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143 Comments
- Klowner, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17"DIS CD DON'T PLAY IN MAH CAR!!"
*throws ubuntu CD at drive-thru clerk* - mrkoje, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10After reading the thread the story sounds good. My point is the STORY sounds rather good. I highly doubt that the McDonalds manager really was using Ubuntu to the extent the author professed. For example, the author states that the following day the manager was using Ubuntu, Firefox, and OpenOffice. He also says that he used the much loved but old Automatix script which can add further functionality to Ubuntu. Automatix can add "automatically" download and install such things as the forbidden media codecs among other things. However, as far as I know Automatix is not supported by Ubuntu and it can be rather hard to locate and use unless you "know what you are doing."
My point now is that I highly doubt that the McDonalds manager really spent most of the night going through IRC channels, surfing the web, and reading tutorials on how to use Automatix. The author tells us in the beginning that the manager has never even heard of Linux let alone certain aspects of the operating system as a shell.
If the manager exaggerated the story of the manager he may have exaggerated the rest of the story or made it up.
I believe this story is pure hyperbole fashioned to make the author look like a god of the nerds.
Furthermore, I think distribution at a McDonalds would be one of the most inefficient places one could even think of.
~Mike - djnull, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11manager probably just threw them in the trash as soon as the guy left the store...
- Kruncher, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10So I did some googling and I found 2 McDonalds in Kearney, NE. I called both, each time asking for the manager. Neither one had even heard of Ubuntu, let alone Linux.
621 EAST 25TH ST. - 308-237-3668
715 SECOND AVE. - 308-237-9383
There are the numbers if you feal like verifying my results. I assume TechSonic is lying as it just doesn't seem like something McDonalds would do (for liability reasons). - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Wow. So this jerk lies about doing something cool, which in turn generates a very long series of comments on the Ubuntu forums, then because I randomly find it and think its cool and post it to Digg, this is his response.
"Further more, the person responsible for posting the thread on Digg is on my ***** list of people I would rather see beaten by angry mobs of Lesbians."
How about some personal responsibility for this ***** for lying in the first place about what he did? - wbrendel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I like this idea a lot better than the guy who secretly booted a Linux live CD onto demo computers at Best Buy. The only problem with things like this is the liability McDonald's would have if that guy put malware on the CD. I'm sure the CDs were legit, but if I was the manager I would not have allowed the CDs to be passed out.
Having said that, this is a really cool story. +digg - GuineaPig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Linux: It's more than just a kernel. It's a religion.
- barryfandango, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I'm all for spreading free software, but hanging out in McDonald's giving out Ubuntu CD's is sad and creepy.
- sishgupta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4While it seems like a good idea, this is definently a waste of time.
I bet 90% of the people who walk into mcdonalds dont even know how to install windows properly. I bet less than one percent of people that walk into mcdonalds would even know what to do with a live CD or even how to begin using linux.
Now, see in my city...we have it right. We have the "linux cafe". People who want a free pressed copy of ubuntu can go there and get one. And they will most likely know what to do with it.
http://digg.com/linux_unix/New_linux_cafe_opens_in_Toronto. - Dog_Paddle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6May I take your order?
Yeah I'll have one Ubuntu, and a edubuntu for the kids
That'll be free, thank you ma'am. - cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5There is something a bit odd in the mind of people who will spend this much of their time to share with others the love they have for an operating system. Myself? I place my love of clean toe nails much higher than my love for any friggin OS.
I love computers, but I'm not leaving free sticks of my old ram at Long John Silver's. The OS is a tool, no more and no less.
XP? Nice. Vista? Can't wait. Ubuntu? Very cool . IPCop? Rockin' cool. OS X? Very well done. Redhat? Great for the enterprise. DOS? Still fun to hit the ole DOS prompt.
But buring 20 CDs to give away ad Micky-Ds? WTF??? I can see giving 20 CDs away if it'd help you get some. That's about it... - lowridah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Linux is great, but being this evangelically fanatical is really a creepy turn-off. In the past when I'd try to convince people to try linux, they mostly reacted like I was trying to convince them to join the Jehova's Witnesses or something.
