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Truth Happens - Linux Ad

hemmy.net — A very nice teaching about the ways of thinking delivered in this Linux ad clip. It is not just about Linux as it takes a look into some of past history events where in times of ignorance, ridicule and opposition, the truth does happens.

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katanafx 1 year 83 days ago, made popular 1 year 82 days ago

1279 diggs
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BlackAdderIII, on 10/12/2007, -5/+21Old but excellent.

Wasn't expecting who made it either when I first saw it long ago - although it made sense.
- SirNoobius, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3whose friggin idea was it to make a three and a half minute ad?
- Azimuth1, on 10/12/2007, -9/+32I have a couple of problems with this video. Firstly the quote about the telephone having too many shortcomings. That wasn't about the concept of the telephone itself, it was about the prototypes that they had at that time, which *did* have far too many shortcomings. Also, it's a myth that Bill Gates said "640K ought to be enough for anybody". He never actually said that. He has denied ever saying it, and nobody has ever been able to conclusively show that he really did say it. It's an urban legend.
- sirhomer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+32Here is another Linux ad (this one by IBM):
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOlrKH3SmtI
- acanaday, on 10/12/2007, -17/+23Too dramatic
  Too long
  Too "clever"
  
  Horrible ad.
- Coniferous, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13I dunno, the message i got out of that ad was "Because everyone opposes it it must be awesome"
  
  i *seriously* doubt that message will sway anyone in the major cooperations that shape this industry. i really think they should stick to WHY linux is better then windows.
  
  this is coming from a Linux advocate.
- rolf, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8If they want to talk about the truth, they should not pass on false urban legends - such as that patent man in 1899 saying nothing else can be invented:
  http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1000&message=17090056
  
  It's a good concept but marred by hypocrisy which weakens the message.
- UNL1M1T3D, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Good but kind of long. I like the video sirhomer posted.
- vare2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The IBM one was significantly better for various factors. The top of the list is they dint use awful music.
- rpgmaker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Bill Gates on "640K ought to be enough for anybody.":
  
  "I've said some stupid things and some wrong things, but not that. No one involved in computers would ever say that a certain amount of memory is enough for all time... I keep bumping into that silly quotation attributed to me that says 640K of memory is enough. There's never a citation; the quotation just floats like a rumor, repeated again and again.
  
  Do you realize the pain the industry went through while the IBM PC was limited to 640K? The machine was going to be 512K at one point, and we kept pushing it up. I never said that statement — I said the opposite of that."
  
  http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Misattributed
- NullPolarity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The ad sans the blog spam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtdnZNYN0MM
- ArielMT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+51980 - "DOS addresses only 1 Megabyte of RAM because we cannot imagine any applications needing more." - Microsoft on the development of DOS.
  
  According to "A Brief History of Computing - Complete Timeline" - Copyright 1996-2002, Stephen White
  http://www.ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history/timeline.html
- dwhitbeck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Also, it's a myth that Bill Gates said "640K ought to be enough for anybody"."
  I thought he was talking about the 64K segment limits of the Intel architecture. I don't know if he actually said that but it has appeared in many computer mag articles.
- theLured, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0This advert is crap.
  Linux is good.
  Problem: 30 seconds in and I am really annoyed with the whole 1 word per 3 seconds. This dam annoys me. I will kill to stop people adding this to ads, movies and TV shows.
  Solution: Put all the words on the screen so I can read at my own speed.
  
  Problem: Ad takes too long to get to the point.
  Solution: Shorten the adverts time and add a Linux logo in a corner.
  
  Problem: Boring.
  Solution: Add some humour and take out all the useless facts.
  
  Problem: Backing track is kinda boring.
  Solution: Get a new backing track. That was a hard one to think about.
  
  I don't watch adverts. I haven't seen an advert in weeks(apart from this one). This means that I have lost my immunity to adverts. I cannot sit there and watch, I have to complain at how crap they are. Some are good, like Lynx adverts(the deodorant not the browser).
  Try it. when adverts come on. Mute the TV, don't watch and only glimpse to see if your show has come back on. keep this up for a few months to give time for new ads to come on and then start watching adverts. They will piss you off. Also note you might be more curious about the advert. Notice how they don't tell you what the product is until the end. If the ad is longer than 20 seconds and they don't tell me what's being advertised, I don't care I ignore the urge to find. They annoy you more if you watch TV with no ads interrupting you show.
fish58, on 10/12/2007, -11/+0i think adding comments helps
schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21The larger series is here:

http://www.redhat.com/videos/ourfilms.html
- L0t3k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, why hasn't someone posted the actual Truth Happens url?
  
