[02:29] <somerville32> @schedule atlantic
[02:29] <somerville32> erm
[02:30] <ubotu> Schedule for Canada/Atlantic: 29 Nov 10:00: Desktop Team Development | 29 Nov 12:00: Community Council | 01 Dec 07:00: Kubuntu Developers | 01 Dec 15:00: Art Team | 04 Dec 12:00: Server Team meeting
[14:54] <poningru_> come help with release notes
[15:14] <BHSPitMonkey> ... everybody?
[15:57] <poningru_> BHSPitMonkey, yes
[16:50] <TopAgent> hello everyone... Can someone advise me as to what program that I can use in ubuntu to track clients and the buy sell transaction that would be a similar program to the "top Agent" in the Windows platform... I have recently converted to linux and really like it but other than Openoffice I need something geared a little more towards the real estate industry... Any Help would be appreciated
[16:52] <somerville32> TopAgent, I can't see anything in the repository
[16:53] <TopAgent> Well I appreciate you at least looking\
[16:53] <somerville32> However, I see somethign on gogole
[16:53] <somerville32> ugh
[16:53] <somerville32> *something on google
[16:53] <TopAgent> what?
[16:53] <somerville32> http://mtechit.com/linux-biz/realestate_and_construction/ <-- List of companies using Linux in Realestate and construction
[16:54] <somerville32> http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Information-Management/Real-Estate-Management-Software-2900.shtml <-- Real estate management software for Linux
[16:54] <TopAgent> well it's something... maybe I can catch a lead from them... thx for the help
[16:54] <somerville32> The second one is a web-based solution
[16:55] <somerville32> "Real Estate Management Software is the perfect real estate management solution for real estate professionals.
[16:55] <somerville32> Get all your listings on the web with free, easy to use web-based real estate management software.
[16:55] <somerville32> Create your areas, school districts and property types and even upload images. Full featured searching available. 100% free license. Uses PHP and MySQL."
[16:56] <TopAgent> Now thats what I call help.. Thx a bunch!
[16:56] <somerville32> Also, an article of interest here: http://www.linux.com/articles/19224
[16:56] <somerville32> TopAgent, See #ubuntu-server for help setting that software up. If it works well for you, let me know and I'll package it so other people can download it like normal :)
[16:57] <TopAgent> really cool, but being new to the os I am not exactly sure how to get it up and running.... 
[16:57] <TopAgent> what is the software name and where can I download it
[16:58] <TopAgent> I will be spending some time going through what you have given me...
[16:59] <TopAgent> What do I need to do for ?? PHP ?? and MySQL??  remember I am an agent.. Unfortunately not a linux hacker/
[16:59] <somerville32> TopAgent, :)
[16:59] <TopAgent> :)
[16:59] <TopAgent> But I can sell ya a house hahaha
[16:59] <somerville32> TopAgent, :D
[16:59] <somerville32> TopAgent, Are you an independent?
[17:00] <TopAgent> will soon be, going on the last leg of my Broker training
[17:01] <TopAgent> If I ever figure out how to use this stuff, How can I contact you with a review?
[17:01] <somerville32> cody-somerville@ubuntu.com
[17:02] <somerville32> I also hang out on here all the time.
[17:02] <somerville32> If you have any trouble at all, please feel free to contact me.
[17:02] <somerville32> I'd be happy to assist you anyway I can.
[17:02] <TopAgent> thx
[17:02] <somerville32> also, I'd check out #ubuntu - lots of great people in there looking to help other users.
[17:02] <TopAgent> i use the KDE version and they tell me to go to another page
[17:03] <TopAgent> but thx and i have some homework to do now... Bye
[17:24] <MenZa> jenda
[17:24] <MenZa> please tell me you're here
[17:33] <Burgundavia> MenZa: haven't seen jenda in a long while
[17:34] <MenZa> I've seen him pop in every now and then
[17:45] <Spec> so this channel is designed to help coordinate evangalism via our LoCo cells?
[17:45] <MenZa> No.
[17:45] <MenZa> It's designed to coordina-WORLD DOMINATION
[17:45] <Spec> or is it just UWN?
