[ubuntu-uk] What aren't we doing? What should we be doing?

[Alan Pope]

As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-

* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events

I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.

So, simple question:-

"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"

What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.

Here's my starter for 10.

"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"

Your turn.

Al.

[alan c]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.
Al.

1) Mention or talk about Ubuntu at least once per day to someone who
uses Windows. Not in a pushy way, but maybe almost in passing. It
raises awareness about an alternative for Windows.

2) The next step is to create an eager need in the potential customer.
We do not have to do much for this because I think MS is often working
for us in this regard.

[Alan Bell]

personally I think we should be getting companies to sponsor stuff, but
I don't think we should be holding money at all. If we want to do
something that needs money get someone to pay for it directly, that cuts
out a heap of problems and lets us do pretty much the same things.

One thing I really want to do is a series of installfests at
universities. If you have a local university, or are at one, then please
do get in touch with their computing society (usually through the
student union) and see if they can arrange an installfest. This would
need them to find a suitable room for a few hours, announce it to the
students and then we can get a few people who know what they are doing,
plus a bunch of CDs to hand out and get Ubuntu installed and running for
students. I have tried to contact the Oxford and Cambridge societies and
some of the London universities but we need to get this out to all the
places we can. This isn't limited to universities of course, any FE
colleges or schools or whatever that want to join in can do so.

This kind of links with the raceonline stuff too.

Alan.

[Rob Beard]

Post by Alan Bell
personally I think we should be getting companies to sponsor stuff, but
I don't think we should be holding money at all. If we want to do
something that needs money get someone to pay for it directly, that cuts
out a heap of problems and lets us do pretty much the same things.
One thing I really want to do is a series of installfests at
universities. If you have a local university, or are at one, then please
do get in touch with their computing society (usually through the
student union) and see if they can arrange an installfest. This would
need them to find a suitable room for a few hours, announce it to the
students and then we can get a few people who know what they are doing,
plus a bunch of CDs to hand out and get Ubuntu installed and running for
students. I have tried to contact the Oxford and Cambridge societies and
some of the London universities but we need to get this out to all the
places we can. This isn't limited to universities of course, any FE
colleges or schools or whatever that want to join in can do so.
This kind of links with the raceonline stuff too.
Alan.

I do like this idea. Locally to where I live there is FE college in
Paignton, one in Exeter, one in Plymouth and also the Universities in
Plymouth and Exeter.

I guess it could also be worth maybe speaking to school IT teachers,
maybe there might be IT teachers like the one I had when I was at school
who run after school IT clubs for students interested in just the basics.

My daughter is starting secondary school in September, I'm hoping to
find out what sort of things they have in this respect (my daughter
might not be so interested herself, she prefers drama but I am planning
on introducing her to Scratch this weekend).

Rob

[john beddard]

Start a Social Enterprise that supports Ubuntu LoCo set up and
operation. Including support for promotional materials and partner
training. Then make this a template for further Social Enterprise start
ups.

I will contact Teesside, Durham and Newcastle Unis about installfest
idea. Although will have to wait until the students return after
summer-time.

John

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.
Al.

[Rob Beard]

Post by john beddard
Start a Social Enterprise that supports Ubuntu LoCo set up and
operation. Including support for promotional materials and partner
training. Then make this a template for further Social Enterprise start
ups.

Funny you should mention that, it is one of my long term goals to do
something like this, well not just this, but also something along the
lines of Free Geek in Torbay when I can raise enough funds to do so.

Rob

[Barry Drake]

Post by Alan Pope
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"

Monetary sponsorship - definitely. Twofold effort needed:
1) Make concerted effort to get Ubuntu pre-installed machines made
easily available. I keep trying - if we all do that, we might (just)
get a better response.
2) Get some paid advertising going to raise awareness that there is an
alternative to Windows and Mac, and it is very very good. Release of
12.04 LTS might be the time to go for this. Maybe Canonical would offer
good support here?

Regards, Barry.

[scoundrel50a]

What about paid immediate support for those like myself that have no
other forms of support available. Windows has a immediate paid support
for problems, where they can connect to your computer and fix what ever
your problem is. I am not sure what Windows charges now, as I havent had
to look, but when I last looked a couple of years ago it was ?45,
whether they could fix it or not.

