[olug] INSTALLFEST on January 11th

Mon Dec 30 18:51:33 UTC 2002

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Hello out there in Linux Land, it's your venerable VP back for a 
long-awaited visit.

I don't post to the list as much as others do. Please do not take this to 
mean that I don't read the email, or am not paying attention. I do read it 
all, just not as it comes in. Procmail sends the messages to an OLUG 
folder and I read them all at the end of the day (otherwise I'm afraid I'd 
never get any work done). So if you have an urgent question for me, please 
send it directly to adamh at omaha.org.

I feel bad that we weren't able to have the December meeting, but the  
end-of-the-year rush seems to happen earlier every year. Currently there 
are no plans to have a meeting before the installfest. I don't consider 
this a major problem, as the installfest format is pretty laid back 
anyway.

The official time of the installfest is noon - 6 pm on January 11th. The 
location is the same as for the meetings, the AIM training center on the 
Clarkson College campus at 44th and Douglas in Omaha, NE. Directions and a 
map can be found at http://schoolink.org/01/05/index.htm. Please park in 
the parking garage on the south side of Douglas st (for free, even). If 
you haven't already, please download fliers from 
http://olug.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=84 and most 
them/pass them out.

I usually try to get there about 10 am, to open the doors and make sure 
everything is setup ok. I will be doing most of the system setup the day 
before, so everything should be ready by Sat. We have 4 rooms availble on 
Saturday - the lounge, Classroom1, Classroom2 and Classroom3.

The Lounge
This is where we have historically congregated the most. However, due to 
some electrical issues in the past and the layout of the room, I'd like to 
focus more on the classrooms this time. The lounge is a good starting 
point and a good mixer room, but I'd like to see more systems in the 
classrooms.

Classroom1
This is where we have our OLUG meetings. There are 12 PCs in this room, 
plus an instructor PC at the front, with whiteboards and a projector. All 
PCs are dual-boot XP/Mandrake 9. Along the west wall, there are tables as 
well. These tables will hold the 3 cd burning stations, plus there should 
be extra room for other installs. 

Classroom2
This room is in the middle of the hall, on the same side as classroom1. It 
has a built-in table going around the walls of the room, and there are 
plenty of ethernet jacks and plugins. This is probably the best room for 
installs, simply because of the layout and the availble power/network. 

Classroom3
This is the first lab you walk by as you come into the building. It is a 
24 PC lab with 1 instructor workstation and whiteboard/projector.

We haven't talked much about it on the list, but I would like to see some 
mini-lessons go on in classrooms 1 and 3. The goal of these is to impart 
some piece of linux knowledge that is easily digestible to the new user. 
It would also be very helpful if this lesson included a 1 page (no 
more) handout to accompany it. I have prepared the following and can 
present them:
Getting started with GnuPG
Common plugins for Mozilla
Basic box security
Keeping your system current with AutoUpdate

Some others that might be helpful:
Basic iptables firewalling
Setting up a modem and ppp connection
Wine for beginners

Any others that you can think of, please feel free to add them to the 
list. There won't be a formal schedule of when these take place, but we 
can put notices on the boards in the classrooms to let people know what's 
going on.

Each visitor to the InstallFest gets 1 Mandrake Linux cd (cd # 1) to take 
home. There will be 3 burning stations at the InstallFest, but please 
bring as many pre-burnt cds as you can so we don't run out. Paper cd cases 
are nice as well, if you have some to spare.

There will be extra monitors/keyboards/mice for people to use as well. I 
will also have a wireless access point setup if anyone would like to use 
that.

There will also be an ftp server available for remote installs. It will 
contain Mandrake 9+updates, as well as RedHat 8+updates (we always 
have a few people specifically asking for RedHat). It will also contain 
the latest versions of mozilla, openoffice, and common mozilla plugins. 

When you arrive on Saturday, you will be provided with a handout detailing 
information about the ftp server (paths, etc), the wireless network, and 
basic network setup of the Clarkson building. It will also have a simple 
walkthrough of a recommended Mandrake install to get you started.

Things to remember:
We are representing the entire linux community, so keep that in mind. This 
may be some people's first introduction to linux, or to a community like 
ours. We want them to leave with a warm fuzzy feeling, with the hopes that 
they might like to join our community as well. So (and I'm the worst one 
at this), let's try to keep the MS bashing to a minimum :-).
Some of these people may be absolute NEWBIES. This is good, these are the 
kind of people that we want to introduce to linux. So be PATIENT. If you 
feel you can't answer their questions, or you're ready to ring their neck, 
go tell someone else to take over for you.
Make sure the user knows how to do some basic tasks before they leave. Ask 
them what they normally use their computer for, and make sure they can 
still do those things. The linux experience is often ruined by one small 
thing that a user can't get to work.
Make sure to tell them about the OLUG and about olug.org. Invite them to 
the meetings!

One last thing - someone mentioned before on the list a commerce table. I 
think that's a great idea. We'll set one up in the lounge and if you have 
hardware/books/whatever to sell, bring em in. Unless someone wants to 
volunteer to man the table, we'll all be responsible for selling our own 
items.

That's all for now. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. 
If there are any questions or additions before the 11th, please post them 
to the list. 

See you all in 2 weeks!

- -- 
Adam Haeder
OLUG VP
adamh at omaha.org
(402) 345-5025 x115
PGP Public key: http://www.omaha.org/~adamh/pgp.html

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