ubuntu-ca Digest, Vol 8, Issue 5

Kush Singh kushs at kward.org
Sun Nov 6 20:16:41 UTC 2005


When I came to Canada last year, I tried to search for a Computer users 
club and I found a club in Toronto but it was all deliberately promoting 
only windows and microsoft products as if linux did not exist or was a 
hobby culture. The marketing guys who control that club deliberately 
used to tell the club members who were not so computer savvy that only 
windows exists. They never even mentioned alternatives.

Also Rogers and Bell from whom i have taken  my ISP service, 
deliberately feed the public/casual user with such information too by 
not providing customer support for linux. In fact most of the customer 
service reps maintain that they can only provide service/support for 
windows as written in the service agreement.

Then if one starts looking for jobs in the computer field in Canadian 
govt sites, a perception is built that there is a job market only for 
windows software development or windows network/system administration.

Also I had to assemble a desktop computer from one of the hardware shops 
here on College street and the vendor was trying to convince me to pay 
179 C$ plus tax on an OEM installed windows XP and was showing his 
bafflement when i refused to have it installed at all. Their standard 
marketing ploy is "everybody wants windows". We have no drivers for 
Linux. Linux is buggy and there is no support and so on and so forth but 
the plain fact is that windows marketing is so good in Canada and they 
have covered  this country so exhaustively that we have to copy their 
tricks in all departments if linux has to ever be mainstream here. The 
dominance of microsoft in Canada is many times greater than the 
dominance in the parent country ie the states.

A lot needs to be done in terms of the ubuntu documentation and setting 
up of self help groups, computer clubs etc which is something which is 
suffering a lot. Even TLUG website is hardly maintained and I had 
difficulty in getting any worthwhile information earlier.

We have to perfect our documentation and user friendliness. Till Breezy 
came out i had problems with getting sound to work on my hoary system. 
Now I have a problem with running my webcam. But a strong local support 
group will do wonders like in the olden days when PC activists had jump 
started the PC age. i think Ubuntu's time has come since it is a very 
user friendly system and I have great hopes for it.

Kussh


Allen Graham wrote:

> To All:
> Daniel has made an excellent point ! 
> Did you know that Canadians are somewhat behind the rest of the world 
> in using Linux?
> Most of my friends look on Linux as something subversive or worse. 
> Recently I've had a little succes in promoting Ubuntu's "Live CD", and 
> have offered  the "Live DVD" to a few friends.
> Could we start with an  "aware" group. It's one thing to promote, yet 
> another to do something really helpfull.
> Suggestions ? Lin - Ubu - aware (oh, that's sooo bad)
> Allen
>
> On 11/6/05, *ubuntu-ca-request at lists.ubuntu.com 
> <mailto:ubuntu-ca-request at lists.ubuntu.com>* < 
> ubuntu-ca-request at lists.ubuntu.com 
> <mailto:ubuntu-ca-request at lists.ubuntu.com>> wrote:
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>     Today's Topics:
>
>        1. Re: Listing at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList
>           (Daniel Robitaille)
>
>
>
>     ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>     From: Daniel Robitaille <robitaille at ubuntu.com
>     <mailto:robitaille at ubuntu.com>>
>     To: ubuntu-ca at lists.ubuntu.com <mailto:ubuntu-ca at lists.ubuntu.com>
>     Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 07:53:14 -0800
>     Subject: Re: Listing at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList
>     > I think we're active. I mean, UBZ is happening in Montreal, QC,
>     Canada!
>
>     UBZ being in Montreal had nothing to do with the LoCo.  We learned
>     about it at the same time than anybody else in Ubuntu-land.  The LoCo
>     wasn't involved in the planning or organization of that conference.
>
>     > I am pretty active and I believe you are too, Corey - we're far from
>     > alone. ;) I see at least another Canadian (Hubert I'd like to
>     propose
>     > you add our listing to
>     https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda
>     > (Locoteams section). Yeah, we're active ;)
>
>     Nobody question individual users being active, or some groups based in
>     Canada of being active.  But the LoCo Canadian team, as a team,
>     currently isn't active and and doesn't  function as a team, doing team
>     activities, and providing active team resources.
>
>     i'm not pointing fingers here at anyone  or at anything, but I think
>     it's a fact that we can all see by looking at the LoCo team
>     activities
>     in recent weeks, which are near none.
>
>     We'll be able to add yourselves to the LoCoTeams listings the day we
>     are an active and functional LoCo team.  I suspect it will pretty
>     obvious to us and to outside observers when we reach that level.  But
>     in my opinion we are not there today.  It is also my opinion that we
>     are probably not that far off: the base is there and we only need to
>     gather some momentum and  focus our energies on some well defined
>     activities/community resources to get us on our way.
>
>
>     --
>     Daniel Robitaille
>
>
>
>
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