John

[Alan Bell]

I would certainly want to support individuals who want to do that type
of thing as a small local business venture. Get yourself on the
marketplace and go for it:
http://webapps.ubuntu.com/marketplace/europe/

I think we should get the UK bit of the marketplace app exposed on the
ubuntu-uk.org website.

Alan.

Post by scoundrel50a
What about paid immediate support for those like myself that have no
other forms of support available. Windows has a immediate paid support
for problems, where they can connect to your computer and fix what
ever your problem is. I am not sure what Windows charges now, as I
havent had to look, but when I last looked a couple of years ago it
was ?45, whether they could fix it or not.
John

[Laura Czajkowski]

Post by Alan Bell
I would certainly want to support individuals who want to do that type
of thing as a small local business venture. Get yourself on the
http://webapps.ubuntu.com/marketplace/europe/

The problem with the marketplace imo is you have no idea who is on there
yes they could be a company or could be joe smith who is fantastic and
fix your computer in 30 mins or they could be someone who has less
experience and will rip you off, there is no criteria to be on
marketplace at all.

Laura

- --

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/czajkowski
http://www.lczajkowski.com
Skype: lauraczajkowski

[scoundrel50a]

Post by Laura Czajkowski

Post by Alan Bell
I would certainly want to support individuals who want to do that type
of thing as a small local business venture. Get yourself on the
http://webapps.ubuntu.com/marketplace/europe/

The problem with the marketplace imo is you have no idea who is on there
yes they could be a company or could be joe smith who is fantastic and
fix your computer in 30 mins or they could be someone who has less
experience and will rip you off, there is no criteria to be on
marketplace at all.
Laura

Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the IRC
channels. You know most people on there are legit. So after a certain
period of time, for a sum, if it is getting nowhere on the channel, paid
support could be offered.

John

[Alan Bell]

Post by scoundrel50a
Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the IRC
channels. You know most people on there are legit.

no, you don't.

Post by scoundrel50a
So after a certain period of time, for a sum, if it is getting nowhere
on the channel, paid support could be offered.
John

The way I see it is that the LoCo provides free, open, peer reviewed
advice. The questions are open, the answers are open, people can point
out bad answers to things. People not involved in the conversation can
learn from it.

If someone wants to ask a question in private and get a personal answer,
perhaps with money changing hands, then that is totally awesome and we
should support that, but doing it isn't a LoCo activity as such, it is a
private transaction. I am all in favour of there being a healthy support
ecosystem around Ubuntu in the UK and I think the LoCo should support
companies and sole traders, but not be one.

Does that distinction make sense?

Alan.

[scoundrel50a]

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a
Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the IRC
channels. You know most people on there are legit.

no, you don't.

Ok, I can name about half a dozen people on IRC Ubuntu-uk that are
trustworthy, that I know from personal experience. So, I am not why you
say that isnt true.......

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a
So after a certain period of time, for a sum, if it is getting
nowhere on the channel, paid support could be offered.
John

The way I see it is that the LoCo provides free, open, peer reviewed
advice. The questions are open, the answers are open, people can point
out bad answers to things. People not involved in the conversation can
learn from it.
If someone wants to ask a question in private and get a personal
answer, perhaps with money changing hands, then that is totally
awesome and we should support that, but doing it isn't a LoCo activity
as such, it is a private transaction. I am all in favour of there
being a healthy support ecosystem around Ubuntu in the UK and I think
the LoCo should support companies and sole traders, but not be one.
Does that distinction make sense?
Alan.

In some experiences I have had and seen of others, sometimes things get
really frustrating, for whatever reasons, and isnt helpful to anybody. I
have had experience where somebody has accessed my computer, and in
minutes has either sorted out a problem that has been taking ages on
irc, and got nowhere. or the same problem has been diagnosed as being
impossible to fix. If it hadnt been taken off irc, it would still be
open and not fixed. I wouldnt ask for private conversations, at least
not paid ones. I can see what your talking about, but am not sure I
understand why.

I think there is a gap from the block help that some people are able to
give, and individuals that dont have support, and was just trying to
offer a suggestion....sorry.

[Alan Bell]

Post by scoundrel50a

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a
Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the IRC
channels. You know most people on there are legit.

no, you don't.

Ok, I can name about half a dozen people on IRC Ubuntu-uk that are
trustworthy, that I know from personal experience. So, I am not why
you say that isnt true.......

you know they are trustworthy from personal experience, not because they
are on IRC

[scoundrel50a]

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a
Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the
IRC channels. You know most people on there are legit.

no, you don't.

