[olug] SFD 2008

[T. J. Brumfield]

Let me preface all this by saying that I believe freedom equates to
freedom of choice, not a locked dichotomy of 100% free or nothing at
all.  I love the many advantages that F/OSS provides, and yet I'm not
a FSF fundamentalist.  Software Freedom Day 2008 is coming up, and I
was wondering if the local community had any plans, or would like to
begin planning events.

I really believe that every year we further push boundaries making
Linux more accessible, and easier to move into.  With WUBI installers,
or openSUSE's installer starting in Windows, with easy dual-booting,
and NTFS-3G, we've gotten to the point where people can easily and
risk-free have a Linux partition next to their Windows one to try out.
 I spend a good chunk of my time building and repairing PCs on the
side for friends, family, coworkers, etc.  And where as I used to just
try to configure and lock-down Windows as best I could, now I push
Linux a little more aggressively.  I thought at first maybe it was
rude, but now I challenge people.  I tell them I'm install it, and
after a week or so, if they want Windows back I'll happily give it to
them.  No one has ever once asked me to go back to Windows.  I've
found that most novice users only know the basics of how a GUI
operates, and most Linux desktops (I most strongly advocate KDE)
provide them exactly what they're looking for.  They don't need to
learn anything, because they're only concerned with basics, and on a
basic level, it is precisely the same as they are used to.  Many
people have told me they find the KDE interface to be easier, and more
friendly.

Oddly enough, it is the power users who are used to getting the most
out of Windows that sometimes have the most trouble with Linux,
because they have to learn so much over again.  Yet these are also the
same type of people who are capable of learning to begin with.

Microsoft's market share is dropping while Apple and Linux are on the
rise right now (thanks largely to Vista).  I'm tired of people asking
me to clear spyware off their boxes.  I'm tired of reinstalling
Windows all the time, only to repeat it again the next time they get
some nasty worm.  I've started pushing Linux more and more, and I have
no regrets doing so.  I firmly believe that Linux provides a good deal
number of advantages over Windows for most users (especially the lack
of spyware, etc) with no real discernible drop-off.  What Linux needs
is grass-roots marketing, and the SFD is an excuse to do precisely
that.

I'm curious how people approach Linux with others, and what sorts of
things people might be willing to do for a SFD event.

-- T. J. Brumfield
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of
people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
--Douglas Adams
"Nihilism makes me smile."
--Christopher Quick