Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
Hi, Mark Elkins wrote: I would have thought that if the location of the Bournemouth meeting was too move then it should be to somewhere with wireless. Although that said the pre sence of wireless may interfere too much with face to face discussion, which is the purpose of physical meetings I would have thought. It would be handy to have. Show someone the site you're talking about, do a quick demo of this app. that needs online access, etc. I agree it can cause one or two to huddle round a netbook, apart from the rest, for a little while but if there's a big group it seems to fragment anyway because you can't hear what's being said at the other end of the tables. That reminds me of a point I've made before. One of the things I'd liked about the Dorchester meeting when John Cooper brought his suitcase of toys along was how they remained static and the people moved around, sitting or standing. It meant you got to speak to more people. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
Hi Terry, On Monday 09 Nov 2009, Ralph Corderoy wrote: That reminds me of a point I've made before. One of the things I'd liked about the Dorchester meeting when John Cooper brought his suitcase of toys along was how they remained static and the people moved around, sitting or standing. It meant you got to speak to more people. Now does this tell us that the Dorchester venue lends itself to this or that we need more nights when people bring novel kit along? I don't think it was the venue. Same venue other times has everyone sitting statically. :-) And if the kit wasn't novel then people wouldn't move to it, but it can't be novel every meet. We could say you only get a seat if you bring a keyboard! But I assume that one was more like one of the Uni lab meets we used to have before my time. Not a small table with more and more chairs put in around it, but a few workbenches with spaced out seating so you had to get up and wander round to see what was going on. Perhaps that's what Bunix have now on their monthly meets after the talks? (Plug, next one's Wednesday. http://bunix.org.uk/wiki/doku.php#next_meeting All welcome, not just students AIUI.) I guess most people are happy with the seating as it is, so not worth persuing. I just found that one time interestingly different. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
John Cooper wrote: On 08/11/09 21:42, Mark Elkins wrote: I would have thought that if the location of the Bournemouth meeting was too move then it should be to somewhere with wireless. Although that said the presence of wireless may interfere too much with face to face discussion, which is the purpose of physical meetings I would have thought. For the record parking for the Goat is not a problem (for those of us in the know over free parking places in that area after 1900 hours). However I don't see what advantage the location has over the present one unless one happens to live in the centre of Bournemouth. Also the Goat may not be as quiet and relaxed as the Kings Arms in terms of background noise etc. Maybe if the location is moved it should be near to Bournemouth Rail/Coach Station - but then parking might prove to be problem unless you want to take advantage of ASDA and 3 hours worth of free parking. Mark Elkins I've never thought Wallisdown was a good venue as few attend the Uni and not a particular pleasant area. Bournemouth Asda location is even worse as nothing around there and no parking. Dorchester Wetherspoon is a good location for people in that area. In Poole/Bournemouth the pubs are pretty poor venues as either no wireless or too noisy. Plus the fact all the pubs have CCTV, so the paranoid amongst us will feel big brother (is that M$ ?) is watching them. So I doubt this issue will ever be resolved as in all the years no one has come up with anything better than the Kings Arms. As a recent convert to Linux the only reason I've heard raised for moving the Bournemouth venue would be to obtain a wireless connection. Reason for that is so that anyone trying to show someone (like me!) how to do something could connect to the internet. Kings Arms is usually comparatively quiet and space is not normally a problem (as long as one of us gets there on time) and parking is not a problem either. I have tried to attend both location whenever possible so feel I can compare sites objectively (please no flame wars over this comment!!). No pub is going to be ideal for demonstrating on a laptop but wireless connection can be useful sometimes. Clive -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