Ok, I can name about half a dozen people on IRC Ubuntu-uk that are
trustworthy, that I know from personal experience. So, I am not why
you say that isnt true.......

you know they are trustworthy from personal experience, not because
they are on IRC

Ok, I know they are trustworthy because most of them are connected to
Ubuntu in one way or another. And most that are on there, the ones you
see chatting all the time, if they messed anybody around, it would look
bad for Ubuntu. I have known some of you for over 4 years......

[scoundrel50a]

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a

Post by Alan Bell

Post by scoundrel50a
Well, I was thinking more about continuation of support from the
IRC channels. You know most people on there are legit.

no, you don't.

Ok, I can name about half a dozen people on IRC Ubuntu-uk that are
trustworthy, that I know from personal experience. So, I am not why
you say that isnt true.......

you know they are trustworthy from personal experience, not because
they are on IRC

We have now gone off topic......

[Alan Bell]

Just like the Yellow Pages, or any other means of selecting a vendor
that does not include a reputation based scoring system. We could build
our own vendor catalogue with pre-qualification requirements and a
reputation system, but lets use what is already there for now, and if
anyone wants to contribute a better system (perhaps tied in with
loco.ubuntu.com) then they can go do that.

Alan

Post by Laura Czajkowski
The problem with the marketplace imo is you have no idea who is on there
yes they could be a company or could be joe smith who is fantastic and
fix your computer in 30 mins or they could be someone who has less
experience and will rip you off, there is no criteria to be on
marketplace at all.
Laura

[scoundrel50a]

Ok, sorry, am not sure if we are bottom posting or top posting, its
appeared both in consecutive e-mails.

That isnt what I was getting at, its kind of missing the point.
Personally, I wouldnt go any near a list unless somebody was
recommended. Been stung a few times already........

I am talking about better use of time being spent trying to help on an
already existing platform....

Post by Alan Bell
Just like the Yellow Pages, or any other means of selecting a vendor
that does not include a reputation based scoring system. We could
build our own vendor catalogue with pre-qualification requirements and
a reputation system, but lets use what is already there for now, and
if anyone wants to contribute a better system (perhaps tied in with
loco.ubuntu.com) then they can go do that.
Alan

Post by Laura Czajkowski
The problem with the marketplace imo is you have no idea who is on there
yes they could be a company or could be joe smith who is fantastic and
fix your computer in 30 mins or they could be someone who has less
experience and will rip you off, there is no criteria to be on
marketplace at all.
Laura

[Alan Bell]

top posting

Post by scoundrel50a
Ok, sorry, am not sure if we are bottom posting or top posting, its
appeared both in consecutive e-mails.

or bottom posting, it is all the same to me.

[Rob Beard]

Post by Alan Bell
Just like the Yellow Pages, or any other means of selecting a vendor
that does not include a reputation based scoring system. We could build
our own vendor catalogue with pre-qualification requirements and a
reputation system, but lets use what is already there for now, and if
anyone wants to contribute a better system (perhaps tied in with
loco.ubuntu.com) then they can go do that.
Alan

I like this idea, that way I guess like eBay feedback, you can find out
who does a good job and who to avoid :-)

Rob

[gazz]

Post by Alan Bell
I would certainly want to support individuals who want to do that type
of thing as a small local business venture. Get yourself on the
http://webapps.ubuntu.com/marketplace/europe/
I think we should get the UK bit of the marketplace app exposed on the
ubuntu-uk.org website.
Alan.

Post by scoundrel50a
What about paid immediate support for those like myself that have no
other forms of support available. Windows has a immediate paid support
for problems, where they can connect to your computer and fix what
ever your problem is. I am not sure what Windows charges now, as I
havent had to look, but when I last looked a couple of years ago it
was ?45, whether they could fix it or not.
John

Well, I bottom post cos some people seem to feel strongly about it -
but, actually, I prefer top-posting because otherwise I have to keep
scrolling down in the preview window just to see if I'm interested to
open it and read it all ;)
Back to the main topic:
We do a certain amount of paid support for VCOs but not usually for
individuals. We work with the Councils for Voluntary Service in East
London to provide training for non-profits in re-using their existing
computers with Ubuntu and FOSS - this is taking off really well and
we've achieved a lot of 'buzz' for Ubuntu and FOSS generally last year.
We monitor what we do and the outcomes for various funders and have
stats. We also have photos of various of the advocacy events and
training sessions we do.