  https://www.redhat.com/truthhappens/
  
  Bugs me when people don't attrib. :)
- schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Digg and attribution have a long way to go. All social networking site suffer from corridor sites/pages, AKA "blogspam".
onionizer, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2I think it's still too early to claim victory. linux should be the most popular OS on webservers worldwide, (but they'd be probably running unix if linux wasn't there) and I don't see the widespreadig into home computers as I would have predicted 5 years ago. I hope everybody will wake up, but I beleive it's not that time yet..
EvanCarroll, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7The truth is out, the Patent Commissioner never said such a thing http://www.myoutbox.net/posass.htm
smylie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This was shown at the NZ Oracle user group conference as part of the key note presentations at the start of the conference. (Redhat was the main sponsor of the event).
It was really good to see the great response from the audience, who definitely make up a sizable (and important) chunk of the Oracle users in New Zealand.
Borramakot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Direct link: http://www.redhat.com/v/mov/TruthHappens.mov
mrmacky, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Dugg, I love Linux and all open source stands for, this vid says it all :)
- Xilon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2It doesn't say a single thing about Linux at all, apart from predicting that Linux will apparently win the fight against Windows - though the only proof is a quote.
crestfall, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2"the truth does happens"

that's a bumper sticker
Mutton, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7(blink)OVERDRAMATIC(/blink)
- L0t3k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't mind.
  
  I love seeing [hyper?] commercialization of Linux. When $$'s get poured into advertisement (rarely), it increases awareness. Awareness increases uptake. Uptake increases the breadth and stability of the platform because now it's a revenue generator in the commercial arena, in addition to being a free alternative for desktop users. As a user, I benefit.
TeatimeGrommit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hmmm... The ad I saw was very short. It said "Wordpress > error" just in case I was thinking of using Wordpress.
beers, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1wordpress sucks. can't digg it.
djGentoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Now, we're at the "Then they will fight you" stage. ;) And dang right the penguins will fight back.
Stevethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Linux DOES fill a niche, it just happens not to be the casual user's one. If a Linux distribution would become more user friendly and manage to actually hide this god darn console then something may happen. The greatest win of Windows was to cut the ropes with Dos, it's not that it became tremendously more productive afterwards (quite the opposite in the first days), it's only that it became appealing and actually sell-able. People, the vast majority of them, do not require productivity, only sloth....
- Xilon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Apparently the description you gave is that of Ubuntu. It's definitely an easy to use distro, and you probably don't need to use a console 90% of the time (I don't know, I use the console almost all the time and don't use Ubuntu - it's sluggish).
- L0t3k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A few are quite good now. Ubuntu and SuSE top my list for easy and slick desktop options.
  
  I usually recommend people try out the LiveCD's, so you don't have to commit. :)
- Stevethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I tried Ubuntu and I'm sure a non-tech savvy would find it frustrating compared to Windows, even more with the absence of support for the most popular hardware and software, Linux -still- have a long way to go.
lemcoe9, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1One of the best(and longest) ads ever.
strangewill, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3I have 3.5 minutes of why Linux is becoming just as annoying as other OS systems.

I preferred it more when I didn't hear about how we MUST change NOW from less than 1% of the people out there. When I was free to choose without Linux being some sort of social movement. When it was "hey, you pick what you like and what works for your needs". Of course, I'm not dumping my Linux server anytime soon. :P

Oh well. Time surely does change.
- strangewill, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Plus the one thing I feel is that Linux is too vague, there are so many flavors, so many shots in the dark, that eventually sure... something will stick. Either that or there are so many shots in the dark that no one will be interested in the OS with over 300 flavors.
  
  Personally, I don't think Linux is ready to hit the home market, actually I know it isn't. Still too complex, plus people like being able to run the software they buy off the store shelfs without extra software added on that MAY work (and can take hours to get running, and needing you to use the gcc compiler which is a pain to install by itself...).
  
