What an attention grabbing title for an article, Linux: 'So easy even a woman could use it' .
And what a devastating piece of psychology applied to a presumably predominantly male workforce to stimulate Linux interest and adoption in the German town of Schw�bish Hall where, so the article states, the move from Windows to Linux in German municipalities originated.
The irony is that the story describes a guy using female psychology to produce a desired response in his male audience.
The gender aspect of the "Big Software War" is one aspect I haven't given any serious thought to. But, on initial reflection, I can see no reason to ignore it. Just as computer awareness and use has begun a shift of gravity from the USA to other Western countries to "third world countries" so there is also underway a process of computing changing from a predominantly male discipline to a more gender-balanced activity.
What if women don't like Microsoft products as much? Or like them more? Is that plausible? I wonder if Microsoft has studied that.
Posted by Andrew Watt at February 17, 2004 05:51 PM