We now run an Ubuntu LTSP server for a health-related social enterprise
and are piloting a couple of Ubuntu PCs in one of the Councils for
Voluntary Service in East London (which, by the way, once a few bugs in
10.04 were worked around gives no trouble at all). We're also working
with a youth organisation who're considering moving across to Ubuntu and
they'll probably contract us to look after it if they do. We were
working with 3 more organisations last year but they all went bust in
the cuts. We haven't found a market for paid Ubuntu services on any kind
of scale among local communities and non-profits and this can only get
worse as no-one has any money now - what they really need right now is
to be able to look after their own kit. It's probably different in
communities where most people are working in well-paid jobs but around
here, no! So we've come at it another way . . .

We run monthly "FOSS Friday" sessions where volunteers help people
install and manage Ubuntu as well as the software which runs on Ubuntu
(by the way, we can never get enough skilled volunteers for this - the
next one is 1 July, 12 noon till 7pm near Tower Bridge - register to
volunteer here: http://fossbox.org.uk/blog/?p=661 ). As I said in a
recent post, we're also looking at how skilled volunteers who aren't in
London could participate over TeamViewer or something - but I'd need to
work out how to manage this properly among the controlled chaos of
running the people who're in the room already!

Last year, we did an Ubuntu install-fest for SFD at our workshop, this
year we're working on a women's advocacy network with OK Computers in
Manchester and of running Ubuntu-centred, women-friendly SFD events in
Manc and London. We'll be launching the network in the next few weeks
and we'll send out more details.

This year we're also developing a 'Self-Sufficient IT' programme for
non-profits which is a basic Ubuntu desktop maintenance course for
beginners (which includes stuff about the kind of software non-profits
need to use on Ubuntu) - participants can continue to come to the FOSS
Fridays as long as they need help when they get stuck. I'll also build
in how individuals can get help from Ubuntu-UK into this course. We're
selling this package to the Councils for Voluntary Service - but we've
lost a lot in the funding cuts so we'll probably be extending paid
services and training to individuals who have well-paid jobs! If this
takes off, we'll look at doing a course about basic Ubuntu servers for
non-profits in the following year. We thought about doing the Ubuntu LPI
course, but it's not really what non-profits want so we'll probably
tailor something ourselves.

I'm also looking into getting a small bit of funding to write up the
research and advocacy we did with non-profits over the past 3 years into
a guide for other advocates working with non-profits and other
communities.

I don't have much time left over to contribute as much as I'd like to
Ubuntu-UK but I'm happy if anything we're doing can help with the LoCo's
plans for the future?

I do think that people need face-to-face help and the LUG format doesn't
work for most non-techies - and especially for women. Anxiety about who
they'll turn to if it goes wrong is a big barrier for most people when
thinking about adopting Ubuntu. We've been working on developing models
that provide this for 'human beings' ;) I do think that creating 'buzz'
at local levels is the best way to get Ubuntu out there on a
shoestring.

Paula


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[Matthew Daubney]

What about writing letters to local papers such as "I would like to raise
the profile of <event name>, a local event where people can come and discuss
the possibilities of computing and learn how to help others by using open
source software." or somesuch.

Did wonder if anyone was going to run an Oggcamp campaign similarly in the
Farnham/Basingstokes local rag (no idea which one that is though!)

-Matt Daubney
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[Laura Czajkowski]

Post by Matthew Daubney
What about writing letters to local papers such as "I would like to raise
the profile of <event name>, a local event where people can come and discuss
the possibilities of computing and learn how to help others by using open
source software." or somesuch.
Did wonder if anyone was going to run an Oggcamp campaign similarly in the
Farnham/Basingstokes local rag (no idea which one that is though!)
-Matt Daubney

I also for non techy meet ups, bit of fun and getting to know the folks
on the List/IRC the Ubuntu UK community! Be it a pub, Geeknic, Bowling
or outing of some sort.

Laura

- --

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/czajkowski
http://www.lczajkowski.com
Skype: lauraczajkowski

[Andy Smith]

Hello,

Post by Laura Czajkowski
I also for non techy meet ups, bit of fun and getting to know the folks
on the List/IRC the Ubuntu UK community! Be it a pub, Geeknic, Bowling
or outing of some sort.

I think this is a good idea also.