On Saturday 07 Nov 2009, Ralph Corderoy wrote: John Cooper wrote: I think the Bournemouth Wetherspoon's pub (Moon in the Square) might be a better venue as you can park after 7pm for free outside the townhall. We used to meet there IIRC. I guess we moved to be nearer Bournemouth Uni when we had unofficial access. That was a *very* long time ago; almost before my time even :-) I've no objection to the Bournemouth pub changing; I don't go to many of those meets. :-) I don't suppose concensus will be achieve, people will just silently not object, so can someone guillotine the discussion, say in a week's time, and make a decision. Ideally, whatever will get the most attendees. (I expect Terry will have an opinion when he's not busy with work.) I back from Europe (to Europe) now; somewhat allergic to planes. And yes; I do have an opinion, with a bit of history. One of the reasons that we changed (it was just about the time I joined) was the problem of parking in Bournemouth Town Centre. Partly it was cost (I object to paying when I don't have to and so did others at the time) and the other was (and still is for me) the increased risk of parking cars in the town centre at night (vandalism etc). We tried all sorts of venues over a period of around a year and eventually ended up at Wallisdown because of the free parking and the proximity to to the UNI, where some our members attended at the time (and we hoped to get more). Things have changed since then, not least because of the advent of wireless in pubs. The Dorchester venue is excellent because (not necessarily in this order): * The beer is cheap. * Although there is no car park, there is quite a bit of on-street parking nearby (although I gather this isn't free any more). * They occasionally have beer festivals. * It's very easy to get to. * The beer is cheap. * Dorchester tends to be less 'rowdy' than Bournemouth (or Poole). * It has wireless, although it doesn't always work if we sit in the wrong place. * Did I mention that the beer is cheap? The Moon in the Square has many of those qualities apart from it's location. That isn't necessarily a show stopper, but I bet it's pretty noisy and it may be hard to gather a large group all in one place, like we do at Dorchester and Wallisdown. Can someone comment on this; I've never been there. There was talk of other Wetherspoons pubs some time ago and someone was going to check them out. What happened to that? -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
On Saturday 07 Nov 2009, Robert Bronsdon wrote: In Bournemouth we have the Moon in the Square - I'd agree its often too busy/noisy (even mid week) to be able to have a conversation. There is also a new Weatherspoons in the Lansdown area The Christopher Creeke. This is somewhat quieter but parking would be a real issue. There is roadside parking at The Parkstone and Heatherlands though the pub is quite small and it would be difficult to get seating for a reasonable sized group. The Mary Shelley is again too noisy though parking would not be an issue. Finally there is the Sir Percy Florence Shelley which is a decent enough pub, parking a slight issue but the pub itself ideal. The Percy however is more towards Boscombe. I think there isn't much point in having a meeting if we can't have a serious conversation (as well as a bit of fun). I suggested the Goat because its parking is pretty ideal (two cheap car parks within a 5 minute walk - one is literally across the road) and the pub is quiet enough to get conversation going. The consideration about having access to the University is not one I had considered. But what about the beer :-) Also my apologies if I seem to be the new guy who has just appeared and turned things on their head. This was just a conversation that came up in Dorchester and something I thought I could have some input in. No apologies necessary; everyone has a say and in any case, this is a conversation that has been going on for some time now. You've just picked up on the end of the thread. Well almost the end; we still have to decide where to go. Any advances on the Goat? -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
Re: [Dorset] Location of the Bournemouth meetings
Hi Terry, I suggested the Goat because its parking is pretty ideal (two cheap car parks within a 5 minute walk - one is literally across the road) and the pub is quiet enough to get conversation going. The consideration about having access to the University is not one I had considered. But what about the beer :-) I think that was Rob's (or Robert?) first criteria. :-) The Goat and Tricycle is a traditional real ale pub, with a huge range of hand pulled real ales including the Wadworth classics which are always available: Bishops Tipple, Horizon, 6x, JCB and Henrys IPA, there are up to 11 Guest ales which change every 2 - 3 days, so there is always plenty of variety to choose from. http://www.goatandtricycle.co.uk/ Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wednesday 2009-12-02 20:00 Dorset LUG: http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.orgchannel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
