Install Fest Notes

[Josh Rhoderick]

Matt,

I really like the idea, but I think this is a bit ambitious for our team and
outside the guidelines set out for LoCo teams. Being able to do this
successfully requires a lot more than a bunch of old computers and an Ubuntu
CD. For example, if we were to configure and install computers in schools
and other organizations, we'd likely be liable for damages. With such a
stigma surrounding open source software, I wouldn't be surprised if schools
used our free systems as a scapegoat for every IT problem they have since
installation. I'm no lawyer, but I think this would open a can of worms.

This is different than just recycling and giving away old computers though.
I think we could certainly do that because it's easy to say where our
obligations begin and end.

-- Josh


On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 9:26 AM, Matt Burkhardt <mlb at imparisystems.com>
wrote:

> Maybe we should be trying something else...
>
> For example, Alameda has this guy who's recycling computers -
> http://www.adtmag.com/article.aspx?id=22245
>
> I know in my previous life, the company that I worked for would replace
> everyone's computer every three years, but they were left with the old
> PC's.  Once a year, they would raffle them off for charity but without
> an operating system due to Microsoft's licensing agreement.  Of course,
> only the computer geeks would go for it because they knew how to get a
> new OS on them.
>
> The Alameda guy has applications for schools, not-for-profits and
> individuals.  I would be happy to contact him to find out how they do
> this.  Let me know....
>
> On Sun, 2008-03-16 at 16:45 -0400, Josh Rhoderick wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Well, I'm not sure if we ever came to a conclusion about whether or not
> we
> > should hold discussion on the mailing list, so I apologize if my reply
> is
> > out of place. I know a lot of people said they'd rather use the mailing
> list
> > than the forums for whatever reason, so I'm just going to go ahead and
> do
> > this via e-mail rather than the forums. *For those of you who despise
> > frequent mail, I suggest setting your subscription to digest.*
> >
> > Anyway, thanks for sharing, Chuck. I too was wondering what had happened
> and
> > why I hadn't heard anything about it. I feared that the silence wasn't a
> > good thing. I would really like to thank Craig, John, Chuck, and
> everyone
> > else who put so much work into this. These guys have all put in a lot of
> > time and energy into the team, and I'm sure we all appreciate everything
> > they've done. Craig deserves a special mention for his dedication to
> this
> > and other projects. We're really going to be losing a great team-member
> when
> > Craig goes off to school in the fall. :(
> >
> > I think we should use our open schedule to discuss future activities.
> I'm a
> > big proponent of having fun as a team because I think this builds team
> > morale and will better enable us to pull off successful events. It's a
> lot
> > easier to work with someone who is a friend rather than someone who just
> > shares a similar belief about an operating system. Also, let's not
> forget
> > that Ubuntu isn't JUST an operating system. It's a philosophy. I think
> > bringing more ubuntu (little "u") to the world is a good thing.
> >
> > I personally would like to see more public gatherings like the one we
> had at
> > Frederick, maybe even team bowling, laser tag, go-kart racing, or
> whatever.
> > And, of course, I think we should all do these things while wearing
> > Ubuntu-branded garb. In addition to fun stuff, I suggest we do
> > documentation, local technical support (when possible), maybe bug
> triaging
> > (although Celeste pointed out some obvious difficulties with this), and
> a
> > whole host of other things we can do as a team to improve Ubuntu for
> users.
> >
> > Also, as soon as this semester is over I will be putting more effort
> into
> > getting the Frederick subteam off the ground. I'm hoping to have our
> first
> > subteam meeting in June. Anyone who's interested in helping me with this
> can
> > contact me either via the Bat-Signal or e-mail. Preferably e-mail.
> >
> > So, does anyone have any thoughts on this stuff?
> >
> > -- Josh
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:55 PM, Chuck Frain <chuckfrain at pobox.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > I just published this to my blog. It's my thoughts on the install fest
> > > we had last week.
> > >
> > > -----
> > >
> > > It was pointed out to me recently by Celeste that no one had done a
> > > write up on our recent install fest. The reason for that I think was
> the
> > > low turnout of those wanting to get Ubuntu installed on their systems.
> > > Kind of a downer.
> > >
> > > It's always tough to spend time and energy getting an event like this
> > > together then have a small turnout. The time spent developing fliers.
> > > Taking those to shops and libraries in the area with gas prices being
> > > what they are and the time it take to ask for space to put them up.
> > > Finding sites to post the information on wondering if anyone will read
> > > and act on it. Then the day comes and you get up bright and early.
> Pack
> > > the car with the gear and make the trek in. An hour to set up and then
> > > over the next six hours you have three people show up.
> > >
> > > For some it would lead to the question of 'Why bother?'
> > >
> > > Then I get an email from one of the gentlemen who dropped in. It was
> > > simple and read:
> > >
> > >     "Enjoyed the event. I had Ubuntu put onto a flash drive, and I can
> > > boot from it (given a computer new enough to boot from usb flash - I
> am
> > > learning alot about that). Thanks, and looking forward to the next
> event."
> > >
> > >
> > > That got me thinking. We had three people come in to have Ubuntu
> > > installed on their systems. The first was a home user who had come
> > > across our website. He wanted to see what Linux could do for one of
> his
> > > old PCs. Then we had [The Other] Chuck from the local LUG. Recently
> he's
> > > become interested in giving back to the community through his
> knowledge
> > > of computers. He took time to collect up some older hardware and spend
> a
> > > few hours of his Saturday installing Ubuntu on them. He's going to
> take
> > > those five machines and either give them to a charity that can use
> them
> > > or sell them inexpensively and donate the profits to (I think it will
> > > be) Hackers for Charities. Then we have the gentleman who came in and
> > > had a flash drive Ubuntuized. Now he can try this wonderful system out
> > > and show it to friends easily.
> > >
> > > I think at the end of the day all the volunteers can say we had a
> great
> > > time. We got to hang out and chat with friends. Discuss various
> > > technologies and geek out a bit. All of us with common interests.
> Marco
> > > Figueiredo dropped in with his daughter to discuss some of what our
> > > host, Loyola College Center for Community Informatics, was doing and
> > > researching. All great stuff to hear and start to conceptualize what
> can
> > > be done with free software to help people.
> > >
> > > So even though we didn't do a whole lot of installing we did quite a
> > > bit. Two new Ubuntu users, one person who we've helped with a charity
> > > project, learned a little about what's being done with Free Software
> to
> > > help people around the world learn and enhance their lives and we had
> a
> > > good time together. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do next
> time!
> > >
> > > --
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> > > Ubuntu-us-md at lists.ubuntu.com
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> > > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-md
> > >
>
> --
> Matt Burkhardt, MSTM
> President
> Impari Systems, Inc.
> Phone:  (301) 644-3911
> mlb at imparisystems.com
> http://www.imparisystems.com
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