Cheers,
Andy
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[andres]

Hello,

I've been working on the lines as to how to help out in a local way.

http://www.openclipart.org/detail/148519/

I did this clumsy flyer and was thinking of posting it on post office,
bakers,tescos, etc.

I deliberately did not mention operating system, ubuntu, windows or any
other software. The idea is that I can help out in what I can but I can
be a lot more helpful if they let me show them open source alternatives:
be it libre office, ubuntu, gramps, ... screen shots shown are programs
that might be recognizable for users of other platforms: writer,
spreadsheet, gant, ancestry, ...

I'm open to suggestions but I just want to get it out the door.

By the way. How cool is inkscape combined with open clip art?
--
Andr?s envi? esto desde su netbook con UBUNTU: sistema operativo
gratuito, abierto y casi libre. ?Pruebalo! http://www.ubuntu-es.org/
Por favor, no imprimas este correo.

Post by Andy Smith
Hello,

Post by Laura Czajkowski
I also for non techy meet ups, bit of fun and getting to know the folks
on the List/IRC the Ubuntu UK community! Be it a pub, Geeknic, Bowling
or outing of some sort.

I think this is a good idea also.
Cheers,
Andy

[Chris Rowson]

Post by Andy Smith
Hello,
I've been working on the lines as to how to help out in a local way.
http://www.openclipart.org/detail/148519/
I did this clumsy flyer and was thinking of posting it on post office,
bakers,tescos, etc.
I deliberately did not mention operating system, ubuntu, windows or any
other software. The idea is that I can help out in what I can but I can
be it libre office, ubuntu, gramps, ... screen shots shown are programs
that might be recognizable for users of other platforms: writer,
spreadsheet, gant, ancestry, ...
I'm open to suggestions but I just want to get it out the door.
By the way. How cool is inkscape combined with open clip art?

I get error file not found?

Chris
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[Rob Beard]

Post by gazz
I do think that people need face-to-face help and the LUG format doesn't
work for most non-techies - and especially for women. Anxiety about who
they'll turn to if it goes wrong is a big barrier for most people when
thinking about adopting Ubuntu. We've been working on developing models
that provide this for 'human beings' ;) I do think that creating 'buzz'
at local levels is the best way to get Ubuntu out there on a shoestring.

I'd agree with this. A friend of mine came to a LUG meeting a couple of
months back, his poor girlfriend was bored to years by all the geek talk.

I guess a non-geeky meeting maybe where folks could show things that
they'd be interested in would be good. I'm trying to think of it from a
non-geek perspective, such as a coffee morning type thing where you can
maybe share tips etc. I guess I'd have to speak to some non-geeks and
get their opinions as I could be really wrong :-)

Rob

[alan c]

Post by gazz
I do think that people need face-to-face help and the LUG format doesn't
work for most non-techies - and especially for women. Anxiety about who
they'll turn to if it goes wrong is a big barrier for most people when
thinking about adopting Ubuntu.

Very true. It is difficult to persuade my wife to attend even when I
will be holding her hand.
If the unthinkable happens and I am not around at some point, then
she will suddenly have a need to sort wheat from chaff in our home
systems, web stores, various test machines, and multiple Ubuntu versions.

[scoundrel50a]

Ok, I been thinking about this for a while, since somebody helped me a
short while ago, with this backlight problem, by using ssh to access my
computer. I spent somewhere in the region of about 8 hours asking
various people to help, on I think it was three different Ubuntu
channels. We were going back and forth and it was frustrating, even more
frustrating for the person helping. Then in about 5 minutes, accessing
the computer via ssh it was proved to be unworkable in the present
Kernel. I know, after being around Ubuntu for about 4 near 5 years, a
lot of problems can be sorted or at least discovered quite quickly using
the terminal. Wouldnt it be more viable and less frustrating, if after a
short period of time, either an offer of payment for direct ssh
connection was made there and then, or it was booked for sometime later.
That way, it becomes than just time not well spent. Surely it would save
a lot of effort.....just a few thoughts.....

[Ronnie Tucker]

The idea (below) from scoundrel50a got me thinking.

