ASCCA Conference - 8th - 9th September 2010

[Andre Mangan]

Hello Mitch,

Your posting on the the existence of ASCCA prompted me to contact one of the
local Computer Pals for Seniors group.

A primary prompt was when a 90-year-old dear friend got into difficulties
with sending emails and I tried to look for support organisations to assist
him.  You may be aware how difficult it is to guide someone via the phone
and screenshots to solve a computer problem.  Apparently a home visit was
indicated but none of the organisations under the governmental auspices of
providing services to senior Australians had the manpower (womanpower)
available to accommodate such a need.

The problem in question was eventually resolved.

Today, after negotiating an invitation, I attended a local Computer Pals for
Seniors group.  I have had about 25 years of experience with computers and
thought myself to be adequately qualified to offer my services.  Even then I
had to argue my case.  A misunderstanding?

Perhaps the word got out that I was there to present "something alien"
because an early remark of "we don't teach Apple, only Microsoft" gave me
some indication of things to come.  I bit my tongue.

As the meeting was about to finish I asked for time to address the
assemblage.  This was granted.

My offering was this: That I was willing to provide assistance with computer
problems in the home in return for the reimbursement of traveling expenses
( I am talking about country distances and country travel ).  That was well
received and a negotiator and person for contact was established.

I made sure that everyone understood that I was not prepared to teach the
use of Microsoft software but would assist anyone who needs assistance out
of a tight spot no matter which operating system was in use.

I also took the opportunity to question why anyone would use commercial
software, especially when the cost to pensioners is considered, the group of
people who can least afford it.  One person wanted to argue that MS Word was
far superior to OpenOffice.org.  I pointed out that I had not come to argue
any case for or against.
Yes, I showed them Ubuntu Karmic Koala, took their photos via Cheese and
generally displayed, with pride, what Ubuntu has to offer.  Unfortunately
there was no hot-spot for internet.

The group seems to be firmly entrenched in Microsoft products because MS has
given them licences for all their software at almost no cost.  Another
factor is that many have an "inherited" computer system, one passed down to
them as relatives upgrade their equipment and, of course, equipped with
Windows.

Will I go to the next meeting?  You can bet on it.

I noticed that MS is represented as one of the contributors to the Annual
Conference in September.

I wanted to post this so that whoever is going to represent (or present)
Ubuntu at the ASCCA conference in Sydney in September is not caught on the
back foot.

Good Luck.

Andre





On 22 March 2010 19:16, Mitch Towner <mitch.towner.ubuntu at gmail.com> wrote:

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>
> Hi Everyone,
>              I received some more information today regarding the 2010
> ASCCA
> Conference. I was advised that approximately 200 delegates attended the
> conference last year. As such, this may not be quite such a "grand
> scale" type of thing as I initially thought.
>
> Is anyone interested in helping put together & deliver a presentation at
> this conference? To be completely honest, I am not much of a public
> speaker. However I am very keen to help organise a presentation at this
> conference as I believe that it would be a perfect opportunity to help
> promote Ubuntu.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Mitch (kermiac on IRC)
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