its advocacy, the project al-
• Security-focused operating systems
so maintains a list of consulting firms and individual con-
• Software wars
sultants around the world on its website[10] and has pro-
• Technical evangelist
duced a number of slogans, including "Free, Function-
• XvsXP
al & Secure", "Secure by default", and "Power. Securi-
• Linux adoption
ty. Flexibility." Each OpenBSD release features an original
• After the Software Wars
song[11] and a variety of artwork.[12]
OS/2 References
See also: Team OS/2 [1] Tom Haapanen and Sean Graham. "Guide to the
OS/2 is the only operating system which saw the creation Windows newsgroups". Archived from the original
of a semi-formal advocates organization. Named Team on 2005-10-24. http://web.archive.org/web/
OS/2, it was a grassroots organization conceived by an 20051024083232/http://www.saigon.com/cbmsw/
IBM employee and initially joined by other IBMers which wnewsfaq.html. Retrieved 2005-09-20.
quickly spread outside IBM. Whether IBM employees or [2] MicroDroid
not, Team OS/2 members initially volunteered their time [3] Amiga Persecution Complex
and passion without official sanction from or connection [4] Linux Gazette, issue 14
to IBM. Members would promote OS/2 at trade shows, [5] Guidelines for Effective OS/2 Advocacy
conferences, fairs, and in stores, participate in operating [6] Neowin.net - Why Vista Will Not Be The Last OS
system discussions on CompuServe, Prodigy, Fidonet and Microsoft Makes
Usenet, throw parties, help users install OS/2, contact [7] Warner Crocker. "Microsoft Getting Slammed for
media figures to explain OS/2 and generate interest, and Windows 7 Launch Party Video". GottaBeMobile.
in general exercise creativity and initiative in helping http://www.gottabemobile.com/2009/09/24/
popularize OS/2.[13] The industry dynamics that gave rise microsoft-getting-slammed-for-windows-7-launch-
to such passionate advocacy were multi-faceted. Perhaps party-video/. Retrieved 02 Nov 2010.
the leading cause was antipathy for the idea that Mi- [8] The mailing list archives are here
crosoft could and would establish a monopoly for Win- [9] The advocacy page is here and the logo here.
dows and DOS, widely deemed as far inferior to OS/2. Ad- [10] OpenBSD Support and Consulting
ditionally, many users feared that IBM, who had proven [11] OpenBSD release song lyrics
eminently capable of developing a superior PC operating [12] OpenBSD Art
system, knew very little about consumer marketing in [13] Christian Alice Scarborough. "Team OS/2
the high-tech marketplace or establishing even a supe- Frequently Asked Questions".
rior product as a standard in the cut-throat, get-there- http://www.faqs.org/faqs/Team-OS2-FAQ/.
first-at-any-cost arena dominated by Microsoft. Finally, Retrieved 2005-09-20.
the mere fact that so many copies of Windows were ship-
ping to users (whom OS/2 advocates viewed as uncritical
and uninformed), coupled with the fact that so many in
External links
the industry had so much riding on the success of OS/2, • David Wagle (April 1998). "Evangelism: A Unix Bigot
created conditions ripe for so many trying to take mat- 27.
and Linux Advocate’s Spewings". Linux Gazette 27
ters into their own hands. The only spark that was need- http://linuxgazette.net./issue27/wagle.html.
ed for this combustible situation to ignite was an exam- • Nikolai Bezroukov (1998-06-01). Bad Linux Advocacy
ple of evangelism provided by the "new IBM" - a few em- FAQ. 0.81. http://www.softpanorama.org/OSS/
ployees who took "empowerment" seriously, able to co- bad_linux_advocacy_faq.shtml.
ordinate their efforts through participation in TEAMOS2 • Writing On Your Palm: Ford vs Chevy
FORUM, an internal IBM discussion group) - and passion- • Mac, Windows War Ends in Truce
ate supporters outside IBM who adopted the ideas and • Mac vs. Windows (Dead link)
modeled the behaviors of those who were early activists • Computing’s Holy War
within IBM.. • A simple argument for the Mac
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Operating system advocacy
• "Should I Buy OS/2 Warp?" • A site dedicated to showing why people use certain
• "Why Linux?" OSes
• Linux advocacy documents team? • "Mobile OS"
• MacInSchool’s list of Mac advocacy articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operating_system_advocacy&oldid=460049686"
Categories:
• Operating system advocacy
• Software wars
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