Thanks Alan and Derek, I agree completely. I'm going to be taking RSVP's
from interested users to guage our attendance, and call for more
volunteers. For the first few times, I'd like to get more volunteers in
than is required for installs proper, so we can dream up and set up the
Cool Things [tm] for future installfests, like the demo home or business
setups, the file server, etc.
Technomage, bring that equipment like you said, we'll get something set
up. Also come to the next Stammtisch Tue 5/18. You said you needed a
couple of extra hard drives?
Home demo: We could install and network one of the 'easy' distros, I say
Mandrake. Then get the big three, web, e-mail, and offices, working, and
also put a Samba on a secondary hard drive, and set it up as a backup for
the home directories. Is there an easy GUI method packaged in either
Fedora or Mandrake to make crons? It would be most impressive if you
could say, "this is my SO's machine".
For business type machines: if you're setting up a guest account, how
about setting up three, and install PHP groupware and Jabber on it, and a
generic 'brochure' type web page. These can be a real eye-opener. They
can see they can have a secure web server which also gets their people
together quickly for very cheap.
The next business machine will be a windows setup with a central Samba on
Linux.
The other business machine would be an LTSP, for instances when they want
lots of terminals for clerks for data entry. We could cite that one
eyeglasses store (which???) as an example. Best would be a windows app
that is visible on the remote terminal.
Again, pipe dream!! Over the next few months, all these need to be ready
and available to dump in your car and go. 'we need someone to see the
LTSP! Call Techno!' wham, go.
Regarding ec's rant. I'm going to encourage interested users to RSVP, and
ask if they have any special interests. If someone says, "I'm researching
Linux for my business", my response will be "why?". Then, after
listening, I'll call for a volunteer. Just like ec said, we should have
volunteers with computers ready to just pick up and go. Reliably having
an event and being ready for some things will get the decision-making
suits to the event.
As far as marketing: Hans should put the posting on the plug and AZOTO
website, of course. But those places don't expand any further than the
readership of this mailing list. It sure won't cover the decision-making
suits. I'm also going to put press releases to AZIPA, Arizona Technology
Council, and the major newspapers. Just a simple e-mail, and they put you
on their calendar. AzTech has a very regular e-mail that lists all the
tech events and tech-related chamber of commerce events, it's very
popular. People look in the newspapers for all sorts of things, so the
blurb in the events column helps. I'm also going to make monthly
anouncements on the PC Chat radio show, 1310AM 19:00-20:00, starting today
in the last quarter of the hour (the extra-geeky portion. I'll probably
do it every week this month, then do it on the radio show 9 days before
the event).
BTW, I haven't heard many to volunteer to be an installer or a Cool Thing
[tm] builder. Please RSVP me!
[volunteers]
technomage <
technomage-hawke@cox.net>
L5 <
eculbert@yahoo.com>
L1 Anthony Milbauer <
tickticker@cox.net>
L1 Alan Dayley <
alandd@consultpros.com>
What level are you, techno? :)
--
--Alexander
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