The Linux Foundation recently announced the winner and runners up of the “We’re Linux” video contest that it sponsored as a response to the well-known promotional campaigns by Microsoft and Apple. The selections are professional and inspiring, but I worry that their focus on “freedom” limits their effectiveness. Here’s why.

The prevailing theme among the selections is the association of Linux with freedom. As the winning video proclaims, “free is to know you have a different option,” and Linux provides that option. A runner-up similarly describes Linux as the operating system for those “willing to be free.”

Freedom’s great–no one’s disputing that. But when most consumers decide which computers to buy, abstract notions of liberty and choice are not high on their list of considerations. They want machines that are reliable, safe, fun and affordable. Ambiguous notions of freedom mean little to people who have no idea what source code is and who associate kernels only with canned corn.

“Linux Pub,” which features an oversized penguin resurrecting a dead PC, is the only video focusing chiefly on the practical benefits of Linux. It’s also the sole selection that mentions Microsoft and Apple explicitly, proclaiming that there’s no difference between the two–a message more likely to resonate with viewers than vague references to freedom and choice.

“Challenges at the Office” briefly highlights Linux’s usefulness for businesses hoping to cut costs–a strategy which misses the mark, since Linux already has a strong presence in enterprise environments–but presents no other concrete representations of the operating system’s practical viability.

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