How about a site/page where people who have Ubuntu installed could go
for help. This site/page would have volunteers logged in and waiting for
folks needing help. When the person needing help types something into a
text box on the page, or picks a problem from a list, the volunteers who
are all logged in would get an audible ping. First one to click a big
'I'll help!' button gets to help the person. The click idea (rather than
being assigned a person) is that if someone wanted help with servers
then I wouldn't click as I'm clueless about servers. Anyway, the first
thing the helper would do is guide the person (in text chat) on how to
enable remote access. Once that's done the helper can text chat while
visually showing the person how to do whatever it is they need help with.

Taking it a step further could be that the helper could Skype the person
(if available on both ends), or have the site SMS (text) volunteers to
say that there's someone needing help, but no helpers logged in. There
are Android/iPhone apps that allow receiving 'texts' through data, so it
wouldn't cost anything to send the texts (in theory).

I'd certainly stay logged into the page and help folks.

Post by scoundrel50a
Ok, I been thinking about this for a while, since somebody helped me a
short while ago, with this backlight problem, by using ssh to access
my computer. I spent somewhere in the region of about 8 hours asking
various people to help, on I think it was three different Ubuntu
channels. We were going back and forth and it was frustrating, even
more frustrating for the person helping. Then in about 5 minutes,
accessing the computer via ssh it was proved to be unworkable in the
present Kernel. I know, after being around Ubuntu for about 4 near 5
years, a lot of problems can be sorted or at least discovered quite
quickly using the terminal. Wouldnt it be more viable and less
frustrating, if after a short period of time, either an offer of
payment for direct ssh connection was made there and then, or it was
booked for sometime later. That way, it becomes than just time not
well spent. Surely it would save a lot of effort.....just a few
thoughts.....

--
*Ronnie Tucker*

Ronnie Tucker *Web:* RonnieTucker.co.uk <http://ronnietucker.co.uk>
email Ronnie Tucker *Email:* ronnie at ronnietucker.co.uk
<mailto:ronnie at ronnietucker.co.uk>

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Ubuntu *Official Ubuntu Member*

Registered Ubuntu user:
Ubuntu Counter # 18227

[Avi Greenbury]

Post by Ronnie Tucker
How about a site/page where people who have Ubuntu installed could go
for help. This site/page would have volunteers logged in and waiting for
folks needing help. When the person needing help types something into a
text box on the page, or picks a problem from a list, the volunteers who
are all logged in would get an audible ping. First one to click a big
'I'll help!' button gets to help the person. The click idea (rather than
being assigned a person) is that if someone wanted help with servers
then I wouldn't click as I'm clueless about servers. Anyway, the first
thing the helper would do is guide the person (in text chat) on how to
enable remote access. Once that's done the helper can text chat while
visually showing the person how to do whatever it is they need help with.
Taking it a step further could be that the helper could Skype the person
(if available on both ends), or have the site SMS (text) volunteers to
say that there's someone needing help, but no helpers logged in. There
are Android/iPhone apps that allow receiving 'texts' through data, so it
wouldn't cost anything to send the texts (in theory).
I'd certainly stay logged into the page and help folks.

This sounds a lot like IRC but without the peer review.

Either way, I think a current problem at the minute is the amount of
places there are to go for help with Ubuntu - I'm not convinced yet more
are needed.

[scoundrel50a]

Post by Avi Greenbury

Post by Ronnie Tucker
How about a site/page where people who have Ubuntu installed could go
for help. This site/page would have volunteers logged in and waiting for
folks needing help. When the person needing help types something into a
text box on the page, or picks a problem from a list, the volunteers who
are all logged in would get an audible ping. First one to click a big
'I'll help!' button gets to help the person. The click idea (rather than
being assigned a person) is that if someone wanted help with servers
then I wouldn't click as I'm clueless about servers. Anyway, the first
thing the helper would do is guide the person (in text chat) on how to
enable remote access. Once that's done the helper can text chat while
visually showing the person how to do whatever it is they need help with.
Taking it a step further could be that the helper could Skype the person
(if available on both ends), or have the site SMS (text) volunteers to
say that there's someone needing help, but no helpers logged in. There
are Android/iPhone apps that allow receiving 'texts' through data, so it
wouldn't cost anything to send the texts (in theory).
I'd certainly stay logged into the page and help folks.

This sounds a lot like IRC but without the peer review.
Either way, I think a current problem at the minute is the amount of
places there are to go for help with Ubuntu - I'm not convinced yet
more are needed.

Well, like I said, I thought it was something that could better utilise
the time spent with each person, not the amount of people available,
which personally I think is a huge difference......

