Well, my eyes have certainly been opened as to what an installfest is all about!
First of all, for those of you who didn't make it (or who have never been to one at all), you've certainly missed something. I was only able to be there for less than two hours (ended up spending the rest of the day doing homework--still haven't finished), but it was amazing. People and computers everywhere! I really underestimated how many people are actually interested in Linux. I guess, especially with its popularization in the CS labs, it's really catching on. Things have certainly been moving fast the past two years! I was also amazed to see how much I could help just by being there for that short time. I was astounded at how many people expressed their heartfelt thanks to me for helping them with this problem or that, or simply for telling them the steps they needed to take to install. I felt I hardly had time to do anything at all, and yet it seemed like what I did made such a big difference. I highly encourage all those who haven't had the experience to go and help out. Even if your Linux powerz aren't at "super-guru" level, there's still lots for you to do. And yes, I do have suggestions and comments for future installfests! (Don't I always have something to say?) 1) I honestly think we should have them more often if the turnout is that great! I'm not sure how often we're having them now, but I talked to some people who had come last year and were just there for an "upgrade" and to fix a few simple problems. Are there other technical/bureaucratic limitations to having them more often, or is it just a lot of work on you, Evan? [P.S. Kudos to Evan for all the work he put into the event. It was very well organized, well planned, and he put a lot of effort in getting people--both helpers and helpees--to come out and make the event a success.] 2) Pre-install instructions. On our flyers, we should have some "fine print" that lists instructions of what to do, i.e.: * Bring your computer case, mouse, and keyboard. We will have a few monitors available if you're unable to bring yours. * If you want to be able to use both Windows and Linux, defragment your hard drive the night before so we can resize the partition. (If you already have another partition or another hard drive we can erase and put Linux on, you don't need to do this.) * Back up all important data (burn it to a CD or copy it to a different computer) just in case. The important part of the above I think is the "DEFRAG BEFORE YOU COME" message. There were several people there whose install time could have been one-tenth the time if they had defragged the night before. I thought we had put out some message like this, but the people I talked to said they had heard no such thing. 3) Even though it was a /Linux/ install-fest, I think some of those Windows-software SSS CDs would have been cool to have around. 4) Aren't there more free alternatives to Partition Magic out there? Back as far as four years ago or something I used Mandrake's installer to resize partitions and that worked beautifully. I've heard about parted as well. Wouldn't those be useful to have on-hand? 5) Other things to pass out to people who come. I'm thinking basically in two varieties--one would be an "install checklist" sort of thing, in case we're short of hands we can just give them the sheet and let them get started right away. Basically the checklist would go like this: - find a place to plug in your computer [should be a lot easier if we can find a better room next time] - if you want to keep your Windows partition, defrag if you haven't already - set up your partitions with Partition Magic if necessary - begin install, etc. etc. etc. Most people could get at least the first two done by themselves with little or no assistance. Then a Helper can walk them through the rest, and if the person happens to know enough to install mostly by themselves with the aid of the sheet, more power to them. The second sheet to pass out could be more of a "Introduction to Linux" tutorial, with (of course) instructions on how to subscribe to the newbies list, as well as some other useful information. 6) Even more bizarre ideas. Some sort of "marking" for the helpers, so that people who are struggling can see who they need to seek out, and so that other helpers can easily see who's being helped and who isn't. Some sort of "marking" for the computers themselves to see at a glance what stage they're in. For example, I saw one guy who couldn't get his wireless ethernet card to work, and so had a piece of paper stuck to his notebook that said, "NEED WIRELESS HELP!" or something like that. I'm envisioning something along those lines for everyone, so you can look up and at a glance see a few "DEFRAGGING" signs, a few "USING PARTITION MAGIC" signs, a few "NEED PARTITION MAGIC" signs, a few "INSTALLING FILES" signs, and a few "PROBLEM: NEED HELP" signs. I don't know, though--that might end up being more complex and more trouble than it's worth. At the very least, I think, though, there should be something for problems which hint to the general nature of the problem, so anybody can look around and see if there are issues which need to be attended to. Ok, well that was fun! Hope you all enjoyed m rant, and even though I'm sure not all of my comments were very useful, hopefully there will be one or two gems in all that that can be taken out, polished, and perhaps used to make a future installfest even better. Another big thanks to all those who participated. I was, indeed, very impressed. ~ ross ____________________ BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