When people want an alternative, they'll look for it. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yawwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn
Sad no-life geek Man fantasises and makes up story about changing the world by enforcing the word of buntu on unsuspecting people looking for a burger.
Seriously this is one of the ***** stories I have ever seen on digg and believe me I have seen some bad ones
Why does the linux community insist on making itself look like the jehova's witnesses of the tech world? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That night everyone complained that it messed up their computer and Windows wouldn't turn on anymore. They played with Ubuntu for a while and saw it was kind of similar, with icons and a task bar, but the music player wouldn't play mp3s, and Totem wouldn't play their DVDs. They also thought brown everything was ugly.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3UBUNTU CD = McCoaster
- noodhoog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Next day they're all gone"
Yeah. The cleaners probably chucked 'em all in the bin. - tuxx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2http://techsonicorangefox.blogspot.com/
"""
McDonalds Never Happend
I posted back on Ubuntu Forums with a story of how I ended up displaying 60 odd Ubuntu Install and Live Cd's for people to take.
Most of it was made up, but I did indeed leave a big stack of them on the end of their counter. One message displayed "Not supported or endorsed by McDonald's"
""" - XxUNDEROATHxX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2why not just order a couple hundred CD's? Theyre free...I have about 25 x86 copies sitting right next to me right now...
- mynameisob3l, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i'd take all the cds and just use them as coasters... oh wait, looks like someone already did.
- humanzoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"uhh oh... I hope that manager doesn't get fired for any conduct like this..."
"manager probably just threw them in the trash as soon as the guy left the store..."
"While it seems like a good idea, this is definitely a waste of time."
"This is either sad or pathetic, I can't decide which."
One wonders if it's worth doing anything at all anymore. Maybe this guy could be doing something more worthwhile, like posting cynical comments on Digg! Yeah, that's much cooler. And see what a better place the world is for doing it? Knee-jerk pessimism rocks!
(Sorry, this has just been building up over time...) - defubar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Ubuntu: "I'm lovin' it."
- PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2lol @ the guy admitting he lied. Good work Digg users for exposing this fool. (His comments are @ http://techsonicorangefox.blogspot.com/ )
- JeffD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"I'm all for spreading free software, but hanging out in McDonald's giving out Ubuntu CD's is sad and creepy."
If you read the arcticle (well forum post) he wasnt hinging out at McDonalds giving out CDs. He asked the manager if he could leave some on the counter.
And whats with evreyone being so cynical? (Directed at all the negative posts) Just because you think you're too good to eat at McDonalds doesnt mean evreyone who eats there is as unintelligent and closed minded as you are. Sure most people may not know how to install windows, but thats exactly why a live CD would be perfect for them. Tech geeks arn't the only ones who like to try out new software, especially if its free. - alexhhhh, on 11/28/2008, -0/+2Set Oprah on his ass.
- BuddyChrist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'll digg it just to give the guy the attention he so clearly desires.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And he would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!
- matt.rubin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1one person probably took them all to add to his AOL CD table
- illfollowyou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1wow that was as really pointless read then wasn't it?
- xodex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1uhh oh... I hope that manager doesn't get fired for any conduct like this...
- allegory, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Authour of linked story removed his comments because of digg
- Dradis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree with you, lung-dart, but McDonald's is such a hub of activity in many communities that it's an undeniably excellent location to do activities like this. It's cool that he's taking something that's relatively negative (McDonald's) and putting a positive spin on it.
digg dugged. - zonk3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1yeah i think it's less likely ronald mcdonald is handing these out in happy meals and more likely they are lining oscar the grouches house...
- Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I bet more people would use Linux if it came as the bundled OS on retail (Dell, HP) computers. Like Internet Explorer, people just tend to use what's given to them out of the box.
- troydoogle7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"did not want praise for this, I would rather you all just ***** off and left me alone. I like to be nice in my own way and don't like people bothering me to the extent of pissing me off.
