With a day to think about it, & Steve's point in mind..
Derek Smithies wrote:
Not, as Andrew asked, "a bad thing" imho - more of a personal educational responsibility (& optimal business direction).Hi, thanks for the acknowledgement.
Actually, it was my friend Bruce Ferrell in the US who found this link.
I have a suspicion he spends every possible waking hour in front of a computer.
Anyhow, all that aside.Collectively, LUGs, NZOSS, OPENZ etc, & interested private parties are shaping this solution - sooner or later.
Here is the big question. In what form and timescale will New Zealand transition to Linux?
Now, further, Rik wrote::Symbiotic kick-start required, imho. But let's set the rules from the start..
A loud & stimulating noise is required to bring the smarter alternatives into view, and this is especially difficult in conservative bastions like (in many ways) New Zealand, & especially Canterbury/Christchurch.
Getting corporates like Oracle alongside the LUGs is a critical step forward, educationally.
So, what are the next steps for us to take? Install fests ? Yes, doing that.
Shared an aside with Zane last night - a professional database programmer.
I wanted to know if there was any further potential in the CLUG/University relationship (we should consider all venues tho, eg CPIT & Lincoln).
Basically I have been trying to think up a spectacular, interesting & newsworthy use for an annual CLUG cluster event (credit Ben Devine for the suggestion).
Other people should enhance / develop these ideas at will.. :
1. An (annual) inter-LUG supercomputer challenge (rated on teraflops or whatever), where the incremental goal is to build the most powerful processor in the country (& distcc-type compsci training). Rankings vs other LUGs?, Peter Jackson's video rendering?, NIWA's climate modellor?, the Uni itself?..
2. Uses for the supercomputer/network are sought - eg [EMAIL PROTECTED], gaming/virtual world, ... ?
3. Distributed database training exercise, testing Oracle & their competitors?
4. Something exceedingly visual would be best - maybe a massive screen & a 3D globe?, a working model universe?.. a human impact mapping?..
We need something attractive to the largest possible audience, that shows the liberating potential of Free Software in a futuristic way.
- Or something entirely different? (which it is)
Keep us thinking..
Cheers,
Rik
Seems to be the nature of online writing - a tendency to cut down the chaff rapidimo?Online help systems? Yes doing that via email lists. Of some help, but maybe limited cause it can be hard to get started. Sadly, some lists have an attitude that is kindly described as "combative" Other lists (like this one) are good, with minimum flames.
The smaller the community, the more cohesive?
Writing articles for the press/listener?
Word-of-mouth by electronic media will reach more, & instantaneously.
Our future is tied to the preservation of trees, perhaps? :-)
