[ILUG] e-Xpo Thank You

[Dumpling & Associates]

To whom it may concern

My name is Keith Blackburn. I was the one with the business card with a
rabbit and green bands on it who managed to win one of those Linux Red Hat
boxes and a T-Shirt. Many thanks to those who were there and for picking my
card out of the hat!

I was wondering if anyone had given further thought to my suggestion of
producing some CD based training/demonstrations of using Linux.

It has been my experience that most users are put off using Linux because of
the unknowns and uncertainties. They are uncertain of how to install Linux
on their PC, but with some modern distros, these will now install without
problems. With this problem solved, most users are then confronted with a
Windows like User Interface and applications that they do not know how to
use. This is where a CD (running under Windows and Linux) showing users how
to use the interface (in a similar vein to the PC Friendly magazine or the
ECDL training disc) would be invaluable in promoting and educating people in
using an alternative to Windows. This CD could be captured on a Windows
machine running Linux under VM Ware and having the appropriate software
running in the background in Windows. I would suggest that you do a short
bit on installation and then concentrate on the two main Windows-like GUI's
and applications that your average PC user would need to know.

I would also have thought that with the number of Linux magazines and
interest groups, and computer magazines in general, there would be not be a
problem in distributing the end
product, especially if it was promoted and made available free. From my
conversations with those at the show on the second day, it would appear that
there was one organisation that would be prepared to capture and create the
CD for the Irish Linux User Group. This CD suitably promoted (by sending off
to PC Magazines, Linux User Groups, etc) and with the content downloadable
from the web site, this would really put ILUG on the European if not global
map! If successful, this could then extended to produce a series of CD's
concentrating on further detail and different Distro's etc.

Another thought, although I do not know how it could be done is something
along the lines of www.runaware.com where applications are made available
through a browser like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer using
technology like Citrix Metaframe. As far as I am aware, Citrix products only
work under Windows and they are probably paid for by the application
developers but some form of a "online Linux experience" would also be of
much benefit to the Linux Community.

I hope that this would be of some interest, especially given the amount of
support that there is out there to the Linux Community.

Best wishes

Keith Blackburn  BSc.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Breathnach, Proinnsias (Dublin)" <breatpro at exchange.ie.ml.com>
To: "'ILUG'" <ilug at linux.ie>
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 4:55 PM
Subject: [ILUG] e-Xpo Thank You


> As most of you are probably aware I was co-opted into organising this
years
> ILUG stand at e-Xpo. As Donncha mentioned last year, it's not an easy job,
> and I couldn't have done it without the help and support of the following
> (In no particular order)
>
> * Mark Egan and team at Scope Communications who generously donated the
> stand
> * David Hamilton of HP and Andrew Kemmy of B.I.C. Systems who arranged for
> the loan of hardware for us to play with
> * David Owens of RedHat Ireland who donated Scooters and plenty of Boxed
> Sets of RedHat 7.0 (Deluxe and Professional) which are currently being
> enjoyed by their winners
> * Mike Bennett of Eolach who supplied us with a serious number of VA Linux
> T-shirts (Linux, The difference between Trust and AntiTrust)
> * Ken Guest, Colin Whittaker, and Mark Kilmartin who helped out on the
stand
> for the entire duration of the show, tirelessly answering any and every
> question that came their way.
> * Colm Buckley for giving his talk on linux (sorry I missed it, but I'm
told
> it was one of the more popular talks of the show)
> * Niall O Broin, Liam Bedford, Cormac McClean, Peter Flynn (and anyone
who's
> names I've forgotton) who jumped in to help when they got time, and let us
> see some of the show
> * Verity Systems (vendors of CD Duplication equipment) come in for special
> mention, as they saved our skins by duplicating large numbers of RedHat
7.1
> CDs which were eagerly snapped up. Thanks !
> * Dale McWilliams of Anything-Irish.com who has given the ILUG an external
> SCSI CDRW on indefinate loan (Not directly related to the show, but anyway
> !).
>
> I'd also like to thank those who tried to get us toys to play with, and
> those who have already offered support for next year's e-Xpo (or
LinuxWorld
> 2001) in the form of physical presence, promised space donation etc.
>
> And last but not least, to our stand visitors, Thank-you. Without you we
> might not have been the most popular stand at the exhibition.
>
> Proinnsias
> <Concluding the litany of the saints !>
>
>