Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
Lunduke's Random Linux Marketing Anecdotes
April 15, 2024
post photo preview

My days working in Linux marketing were... interesting.  It was a truly unique experience.  Wouldn't trade a moment of it (even the less than enjoyable parts).

Because I am feeling nostalgic, here's a few little tidbits from my time selling Linux-y stuff for Linux-y companies.

SUSE - The Oldest Linux Company

I spent roughly 4 years at SUSE as -- I kid you not -- often the only person, in the entire marketing department, who actually used Linux.  As such I tended to be the guy that every random marketing idea needed to be run by... you know, just to make sure SUSE didn't end up saying something that insulted Linux-folk.

Seriously.  It was crazy.  At one point the lady who ran all of marketing -- for the oldest Linux company -- had almost no clue, whatsoever, about how to even begin using Linux.  Or what the history of Linux was.  Or what the major projects were.

It was like if the head of marketing for Coca Cola had never tasted Coke before... and refused to even take a sip.  And was only vaguely aware that it was even a liquid.

Just the same... most of the time it was pretty fun.  I kept churning out ad campaigns that were some of the biggest successes SUSE had ever had -- resulting in SUSE numbers shooting up -- and, as a result, they gave me a lot of freedom.

Of the many varied and weird marketing projects I put together at SUSE... my favorite was a music video parody of "Uptown Funk"... about Linux kernel patching.

"Uptime Funk" was a fun one.  We hired a great group of musicians and dancers -- down in Provo, Utah -- who did a stellar job.  Our cinematographer and editor was absolutely amazing.

And, most importantly, nobody messed with my lyrics.  Which made me happy.  🤣

I tell ya.  The executives almost always messed with my words.

I remember, one time I wrote a parody of Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling".  I turned it into a song about a guy eating pie a dinner... singing about how he runs Linux on absolutely everything in his house.  He compulsively installs Linux on everything.  If it has electricity, he installs Linux on it.  And then he installs Linux inside of VMs on Linux.  And he uses a remote X session to log into his crock pot.

It was glorious.  And ridiculous.

Then the powers that be swooped in.  Non-Linux-understanding marketing people got assigned to "revise" the lyrics with the explicit instruction of making it "more marketing-y".

The result was "Can't Stop the SUSE".  Which, annoyingly, still lists me as having written the lyrics.  I'll let you decide how I feel about that song.

Near the end of my tenure at SUSE, things weren't quite as fun.  At one point I recall getting into an argument with the VP of Marketing... who told me, point blank, to never use the phrase "Free Software" and to stop talking about "Open Source" so much.

Seriously.  Things were going in a weird direction.

Then I left, SUSE got a new CEO, and everything went to heck in a handbasket for the oldest Linux company.

Purism - The Linux Hardware Guys

I spent a short spell as the Director of Marketing at Purism -- a company which sells laptops and whatnot pre-loaded with Linux.  While I ended up leaving the company due to some disagreements over how the business was run... there were definitely some fun moments.

For the launch of Librem One (Purism's effort to make a privacy-respecting online service), we created a commercial.  It's just a wee bit naughty.  No swearing but... definitely a lot of innuendo.  😎

You might recognize the voice at the end.

Ultimately, the Librem One service had some success -- but was severely bogged down by technical issues, and code licensing conflicts, early on.  Which was a bummer.  Really hobbled what could have otherwise been a fun product launch.

But, heck, the commercial was fun.  So it had that going for it!

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
16
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
"Lunduke is Fash!"

"This Lunduke guy is really stupid. I want to launch him off a cliff."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:10:13
October 07, 2025
Linus Says Rust Formatting is "Bass-Ackwards Garbage"

"[Rustfmtcheck] is just ANNOYING. It's automated tooling that is literally making bad decisions for the maintainability," says Linux creator, Linus Torvalds.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:08:17
October 06, 2025
Get a Subscription, Give a Subscription

The "Buy One, Give One" Lunduke Journal offer is good through Friday, October 10th.

The Details:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/get-a-subscription-give-a-subscription

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:04:30
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
6 hours ago

Mansfield, Georgia. They come claiming to "help" bring funds to poor areas...

'I can't drink the water' - life next to a US data centre
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8gy7lv448o

3 hours ago

Consider this...
Lunduke has had his BBS running for years on a DOS based system. He has not been hacked...
Linux has been running for years...it has more holes than swiss cheese...
Why is it then that everyone proclaims this is the "Year of the Linux Desktop?"
Should we not then be proclaiming that "This is the Year of the Dos Desktop?"
We know that DOS is not hackable...why not use that??

16 hours ago

Are you old school???

New: MP4 Downloads for all Lunduke Journal Subscribers

All Lunduke Journal subscribers now have full access to DRM-Free, MP4 versions of every single video released during 2024 and 2025.

No matter where you subscribe to The Lunduke Journal (Substack, Locals, YouTube, X, or Patreon), and no matter what kind of subscription you have (Monthly, Yearly, or Lifetime), you can go to the Subscriber Perks page to get access to some pretty rad goodies:

  • DRM-Free, MP4 versions of all shows

  • A dozen PDF eBooks (plus some goofy games)

  • Full access to the exclusive Lunduke Journal forum

All my way of saying “Thank You” for supporting the important work of The Lunduke Journal. Couldn’t do it without you.

Also worth noting:

Any Lifetime Subscription (or Yearly Subscription picked up through Substack) is “Buy One, Give One” through Friday. Meaning you get a subscription for yourself… and can give a free subscription to whoever you like!

Which. You know. Is pretty awesome.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
September 18, 2025
Final Reminder: Lifetime Price Increase in 24 hours

This is just a super quick reminder (so no body misses out):

This Friday (September 19th), the price of a new Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal will be increasing from $200 to $300.

Which means: If you want to pick up a new Lifetime Subscription for the lower price, simply grab one (via Locals, Substack, or Bitcoin) by Thursday night (Sep 18th). That’s roughly 24 hours from the moment I am writing these words.

Obviously, once you have a Lifetime Subscription you’re set. You know. For life.

I wanted to give all of you some notice so you could grab one at the lower rate.

Also worth noting: The Lunduke Journal has phased out sales and discount promotions. The current price of a subscription is the best price.

This will be the final reminder before the change goes into effect.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
September 15, 2025
post photo preview
Lunduke Livestream: Tue, Sep 16 at 1pm Eastern

The Lunduke Journal regular live-streaming is back! The next show is Tuesday, September 16th (tomorrow) at 1pm Eastern (10am Pacific, 5pm UTC).

You can catch the live video, for free, on X, Rumble, YouTube, & Locals.

We’ve got a lot of Tech News to cover — and who knows what stories will pop up between now and then!

Time permitting, we’ll also be doing a little Nerdy Q & A. So, if you’ve got something you’d like to ask, join us in one of the chat rooms!

Also, quick reminder that the price of new Lifetime Subscription is going up this Friday. If you want one at the lower price, now’s your moment. We’ve also added some new perks for subscribers worth checking out.

See you nerd tomorrow!

-Lunduke

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals