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Idea #3133: Spam the world with Ubuntu CDs a la AOL

bug This idea was marked as being not considered for implementation the 25 September 11.
Written by ScreenOrigami the 4 Mar 08 at 17:36. Related project: brainstorm.ubuntu.com. Status: Won't implement
Rationale
To try and reach the average computer user, give away Ubuntu CDs at the check-out in mega-stores.
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-64
votes
closed
Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #3133
Written by ScreenOrigami the 4 Mar 08 at 17:36.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #3133 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

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XSP wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 17:40
Worked great for them, didn't it?

http://www.nomoreaolcds.com/toppag5.jpg
http://23rdworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/aol_cds.jpg
http://www.severeweblint.org/mslevine/cd.jpg

ScreenOrigami wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 17:41
Well, they overdid it. But I do remember the days where it worked. ;)

jimcooncat wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 17:45
I understand why you would want this, but I gotta vote against it. It costs money to produce the disks, packaging, and shipping to the stores. The money would be better spent on more development support, in my opinion.

I don't think people would understand. Install CD's are not benign, they have tools that will completely wipe a hard disk. Ubuntu could get a bad rep from doing something like this.

ScreenOrigami wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 17:54
jimcooncat, you're absolutely right about the costs and the risk.

My concern is that, as it is now, we're a comparatively small and "exclusive" club, and unless someone's activley _looking_ for anything else than Windows they won't come across it.

If you mention Linux they look at you like the man from Mars, and in their eyes you're the uber-nerd.

I wouldn't suggest something like this for any other distro. Ubuntu is the first that's simple enough for most people - as long as they don't have any special software requirements.

And: it's a Live-CD which doesn't do any harm unless you hit "install".

AOLs bad reputation is due to them overdoing it. I just put that part in to get attention. ;)

Half of my family is still on AOL, btw.

jiu wrote on the 5 Mar 08 at 07:22
I think there's an inherent reason why it's a bad idea. People have gone accustomed to considering spam CDs for what they are, spam. I think it's important to make people realize that there is some value in it before pushing it on them. And replacing your OS is a major step, not like trying out crappy sharewares. Some media coverage and maybe intelligent advertising techniques are a better way to go.

neon wrote on the 23 Mar 08 at 20:36
Hell no. It's just...bad. D:
And with so many people wanting Linux to go green especially.

sf_007 wrote on the 7 Apr 08 at 05:18
In my opinion it's a bad idea, for many reasons....

young wrote on the 10 Sep 08 at 18:25
wow, what an eco-friendly idea ;-)


(yes, this is sarcasm)

nitrofurano wrote on the 10 Sep 08 at 20:23
well, a partnership with AOL would be awesome so... (following the sarcasm) - and a very specific distro named: aolbuntu...

cheesehead (Brainstorm admin) wrote on the 25 Sep 11 at 15:28
To be considered, an idea like this should explain where all the money for cds and postage will come from.


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