How much lead time is really necessary, to allow putting together a
good demo, a strong presentation that goes with it, and an exciting publicity
campaign beforehand? If we get an immediate confirmation of the dates
suggested (1/25 or 1/26) it gives us just three weeks to get our act together,
is that enough? Remember, we should look good
enough to impress the PHBs instead of our usual propellor-head audience
:-)
Watching the discussion on this thread, I think Ed Lawson suggested
a great demo:
>I think a server running Samba, a networked faxing solution, providing
>internet access, internal mail, and maybe a sample website with
a SQL
>backend would make a good impression if it worked and was shown
>connected to Win box or two along with a Linux desktop box.
For simplicity I'd suggest that there be only one desktop client box,
configured to dual-boot either Linux or MS Windoze. Start with the
box running Windows to show off the server capabilities with the apps they
already know and love (to hate? :-), then reboot it into the desktop Linux
running WordPerfect and StarOffice, plus whatever other apps seem appropriate
and desirable.
To do this we need two demo systems, as the minimum hardware requirement. I have mixed feelings about the configs, on one hand I'm tempted to volunteer an old 486 as the server just to blow the minds of those PHBs, on the other hand I think we should demo a realistic installation using current hardware. What are our available hardware resources? Do we have hardware committed, or do we need to identify the sources/details?
I'd strongly urge that the demo preparations be finished early enough to allow staging the entire performance privately beforehand, to rehearse and shake down any problems. Maybe the schedule should be planned to prepare and present the program internally first, with the public BUN meeting a week or so later to allow polishing the rough edges?
Also, very important, we should make sure we have enough time and access
to the expertise to get the demo working with the equipment in the DWC
room. I went down to the BLU meeting in Cambridge last month and
it was a farce
with a roomfull of geeks trying to figure out how to get the presentation
hooked up and working with the MIT projector, and that was just for a set
of Powerpoint slides.
For the presentation I'd suggest we keep it fairly limited. Don't confuse the PHBs with talk about distros and such. As "Charles C. Bennett, Jr." wrote:
No end-user in their right mind should be installing an operating systemJust set their expectations about that, give them a brief overview and enough of an introduction to the demo to explain what they're seeing, and then let the demo show them it's real, with lots of opportunity for Q & A. There are a couple of issues here, most of all the balance between evangelizing Linux and promoting vendors. If we really draw the PHBs for this session they need to know how to get the support they need, either by pointing their in-house geeks at the right info sources or by pointing the PHBs at the right vendors. Maybe we should have an effort to produce a resource center, not just for this presentation but also for general future use?
- that's so... 70's. Either hire a geek to load it for you or buy a
preloaded system.
My personal idealized fantasy would be to package the resource list as a slick web package, maybe stored in a database using MySQL, with the demo set up to allow them to fax selected pages to their personal number. Or maybe we could have them sign in online (using web forms through a browser running on a Linux box, bet they'll be unable to tell it's not an M$ platform:-) and enter their email and fax numbers along with info requests... But that's all probably a bit ambitious for the first time out, and on a fairly tight timeline, so maybe we should defer some of those features for future enhancements?
Finally, for publicity I think Charles Bennett has a really good idea about working through the local Chamber of Commerce. I've already made contact with the Keene Chamber of Commerce for several other reasons, and I'm pretty sure we can do a session with them sometime. I'll call the Nashua CofC also, to find out how best to work with them. We should also send press releases to all the newspapers in the area, maybe in a couple of waves to ensure the maximum coverage, and we should also find out about local radio programming that's business-oriented. We need to have enough leadtime to get the word out effectively, and we need to have our ducks in a row about the content and schedule when we do start the publicity campaign.
So that again raises the question, how much leadtime do we need? Is three weeks enough? Should we take some additional time to organize internally, to have folks designated to take care of the various jobs involved? Or can we do that without taking additional time? BTW, I want to help build and configure and test the demo systems, especially the server, but I'm not confident in myself to take ownership of that job - I just want to assist whoever does!
'Nuff for now (maybe more than enough?)
--Bruce McCulley
Jeffry Smith wrote:
I've called Brian about getting a room with projection capability
(desired) and an internet hookup for up to 100 people either 25 or 26
Jan. I'm figuring setup starting around 5pm, with the Business User
Night starting around 7pm. I hope to hear back from him after the new
year, as I assume the school is closed for the holidays. I'll put in
another call on Tue, 4 Jan, if I haven't heard from him before then.Happy holidays to all
jeff smith
