Some of my thoughts to Phil's comments:
current name). We will have an easier time getting people into Linux if
we get them into open source software ... first.
I heartily agree with this - I, myself, still run windows xp & 7 on my
desktops/laptops, even though 100% of my work product runs on unix and I
always carry 2 bootable ubuntu usb sticks with me.
So, even someone as pro-Unix as me isn't making the switch. Why not?
Because I realized that I wasn't becoming more pro-unix, I was becoming
more OS-agnostic. Most of my "OS" is a collection of tools, apps,
environment variables and file structures. Very little of what I do has
to do with windows, but my environment is set to run on windows, rather
than linux. Since all my purchased PCs come with windows installed, it
doesn't make much economic sense to lose a month of life
reworking/testing all my routines to run on ubunutu desktop.
Most people are not capable of switching over without a full, formal
class leading them by the hand.
Most of them didn't learn the original app without the same
handholding. 99% of people who sit at a computer have no idea how it
works - they just have some recipes memorized for doing their tasks. I
offer this stat as reassurance to my customers & friends that they're
not alone when they feel like idiots - they're just overestimating their
neighbors :)
Do we concentrate on educating the educators, who will face pressure
from students and parents to teach "the" standard product (MS Office)
because that is what graduates will be using in the workplace
I think this is overstated - very few parents would know/care about the
difference, and even fewer students.
, or do we educate businesses on the benefits of free software?
We definitely approach both - businesses will see the benefits on a
product-by-product basis. They might switch to google apps premium
first, but that is still a big step toward open office or thunderbird.
Back to the pertinent discussion, how can a group like mhvlug reach out
to less techy folk? I'd recommend some tight & tangible strategies.
Some examples:
- booting ubuntu from usb for secure web browsing (ie, online banking)
- running thunderbird on windows, and zindus to sync your contacts with
google ... Then synching google to your cell phone.
- why firefox is better than IE ... Aka "What is a browser?"
Other straightforward topics will show up later .... The important thing
is to start talking about using better tools for doing certain tasks
better.
My very-long $.02
Sp
On Sun, 9 Jan 2011 4:45 pm, Phil M Perry wrote:
For something other than straight Linux, we first need to resolve the
issue brought up earlier, namely, expanding our target audience beyond
Linux (preferably without fully dropping our current name). We will
have an easier time getting people into Linux if we get them into open
source software such as OO first. Even then, many will prefer to stay
with the devil they know (Windows). No one is going to come to a Linux
Users Group meeting if 1) they fear that a bunch of wild-eyed nerds are
going to evangelize them into switching to a non-Windows OS, and 2)
won't make the connection anyway -- "it's a /Linux/ group, right?"
As far as high schools, technical schools (BOCES, etc.), and colleges
go, they teach MS Office because that's what so many businesses use
(and they get nice deals from the Evil Empire). Granted, once you know
the basics of using one spreadsheet or word processor, it doesn't take
all that much to switch to another, but you'd be surprised how much
inertia there is once someone has learned, say, MS Office, and is used
to using it and has become somewhat proficient. Most people are not
capable of switching over without a full, formal class leading them by
the hand. Among other things, they may have built themselves a
reputation as a genius, and going to a new product means they're a
noobie again. Do we concentrate on educating the educators, who will
face pressure from students and parents to teach "the" standard product
(MS Office) because that is what graduates will be using in the
workplace, or do we educate businesses on the benefits of free
software?
Remember that once a business has committed to, say, MS Office, there
is tremendous resistance to switching to something else. Time is money
(unlike for a home user or a student), and training employees in a new
product /and/ (if necessary) converting existing usage is very
expensive. Yes, MS does periodically obsolete their existing products,
often requiring some amount of retraining and file conversion, so that
would be the best time to strike. Otherwise, businesses are going to be
very reluctant to go through the considerable expense of changing
platforms, once they're up and running with something. The cost of MS
software licenses may easily be outweighed by the costs of conversion,
so "free" (as in beer) software means nothing. Most businesses aren't
going to care about MS being evil ("but Bill Gates is giving away all
that money to wipe out malaria... isn't he a saint?"). They /might/
care about business records saved in a format that will be unusable a
decade or more down the line, and open software has a better chance of
being usable (fully documented format, and current source available for
someone to modify). Of course, most businesses don't have anyone
proficient enough in programming to update/rewrite that spreadsheet or
word processor for them, so they would have to pay someone to do it
(recover their data). This is an even bigger problem in government,
which needs to keep records for very long periods (indefinitely long
times). Much more likely, the media will have deteriorated to the point
of unusability and/or there is no device left to read it (how many 8
inch diskettes are lurking in filing cabinets? 8 or 9 track tape
reels?).
That alone would make an interesting project (and maybe a talk) itself
-- how to encourage businesses and government to periodically re-record
their records onto newer media (/and check it/) before their last tape
drive breaks down, and how to import them into newer versions of
spreadsheets, word processors, etc. That second point could be a good
place to evangelize open source, in that with a fully documented open
file structure there should always be a way to use old data.
On 1/9/2011 3:01 PM, Robert Mark Wallace wrote:
Our current constituency obviously doesn't want to sit through two
hours of the basics of an Open Office Spreadsheet, but the colleges in
our area are still focused on proprietary Products and the Open source
software does work differently.
How can we do this?
_______________________________________________
Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug
Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium
Feb 2 - Zimbra
Mar 2 - MHVLUG 8th Anniversary - Show and Tell
Apr 6 - Introduction to IPv6
------------------------------------
Sean Phelan (sent by mobile phone)
http://www.sqcn.com
http://www.VIRTUssist.com
(321)698-7987
_______________________________________________
Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug
Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium
Feb 2 - Zimbra
Mar 2 - MHVLUG 8th Anniversary - Show and Tell
Apr 6 - Introduction to IPv6