[17:45] <MenZa> :P
[17:46] <Spec> I'm particularly interested in defeating bug #1 in the realms of k12 edu
[17:46] <Spec> it's cool though, google's helping. they just announced a new high-school-programmers-thingy for open source.
[17:46] <MenZa> awesome
[17:46] <MenZa> meh
[17:46]  * MenZa must dash
[17:46] <MenZa> I have ANOTHER meeting now
[17:46] <MenZa> jebus
[17:46] <Spec> I think since it's based on pre-college/highschool, they're focusing on bug fixing/tracking/reporting/etc
[17:47] <Spec> so perhaps we can get more people working to squash bugs via google.
[23:25] <K_Dallas> Good evening folks!
[23:26] <K_Dallas> I have chosen Ubuntu to present as a company with successful marketing strategies for an mba class of mine
[23:26] <Burgundavia> hello
[23:26] <K_Dallas> I have been using Linux (as a simple user) for many years and been using Ubuntu for quite a while 
[23:27] <K_Dallas> I am trying to find some information about your strategies, segmentation, targeting, positioning sort of thing
[23:27] <K_Dallas> both qualitative and quantitative
[23:27] <Burgundavia> right
[23:27] <Burgundavia> well, from the perspectivie of the community side, we pretty much don't do any of that
[23:27] <K_Dallas> I would greatly appreciate if you lead me to the right direction and information
[23:27] <Burgundavia> we are all bottom up, grassroots driven
[23:28] <K_Dallas> i understand
[23:28] <Burgundavia> basically, we provide a great OS and people just use it
[23:28] <Burgundavia> and then they talk about it
[23:28] <Burgundavia> there are a few concerted efforts done by various groups
[23:28] <K_Dallas> true but you have chosen to make the installation way different and easier, to make it work better with the majority of components
[23:28] <Burgundavia> and some of our development actually creates "market segmentation"
[23:29] <Burgundavia> right, exactly
[23:29] <K_Dallas> i used to use debian but each time i had to configure my display, mouse, etc
[23:29] <Burgundavia> but in terms of marketing as a specific entity, we do a few things different from other Linuxes
[23:29] <K_Dallas> but ubuntu does it right out of box and that is maybe not that important to gurus but for someone with limited knowledge or time, it means a lot
[23:29] <Burgundavia> we have fairly good release notes, graphically done
[23:30] <K_Dallas> i see
[23:30] <Burgundavia> I would say that Ubuntu is a case in "unmarketing"
[23:30] <K_Dallas> lol that is not good for me ;)
[23:30] <Burgundavia> no, it is quite interesting
[23:31] <K_Dallas> i have convinced my prof that it is otherwise
[23:31] <Burgundavia> especially for MBA types, no offence
[23:31] <K_Dallas> well, please elaborate
[23:31] <Burgundavia> basically, open source orgs/companies spend almost nothing on advertising or marketing
[23:31] <Burgundavia> that includes time by volunteers
[23:32] <Burgundavia> they do a fair amount of passive marketing (producing collateral) but little active stuff
[23:32] <Burgundavia> given the nature of the software (free to get), you instantly get people playing with it and they create your buzz for you
[23:32] <Burgundavia> I do have one lesson about marketing
[23:32] <K_Dallas> but the fact that you have focused in ease-of-use and desktop users, isnt it targeting special segments of active population
[23:32] <Burgundavia> basically, Ubuntu decloaked and had a working product already
[23:32]  * K_Dallas all ears
[23:33] <Burgundavia> so that initial "oh, interesting" turned into users
[23:33] <Burgundavia> if you announce and then have the release days|weeks|months|years later, you lose those initial people
[23:33] <Burgundavia> but you need a solid product at the time as well
[23:33] <Burgundavia> which comes to my second point about what Ubuntu does well: get good people
[23:34] <Burgundavia> from the very getgo Mark has hired excellent people, communicative talky people who can also develop well
[23:34] <Burgundavia> this has built a community of similar and like minded people
[23:34] <K_Dallas> i see
[23:34] <Burgundavia> bound together by strong social institutions such as the CC and the CoC
[23:35] <K_Dallas> CC ?
