Nicole Nice to hear from you. I tend to be verbose in my correspondence, so bear with me. I'll get back to Blender, but I wanted to talk about Linux in general first. I considered asking you to call me so I could wrap this discussion up in 15 minutes, but I decided to respond via email so we could have a wider audience. To that end I've Cc'd the EUGLUG.
When Lorraine mentioned teaching Linux I jumped in, but now I have to question if I am up for that. A while back I wanted to do a *Linux Learner Program*: a train-the-trainer approach; where I would hand off a computer to a person and walk them through the use of Linux. By providing tested hardware I could avoid the problem of Operating System / Hardware issues that have dogged Linux in the past. This would allow the end user to explore the desktop and applications in a more pleasant and creative manner. That never got off the ground and I'm pretty sure that it would have been logistically difficult for a full time bicyclist like myself. Not to mention my limited knowledge of "command line Linux." I come to Linux from an artist's perspective and, although I have some technical knowledge, I am NOT a Linux Guru. I have followed Linux for 15 years, as a "gadfly" or "fanboy," because I believed in Open Source, but I was not willing to give up the Graphical User Interface (GUI,) being a Visual Learner. I have generally made myself a pain in the ass to the EUGLUG to a point that the dialog has dried up. I was too willing to jump into discussions where I was way over my head, with nothing intelligent to offer. I was generally out of sync with the discussion and I am grateful for LUG members humoring me over the years. Along the way I learned to build computers from scratch, addressed wireless, dual monitors, and hard drive mirroring...etc, etc. In reality I didn't do much to further the use of Linux; I hung in and Linux just got better over the years. Linux is mainly a Mainframe / Server Operating System used for back office. I was interested in a desktop publishing usage and that has been the slowest to develop over the years. Ubuntu has played a major role in the emerging desktop and this latest release has re-invigorated my efforts to use Linux. My questions for you (if I am entitled to ask) are: 1) Are you a Linux user? This would be helpful to know before I jumped into (limited) technical jargon. 2) Has NextStep considered the limitations of Linux as an end user desktop? I don't know how much internal discussion you have had about the competition between Apple, Microsoft, and Linux for end users. 3) do you have a Linux following? This means people who want to use Linux exclusively, because I observe that people want "easy" and they will maintain the status quo. As for Blender...Blender has a steep learning curve and complaints have been leveled against it's GUI. People seeking to master 3D rendering as a career path want a payoff for their hard work in learning the software. That means a JOB! Also, the Industry Standard for 3D is Maya and a Maya Lite version is a free download. Google's Sketchup is also free and becoming popular with industry (for CAD, where there are more jobs.) I am sticking with Blender for the Community and the Creative Commons. Because of my specific usage I can afford to be independent of industry (I've been poor this long...I might as well walk the rest of the way with a hole in my shoe.) I've opened the door to a discussion...think I'll give it a rest and see what others think. Brian On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 2:03 PM, Nicole Borgaard < [email protected]> wrote: > BB, > > We're very interested in your ability to teach a class on Blender 3D, an > open source graphics program. > We're still in our beginning stages of our launch, and very happy to have > the response of people in our community willing to teach youth valuable > skills. These kids, young adults and their families will benefit greatly > from our Digital Literacy Training Center. Bridging the digital divide and > opening up a new and accessible world of technology is a wonderful > empowering tool for our community. > > The computers we will be using will be Ubuntu, Windows XP and 7. The video > cards, however, I am unsure of. They might just be standard on board, but > for this class we might be able to install the appropriate video cards on > some machines. I'll find out what we will be using, and if they will be > compatible with Blender 3D. Your donation could very well be helpful to this > program as well. > > Could you elaborate on your experience in Blender 3D and other computer > experience? > > > From: BB <[email protected]> > Reply-To: Eugene Unix and Gnu/Linux User Group <[email protected]> > Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:25:01 -0700 > To: Eugene Unix and Gnu/Linux User Group <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [Eug-lug] Linux for the masses-wanna be a teacher? > > At some point in time I would like to give a class on Blender 3D. It's a > ways down the road, but I'm sure that it's a Killer App for some kid. It > requires OpenGL video cards, I have a few that I could donate (nothing in > the screamer category, as in speed.) > > Growing up poor, I probably could relate...something for the back burner >
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