As a non-coder I'd like to add my two cents.
I came to Linux in ~ 2007 for a few reasons.
1. I like alternatives and believe variety is the spice of life.
2. I had specifically been searching for home server solutions
which yielded many Linux options.
3. I had been very frustrated how slow my new laptop at the
time ran Windows Vista with the included 512MB RAM. Toshiba
sold the laptop with no or few drivers for Win XP. This also
got me searching for alternatives.
Anyway, I have no programming experience so many of the meetings I have
attended were far over my head. I still feel they were beneficial to me
in a "reverse engineering" perspective.
For me, the non code type meetings such as SAMBA and many lightening
talks gave me the greatest enjoyment.
As others have mentioned, the monthly meetings may not be the best
avenue to attract new members, who have not already welcomed Linux to
their hardware or lives.
"Events" may be beneficial. Perhaps we can organize some community
events to help potential users in an informal, but welcoming
environment. Example: As suggested "Use an Ubuntu USB live environment
for your banking online". I can see an event at a local library, school
or other organization's forum to show folks how this is done. At such
event we can introduce the audience what MHVLUG is all about. I can for
see similar events for OO.org, gimp, etc.
I am very surprised at the number of users out there that have no idea
of the existence of OO.org. I often get the call, "hey Eric, you got a
MS Office disk"? My canned response is, "have you ever tried Open
Office"?
Cheers,
Eric
On Sun, 2011-01-09 at 19:32 -0500, Sean Phelan wrote:
> 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
_______________________________________________
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