[23:35] <Burgundavia> community council and code of conduct
[23:35] <K_Dallas> oh
[23:35] <Burgundavia> basically, it is a classic case of "if you built it, they will come'
[23:35] <Burgundavia> and "if you keep them happy, they will stay"
[23:36] <K_Dallas> true but have you been successful in converting windows users into ubuntu users?
[23:36] <Burgundavia> which boils down to the fact that marketing can rarely really be stripped away from development, community building, etc.
[23:36] <Burgundavia> I would assume so
[23:36] <K_Dallas> any data, survey ?
[23:36] <Burgundavia> distros in general have been fairly successful recently, mostly due to better tech
[23:36] <Burgundavia> the recent linux foundation one is pretty crappy data, but it might have
[23:37] <Burgundavia> afaik, nobody has done any formal marketing studies, or at least that are released publicly
[23:37] <K_Dallas> true but i am just wondering if the number of users has grown considerably?
[23:37] <K_Dallas> i see
[23:37] <Burgundavia> now, Canonical has their own marketing department that does a lot of the traditional things
[23:37] <Burgundavia> advertising, case studies, etc.
[23:37] <K_Dallas> anything for ubuntu?
[23:37] <K_Dallas> or it is just shipit
[23:37] <Burgundavia> all of that is for ubuntu
[23:38] <K_Dallas> oh
[23:38] <Burgundavia> canonical is the corporate sponsor of most of Ubuntu development
[23:38] <K_Dallas> true
[23:38] <Burgundavia> but then again, the biggest thing they have done is foster the community around Ubuntu, via building that initial social framework I mentioned and then keeping it strong with lots of resources
[23:38] <K_Dallas> that would be actually interesting to show the canonical CEO as an astronaut and humanitarian
[23:39] <Burgundavia> one of those resources is the ShipIT program, which is a form of marketing
[23:39] <K_Dallas> i am actually very happy with that program as i have seen people from all around the world using it
[23:39] <Burgundavia> yes
[23:39] <Burgundavia> all about getting ubuntu into people's hands
[23:39] <Burgundavia> there is no better marketing than word of mouth
[23:40] <K_Dallas> and i would add actually getting to experience it
[23:40] <Burgundavia> that is part of getting it into people's hands, but yes
[23:40] <K_Dallas> I am going to install it on my laptop tonight and do all the presentation with OOo and on Ubuntu and yet say nothing about that until the end of the presentation
[23:40] <Burgundavia> so for your prof, here is what I would say:
[23:42] <Burgundavia> "ubuntu has had success in marketing via ignoring most of the 'conventional' rules. By giving the product away for free and shipping it for free to anywhere int eh world, Ubuntu has built a huge user base which provides developers and acrtive users, both of whom talk about Ubuntu, thus marketing via word fo mouth"
[23:42] <Burgundavia> "To help build the community, Canonical was very saavy in providing resources and building a social structure, allowing those contributors to feel valued"
[23:43] <Burgundavia> "Development has provided much of the market segmentation via focusing on ease of use, something previous Linux distributions have often failed at"
[23:43] <K_Dallas> are they being paid?
[23:43] <Burgundavia> "and finally, at launch, the product was good enough to use day to day, leading to instant adoption
[23:43] <Burgundavia> "
[23:43] <Burgundavia> and yes, Canonical is a company with paid developers
[23:43] <K_Dallas> excellent
[23:43] <Burgundavia> the distro team within Canonical is about 30 or so right now
[23:44] <K_Dallas> I see
[23:44] <K_Dallas> do you by any chance target certain governmental institute, such as switzerland, or German army, or australia (sydney mayor), ... at all?
[23:45] <Burgundavia> having that core team paid allowed development to progress quickly
[23:45] <Burgundavia> Canonical might "target" people, but I highly doubt it
[23:45] <Burgundavia> I suspect that they are swamped merely with incoming leads
[23:45] <K_Dallas> such as?
