Date: Fri, 02 Oct 1998 22:46:07 -0700 From: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au> To: Frank Pawlak <fpawlak@execpc.com> Cc: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au>, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Device Drivers for Linux and Intel's annoucement Message-ID: <199810030546.WAA00739@word.smith.net.au> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sat, 03 Oct 1998 00:31:08 CDT." <19981003003108.A12411@execpc.com>
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> You are apparently part of Walnut Creek CDROM, therefor I have just one > question. I have seven major universities within an hour and a half > driving time from where I live and work. This includes two of the top > engineering and three of the top business schools in the country. Why is > FreeBSD not present in the bookstores along with Linux and other Open > Source Operating Systems? I am of the impression that Walnut Creek user > the same wholesalers as does RedHat and Caldera. That situation puzzles > the hell out of me. If just that one situation were to be fixed, it > would mean a major step in the promotion of FreeSBD and start getting it > the recognition it so well deserves. Bookshops specify what they want on their shelves. If the bookshop/ chain doesn't see a demand for FreeBSD, they won't stock it. With a university bookstore, demand generally comes in a couple of different forms. - Faculty advising the bookstore that a title is required for one or more courses they are teaching. This is usually the most effective technique. - Substantial ordering activity by customers; this generally requires students and faculty to put up with buying an unstocked title and waiting for it to arrive. This can be effective if the store is attentively managed. - Bookstore management reading the popular press. This requires there to be popular press exposure for your product. It also requires the bookstore management be capable of reading. We push FreeBSD to our wholesalers and as many bookstores as we can. It's not viable to enter the "supermarket" bookstore chains (where you put your stock up basically on commission), because we can't make money there even as a loss-leader. If you expect FreeBSD to have the same 9-day fame as Linux, you need the same ingredients. We have a different mix, and our growing success is proceeding along different lines. A forklift isn't going to win any races, but it'll move a lot more cargo than a Ferrari. -- \\ Sometimes you're ahead, \\ Mike Smith \\ sometimes you're behind. \\ mike@smith.net.au \\ The race is long, and in the \\ msmith@freebsd.org \\ end it's only with yourself. \\ msmith@cdrom.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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