I admit, I lied about half the story. "
"Further more, the person responsible for posting the thread on Digg is on my ***** list of people I would rather see beaten by angry mobs of Lesbians."
Sounds like a really nice guy.... I just wish he would get the message that the digg users enjoyed the idea of someone doing extraordinary things to highlight OS stuff.... I don't understand how that could be a bad thing. - acariquara, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Fake.
http://digg.com/linux_unix/McDonalds_Ubuntu_giveaway_never_happened - nbx909, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1
"YOU DID NOT ******* ASK ME PERMISSION! YOUR A RUDE *** HOLE!"
Here's the legal stuff to that he...
He posted it on a public board, you did not recieve any gain from it (execept for your blog being ass raped by digg users), and my favorite one since it is on a linux board of course they are going to have an opensource liceansing to their forum data and a little reading in the Ubuntu Forum Policy... "Public forum data is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License." and in the Attribution 2.5 license it states
"You are free:
* to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work
* to make derivative works
* to make commercial use of the work
Under the following conditions:
by
Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
* For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
* Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.
"
So you even if you do make money off of it, the license says you can and you atributed it to the author because A. you linked to it and B. didn't say that you were the person in the story.
Just goes to show you read the TOS of the website or nbx909 will pwn you with teh legal stuff :P - ToadX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I bet none of those 50 CD's were ever used, either because the person who took it didn't care, or the person could never figure out how the hell to use it.
- rekka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd be more impressed if he gave out salads in Mc Donalds or something :)
- antigoogle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ldenman:
you're wrong; thankfully, most people are much smarter than you think.. they don't lose time with Linux just to save few bucks; they focus on their productivity. - antigoogle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is the MOST stupid idea I ever heard!!!!!
Ubuntu is a commercial entity. Mark Shuttleworth doesn't distribute all these CD's for the sake of his open source love.
He is trying to make more and more money; and you stupid guys, you become a voluntary missionary of him. If you would do such a thing, go distribute Debian or Slackware; they are more non-profit and free. - Hubso, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm tempted to digg this one, because the fact the guy made up half the tale and then reacted as he did, made for a better story than the mildy uplifting lie he put up in the first place.
- Septimus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Fricking loser really needs to get a life.
- dmclone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Loser
- JQP123, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3This is either sad or pathetic, I can't decide which.
Most "normal" people have a life that revolves around something more substantial than an OS. If you feel like being charitable at a McDonalds, buy an extra burger and give it to a homeless person.
Kids nowadays are just sooo f--ked up. - Anchoret, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3> I'm all for spreading free software, but hanging out in McDonald's giving
> out Ubuntu CD's is sad and creepy.
That's about my take.
On the other hand, if Ubuntu worked half as well as its advocates claim (which it doesn't, not by a long shot), this pathetic advocacy neurosis would be unnecessary. Ubuntu would sell itself.
That's the glaring lapse in reality that Linux cultists can't wrap their heads around: If desktop Linux distros actually worked the way they were supposed to, in ways that normal computer users expect in 2006, they would be wildly popular.
Desktop Linux fails in that regard, so we see pitiful scenes like this.
Desktop Linux advocacy is premature. When (if ever) desktop Linux becomes viable for normal computer users, advocacy will be redundant. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"manager probably just threw them in the trash as soon as the guy left the store..."
lol, you know its prolly true - macoafi, on 05/06/2009, -0/+1Go to "Add/Remove" in the Applications menu, click a checkbox next to the name of the program you want to install, then click Apply.
- giga1220, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, too sad - the story vanished half an hour ago...
- INHUMANITY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I dunno. Seems like a waste of media and effort to me. I really doubt the regular jo-shmo from McDonald's is going to go home and pop that CD in their computer. I can just imagine people ***** up their computers after accidentally installed or altering their current OS.
But hey, that's just my opinion. - vonskippy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What a stupid idea - Linux is a computer OS, not a ***** religion.
The guy should get a new hobby, like knitting, make mittens for the homeless, at least then his giveaways would have a purpose (and be welcomed). -
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