[23:46] <Burgundavia> they have never released any numbers or name
[23:46] <Burgundavia> names, rather
[23:46] <Burgundavia> well, no quite
[23:46] <Burgundavia> if people self identify, that gets out
[23:47] <Burgundavia> but most businesses are very publicity-adverse, especially when it comes to their infrastructure
[23:49] <K_Dallas> i was also talking to my teammates about the availability of kbuntu, xubuntu, edubuntu, et
[23:49] <Burgundavia> right, of those, the two most interesting are Edubuntu and Ubuntu Server
[23:49] <K_Dallas> even though it is really not hard to convert from one to another, has it played an important part in attracting more
[23:49] <somerville32> Burgundavia, :/
[23:49] <K_Dallas> we all know that people have a love-affair with their desktop ;)
[23:50] <Burgundavia> somerville32: sorry, but it is true, but the perspective of an outsider
[23:50] <Burgundavia> K_Dallas: that is a very very very small vocal minority
[23:50] <K_Dallas> ok
[23:50] <Burgundavia> most people couldn't care less about their computer
[23:50] <Burgundavia> it is a thing, it does stuff
[23:51] <K_Dallas> are the other flavors of ubuntu all supported by canonical as well?
[23:51] <Burgundavia> that is the biggest challenge and that is one that Ubuntu has done very well at meeting
[23:51] <Burgundavia> some are yes
[23:51] <Burgundavia> Edubuntu, Server and Kubuntu are all supported
[23:51] <K_Dallas> good
[23:51] <Burgundavia> to most people, a computer is just a glorified toaster
[23:51] <Burgundavia> toasters do not get "viruses"
[23:52] <Burgundavia> and buying a new one is really not that exciting
[23:52] <K_Dallas> what about the language support
[23:52] <Burgundavia> it therefor follows that most people could care less about what OS is on a compouter
[23:52] <K_Dallas> is ubuntu the distro with the most number of language supported
[23:52] <Burgundavia> language support is key, as a lot of people need non-English
[23:52] <Burgundavia> possibly
[23:52] <K_Dallas> i see
[23:52] <Burgundavia> we do make translation easy via Rosetta
[23:52] <K_Dallas> oh!
[23:53] <K_Dallas> I once tried to help debian with their new gui installer and my mother tongue but it didnt go well, there not much of encouraging there
[23:53] <Burgundavia> what is your native tongue?
[23:53] <K_Dallas> Persian
[23:53] <Burgundavia> ahh
[23:53] <Burgundavia> yes, RTL is fun
[23:54] <K_Dallas> lol i know
[23:54] <Burgundavia> lots of assumptions get broken with RTL
[23:54] <Burgundavia> I have a passing knowledge of arabic
[23:54] <K_Dallas> but i wasnt helping them with the technical problems, mainly with the translation as what they had was terrible
[23:54] <Burgundavia> translation quality is a fairly major issue, one that is not completely solved
[23:54] <Burgundavia> it is part a social and part a technical problem
[23:55] <K_Dallas> i know a lot of people from iran who have done excellent jobs in the opensource community wrt Persian and RTL
[23:55] <Burgundavia> basically, the technology should empower people to do the right thing socially
[23:55] <K_Dallas> true
[23:55] <Burgundavia> currently it doesn't really
[23:56] <K_Dallas> so if we talk advertising, except for shipit, is there any other activities going on in this domain?
[23:56] <K_Dallas> or it is as you said word of the mouth kind of advertising
[23:56] <Burgundavia> Canonical has done a little bit
[23:57] <Burgundavia> a billboard on the freeway in Cali right opposite Oracle (although they have never admitted to that ad)
[23:57] <Burgundavia> and recent server ads
[23:57] <K_Dallas> i see. we studied a company in one of the latin american countires which used ordinary women as its ad agent and its seeling agents 
[23:57] <Burgundavia> those can be seen on the -marketing list
[23:57] <K_Dallas> i see
[23:57] <Burgundavia> the average person is actually a very compelling advertising/marketing "vechile"
[23:58] <K_Dallas> any picture from that, by any chance?
[23:58] <K_Dallas> amazingly, true
[23:58] <Burgundavia> the marketing list has links to both of them
[23:58] <Burgundavia> lists.ubuntu.com
[23:59] <K_Dallas> thanks