  Anyway, it's going the way of some OSX users have... turning it into a cult... "It's not a social movement, it's an OS", lets keep it that way please, and keep our credibility as reasonable people.
- FluffyArmada, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4You see though, the thing with Linux is this: We don't want just one to stick. Because if just one sticks, they will keep doing the same thing because that's how people like it. People fear change, ergo by your method we never see any interesting change. I'm glad to use Gentoo, but I'm also glad my grama can use Ubuntu, and my friend is a developer for Fedora. They each do things a little bit differenty, that way, things change, and because of this, things get better. Ever wonder why you don't see a whole lot of these crazy things that Linux and OS X did coming from the Windows camp? Because they never felt any pressure to change anything. That's not to say that a little bit of stability is nice for some uses, but I think that if Windows were the only OS... well, we'd still be stuck at about Windows 98, because no one would've done any of those crazy things that we take for granted now adays. [ virtual desktops, etc. (yes, that's a more general unix, X, thing, not a linux thing, please don't flame me) Not that Windows ever implemented virtual desktops (coming with the system by default)... the UI is about the same as it was in 95. }
- Rhino2, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"Because if just one sticks, they will keep doing the same thing because that's how people like it."
  
  Yes. It would be bad, as a developer, to give the user something "the way they like it". :)
- strangewill, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@fluffyarmada:
  Which leads to massive development problems and lack of support. Which home users need LOTS of.
- GyroTech, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@Rhino2
  
  "Yes. It would be bad, as a developer, to give the user something "the way they like it". :)"
  
  Except that, as a developer, each of the x million users you have each have their own "way they like it" and trying to satisfy them all only dilutes your resources and spreads you thin. Whatever it is you were trying to actually accomplish ends up side-lined while you add new features to keep users happy. The end result?? A hacked-together jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none nightmare-to-support application that is only just good enough.
  
  The thing about Linux is the choice and flexibility. Sure, someone could put the time and effort into trying to make a Windows-killing distro for average Joe, heck I even use Ubuntu on my HP laptop. But I still get to choose to have Debian on my home server, and Gentoo on my hard-disk-less MythTV front ends. I can choose to run OpenOffice or KOffice, and all my documents will still work fine. I could configure a rescue system kernel with every driver under the sun in case any of my systems (including my Windows gaming box) have a fit, or I can strip one down to bare essentials and use a really old computer to host my web & mail, or be a firewallnat router.
  
  The point is desktop penetration means little to most Linux users, we already know about it and use it. They only reason we care is that we want to see the level of choice and freedom we take for granted given to anybody who might also "dare to be different". All it takes is a little education to find that PC != Windows and Apple != MacOS. Unfortunately, such education in this day and age is mostly garnered from mass media and market penetration. But if Dell and Toshiba start publicly offering a non-Windows OS on their systems, people will begin to ask what it is all about.
  
  Or maybe I just have a little too much faith in people ;-)
- Xilon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2"I don't think Linux is ready to hit the home market, actually I know it isn't."
  
  We'll see how many Ubuntu Desktops Dell will sell... I bet we're in for a surprise.
vishalrajpal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pretty good ad, but definitely long, A shorter ad would present the message and help the viewer get the message faster.
- L0t3k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There are shorter ones, both from RH and IBM.
Bicep, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Very nice.... That's pretty badass!! More people should see this.
mandel15, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Ohhh god I must be such a geek!!!! I love linux, I love Gnome and I love the ad... The only problem is that I had to use my mac to watch it (yes I have a powerpc machine and I cannot run flash on it!!!!!)
givemereplay, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Probably the worst, least interesting commercial I have ever seen. I didn't even get to the part where it advertises linux, if it even does. Hell, I downloaded Feisty Fawn today and liked it, until I saw this commercial.
- Xilon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Wth does this commercial have to do with a Linux distribution? hell, if you were talking about RHEL or Fedora - distributions associated with RedHat (the creator of this ad) then I might understand, bit a totally unrelated distribution? Heh... Go back to Windows then.
- L0t3k, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Troll.
Sethwm2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Reminds me of this http://youtube.com/watch?v=No1MxAnHuJM
- Goosemaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1mad respect for Redhat for their tireless efforts in getting linux out there, but as far as promotion goes, they don't hold a candle to that Think different add or the IBM commercials.
- FluffyArmada, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Stop... that ad always makes me cry a little. Not because it's Apple.
shanesemler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I liked it.
MedHead, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Aren't we talking about an operating system here? When did this become a matter of life and death, a battle for the future of humanity?

There are so many things wrong about this advertisement. Pretentious, boastful, obnoxious, and utterly empty of any valuable information. If one is doing anything but cheering to the fans, one needs to mention *why* one's product is better than the alternative. Great, Linux can save humanity. How? Apparently by just being, it would seem, since the advertisement neglected to mention why it's such a "formidable enemy" to the more popular operating system.

Choice is good. This ad was bad.
Youssif, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Great work, keep it up ,,
I respect Red Hat because they are REALLY RESPECT Open Source.
Schalken, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I really liked this, but I can't explin why.
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Truth Happens - Linux Ad

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