Jim Kuzdrall wrote: > > I sense that there is an aversion to considering unpleasant > possibilities. What if the day of Linux as a social movement is on the > wane? Is it best to avoid the thought? Wouldn't it be better to stack > up reasoning for and against the hypothesis to see if it is really > true.
I don't think the days of the kernel-bit-tweaker are anywhere near over, though fewer of us need to do those things to get the system working. Linux has a much better Out-of-the-Box experience these days: boot the CD, hit enter a few times, and you're surfing the web! But there will always be a place for the bit hackers, and spending some time on the forums and meetings on them is essential. Like the guys who know how to replace the cams on their car. Or even know what means. But there's also a growing audience interested in GSD: Get Stuff Done. People who use Linux to tweak on graphics files, run their office software, record their LPs to digital media, record their TV shows. These folks are the audience I'd like to attract more of. Without losing the focus on Linux and Free and Open software, I think we can expand into user space, which still providing heavy technical content to those who want to consume that. The Boston Computer Society dissolved eleven years ago this month [1] with a "mission accomplished" message back before that went out of fashion. I think that was wrong, and I think reports of our demise are premature, as well. But I'm open to the idea, and I'd welcome counter-arguments. I took issue a while ago with a Joe Barr editorial about LUGs [2], and I cringed at a recent Doc Searls podcast where he talked about the most attended Apple Group in Southern California "back when those things mattered." I don't think LUGs serve the same purpose as UGs did in previous decades (I was, at one time, President, Newsletter Editor, and BBS SysOp for a Commodore Group :) but I think we still have a purpose. As for Linux as a social phenomenon, I think the roller coaster ride has just begun! [1] http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/fall96/0275.html [2] http://www.tedroche.com/blog/?p=1814 -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
