<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Regarding our class graduation...happy new year to all!!! ................................................ <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/pmcg/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml"><link rel="Edit-Time-Data" href="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/pmcg/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_editdata.mso"><style>  </style> <h1>Press Advisory…For Immediate Release                                                        December 17, 2008                                    <o:p></o:p></h1> Contacts: Jay Marx–Peoples MEDIA Center, Inc. 202/368-4690 <o:p></o:p>                   Sahil Sinha--INO Solutions, Inc. – 703/887-1032 <o:p></o:p> Petworth “Boot-Up Camp”<o:p></o:p> bridging the Digital Divide one person at a time<o:p></o:p> offering Ward 4 locals and grassroots media makers<o:p></o:p> FREE computer classes – and free computers!<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> WHAT:      Inviting you to the Class Graduation followed by a Party<o:p></o:p> WHEN:     Saturday, December 20th     1:00 pm<o:p></o:p> WHERE:   <img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/pmcg/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msoclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" v:shapes="_x0000_i1025" width="564" height="84"><o:p></o:p>                   4132 Georgia Avenue, NW   WDC  20011<o:p></o:p>                      between Upshur & Taylor, 4 blocks North of Petworth  <o:p></o:p>                      green line metro station, Bus #70/71/62<o:p></o:p> BACKGROUND: For the first time ever, nearly 30 Petworth residents, homeless activists, reporters and teenagers get to take their computers home for having taken a 2 weeks free computer class. After learning the history of open source free software, and how to use Linux, research the internet, download open office suite and use it, email a friend, create a website, and publish to the net they are GRADUATING!!!  Each will take home a computer for free, just in time for the holidays.<o:p></o:p> The class, a “Boot-Up Camp” targeting underprivileged students of all ages, is committed to support people in attaining computer literacy, fast. Within a couple of hours on the first day, the mentors—Sahil Sinha and Scott Anderson of INO Solutions, Inc.—had a basement class room buzzing with excitement about newly learned skills and a clear commitment to technological empowerment. Later that day, one of the class members spoke up in the Center’s weekly DC Speakout.  “I know now that the internet is just a tool, and I will use it to better the lot of my neighborhood” said a father of 5, who had brought his whole family along for learning. “I have a class A Microsoft certificate,” said another participant, “but this was a long time ago. I am less scared now, and it is like my mind has opened up to understand it all.” <o:p></o:p> The Boot-Up Camp is a joint effort of community outreach between the Peoples MEDIA Center, Inc. – a revitalized media training and community center and internet café (located inside the formerly famous “Foxy Playground” strip club) on Georgia Avenue, and INO Solutions, Inc. – an innovative comprehensive computer hardware and training enterprise that has opened several local computer centers in DC and Fairfax County. “This program is an intrinsic part of the Peoples MEDIA Center’s mission,” says its founding director Ryme Katkhouda. “Without computer literacy, it is nearly impossible to create media today, and we are committed to making media by the people for the people.” INO Solutions’ founders Sahil Sinha and Scott Anderson added “Not only does open source software make it possible for members of this community to do more than they ever thought possible with computers, but it is really the future of software.”<o:p></o:p> The graduation ceremony is meant to introduce the Center and this pilot class to the community as we celebrate the holidays.  We hope that people learning of this free pilot program will help provide resources for future such programs. We are a small firm, and there is only so much we can do on our dollar. <o:p></o:p> ### Ryme Katkhouda msg 202-538-1331 wbixclass@yahoo.com founding director of the Peoples MEDIA Center, Washington DC, Make $$s by supporting us! Join http://www.mypowermall.com/Biz/Home/96184 co-founder of the dcradiocoop.org and wbix.org Executive Producer of "Voices With Vision", Th 11am on WPFW.org 89.3FM in DC Senior Producer, news editor and trainer at Pacifica Radio Network Radio Training director at WPFW 89.3FM for 2 1/2 years National Correspondent with Free Speech Radio News FSRN.org **** --- On Mon, 12/29/08, Jeffrey Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> wrote: <blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">From: Jeffrey Elkner <jeff@elkner.net> Subject: [DC LoCo] As the new year begins, is there anything we can do about our website? To: ubuntu-us-dc@lists.ubuntu.com Date: Monday, December 29, 2008, 11:44 PM <pre>Hi All, Our website still has as its top "What's New?" entry a July 13th meeting at Taste of India. Our inability to edit our site means we can't use the website to: * Link folks to RetroPC's latest $99 Ubuntu offering * Report on Kevin's Saturday classes at the Cleveland Park Library * Report on the successful completion of a training program the People's Media Center * Announce the LPIC class planned for the new Governor's Career and Technical Academy in Arlington * Plan meetings and events and provide a one stop location for DC Ubuntistas to keep up with what is going on Is there anything we can do about this? Kevin, if you provide us all with an email address of a person we could contact, perhaps we could start an email writing campaign? We ought to do something, as this situation is really holding us back. Happy New Year! jeff -- Ubuntu-us-dc mailing list Ubuntu-us-dc@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-dc </pre></blockquote></td></tr></table>