Klinux Kgeeks Kant KmarKet

Linux needs a good marketing crew. Open-source marketing. Because let's face it: 90% of linux projects absolutely suck at marketing.

Someone (and not me, I'm not qualified, I just know what I like) needs to start an OSS style marketing group that develops marketing concepts, campaigns, value statements, and graphic design for the public faces of the major projects. As I get more involved in Linux at my job I'm realizing how entrenched these leet guys have become. Rename KDE! Stop putting stupid K's in front of everything. Start building a brand. Ubuntu is fantastic, but what a bad choice of name. Despite the bad name they've done a decent job at pushing it. But Kubuntu? Come on. Maybe I'm ranting about KDE too much.

It gets right down to the command line too. So much of what's in linux is too 'insider-knowledge' for mainstream to be a viable outcome.

As far as doing it right, Mozilla's front for the Firefox/Thunderbird combo is top-notch. Simple, explained, catchy.

Virtual (not real) estate.

This fascinates me. Coldwell Banker is now trading in virtual real-estate:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/22/technology/fastforward_secondlife.fortune/index.htm

How I Became a Music Pirate

I've devoted a not-inconsequential chunk of my life to collecting music; to tracking down obscure records, cassettes, 8-Tracks and CD's of all genres and styles. And now apparently that is all but over. Music has somehow evolved from tangible things into amorphous collections of 1's and 0's guarded over by interested parties as if they were gold bullion. How so very sad.

- Excerpt from How I Became a Music Pirate