Hello Mitch, Your posting on the the existence of ASCCA prompted me to contact one of the local Computer Pals for Seniors group.
A primary prompt was when a 90-year-old dear friend got into difficulties with sending emails and I tried to look for support organisations to assist him. You may be aware how difficult it is to guide someone via the phone and screenshots to solve a computer problem. Apparently a home visit was indicated but none of the organisations under the governmental auspices of providing services to senior Australians had the manpower (womanpower) available to accommodate such a need. The problem in question was eventually resolved. Today, after negotiating an invitation, I attended a local Computer Pals for Seniors group. I have had about 25 years of experience with computers and thought myself to be adequately qualified to offer my services. Even then I had to argue my case. A misunderstanding? Perhaps the word got out that I was there to present "something alien" because an early remark of "we don't teach Apple, only Microsoft" gave me some indication of things to come. I bit my tongue. As the meeting was about to finish I asked for time to address the assemblage. This was granted. My offering was this: That I was willing to provide assistance with computer problems in the home in return for the reimbursement of traveling expenses ( I am talking about country distances and country travel ). That was well received and a negotiator and person for contact was established. I made sure that everyone understood that I was not prepared to teach the use of Microsoft software but would assist anyone who needs assistance out of a tight spot no matter which operating system was in use. I also took the opportunity to question why anyone would use commercial software, especially when the cost to pensioners is considered, the group of people who can least afford it. One person wanted to argue that MS Word was far superior to OpenOffice.org. I pointed out that I had not come to argue any case for or against. Yes, I showed them Ubuntu Karmic Koala, took their photos via Cheese and generally displayed, with pride, what Ubuntu has to offer. Unfortunately there was no hot-spot for internet. The group seems to be firmly entrenched in Microsoft products because MS has given them licences for all their software at almost no cost. Another factor is that many have an "inherited" computer system, one passed down to them as relatives upgrade their equipment and, of course, equipped with Windows. Will I go to the next meeting? You can bet on it. I noticed that MS is represented as one of the contributors to the Annual Conference in September. I wanted to post this so that whoever is going to represent (or present) Ubuntu at the ASCCA conference in Sydney in September is not caught on the back foot. Good Luck. Andre On 22 March 2010 19:16, Mitch Towner <[email protected]> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Hi Everyone, > I received some more information today regarding the 2010 > ASCCA > Conference. I was advised that approximately 200 delegates attended the > conference last year. As such, this may not be quite such a "grand > scale" type of thing as I initially thought. > > Is anyone interested in helping put together & deliver a presentation at > this conference? To be completely honest, I am not much of a public > speaker. However I am very keen to help organise a presentation at this > conference as I believe that it would be a perfect opportunity to help > promote Ubuntu. > > Kind Regards, > Mitch (kermiac on IRC) > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux) > Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ > > iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJLpzWEAAoJENegJk0fbKNMOEAH/jT7DoY4KvLnlPqpfKULQ3ul > i56WY7qO/xlnhQfU1Qpmq5pnbQNBWZNoEDuIOFuTE9c1YaUJJAREbDIVr9o750nf > 1/sAmPWbwRuI2ND5GeGqLhya9TmZ8WxDXTQZt+Ugz9wH/6ALXuQ7Yd7zj7s+fWEf > g1YgTrHMKG7wTzRSH4jEwvGhtlD8xC6tvXqSxp3wotBmHjoPu2ROB1uKaI5TTfZi > 5sr6AykCrDhn5He9dyB0kHICMEDDZF5CaqzMTgU/azGEhe0l9673BVmU7H6tke8x > OEbK6mRy0+zommI9mP2/ujM19XRj6CP3/VpNaVi/ykr0lIId5TxDtXdHqAZYnQQ= > =C+4Y > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > -- > ubuntu-au mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au >
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