[alan c]

Post by Ronnie Tucker
How about a site/page where people who have Ubuntu installed could go
for help. This site/page would have volunteers logged in and waiting for
folks needing help

This sounds pretty close to Ubuntuforums to me. I use this frequently
to give support to others and also to get support for myself. I
prefer Ubuntuforums more than IRC. I have found IRC to be very useful
on times I have used it, but I find it pretty cryptic to get it all
started correctly and I do not really understand what is connecting
etc. Now if I feel intimidated by the IRC cryptic clunkiness, I am
sure that real newcomers will be uncomfortable. Forums are seen a lot
in Windows World, and have a familiarity.

I use teamviewer a lot to help remote friends (non commercial) and
although I dislike the proprietary-ness of teamviewer it works well,
and can be installed into a live session.

[Ronnie Tucker]

Post by alan c

Post by Ronnie Tucker
How about a site/page where people who have Ubuntu installed could go
for help. This site/page would have volunteers logged in and waiting for
folks needing help

This sounds pretty close to Ubuntuforums to me. I use this frequently
to give support to others and also to get support for myself. I
prefer Ubuntuforums more than IRC. I have found IRC to be very useful
on times I have used it, but I find it pretty cryptic to get it all
started correctly and I do not really understand what is connecting
etc. Now if I feel intimidated by the IRC cryptic clunkiness, I am
sure that real newcomers will be uncomfortable. Forums are seen a lot
in Windows World, and have a familiarity.

True, but the main difference in my suggestion is that it involves
one-to-one help through remote access where you can physically show the
person how to do something. Rather than the forum post by post method
which can take a while to get things done/explained properly. Some
beginners just don't know how to explain what/where the problem is.

Post by alan c
I use teamviewer a lot to help remote friends (non commercial) and
although I dislike the proprietary-ness of teamviewer it works well,
and can be installed into a live session.

Yeah, something like that would be great for helping folks.

[Avi Greenbury]

Post by Alan Pope
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"

Going to the pub more.

[Matthew Daubney]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.

What happened to good old fashioned install fests? One of them with
some training might help I'd have thought.

-Matt Daubney

[Alan Bell]

stuff not in London is probably a bit of a weakness. London is kind of
convenient by train from everywhere so it is generally a reasonable
place to do things, but I think it would be great for people in other
cities to organise things local to them. That might be pub/cafe meetups,
geeknics, installfests, talks at LUG meetings etc.

Alan.

[Rob Beard]

Post by Alan Bell
stuff not in London is probably a bit of a weakness. London is kind of
convenient by train from everywhere so it is generally a reasonable
place to do things, but I think it would be great for people in other
cities to organise things local to them. That might be pub/cafe meetups,
geeknics, installfests, talks at LUG meetings etc.

I would say London is inconvenient for me, yes there are reasonable
train links, but I'd rather not spend 3 hours on a train there and
another 3 hours back.

So having something a bit more local would be great. At the moment we
have LUG meetings in Devon (now covering areas which are accessable
reasonably well from all areas of Devon and into Cornwall). We're
finding that we are getting new members at near enough every meeting (at
the last Paignton one, someone saw a poster where we were meeting and
came and spoke to us).

Hopefully as we go along we can include install fests (we've done a
couple of installs in Exeter but came across a problem of the desktop we
were installing on didn't have wifi, so we had to end up doing a home
visit).

Would be great if we could get some visits from other Ubuntu-UK members
too (although I'd guess if you happen to be on holiday in Torquay with
your family the last thing your other half would want is you going to a
geeky LUG meet!).

Rob

[Matthew Daubney]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.

Oooh oooh ooh!! A really good one!! How about we do some Ubuntu themed
geocaches?

-Matt Daubney

[Paul Sutton]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.
Al.

I am trying to do what I can here in Paignton.

1. A while back I found a simple flyer / poster purple background but
this had no url on for ubuntu so I added one

Loading Image...

this seems to be a common problem a nice poster but it lacks something
really obvious like a web url.

2. Banners

On their own these are expensive, we could do with some banners with the
ubuntu logo thing on and a website. These can then be put up all over
the UK if they can be sourced cheaply. However I can't afford to do
this. (see 3)

3. The south wesd loca team seems to be pretty redundant, Is anyone out
there willing to help maintain it or should it be just deleted, or have
a link to another website. Either that or someone needs to commit to
keeping it upto date.


the biggest problem is time and money, I lack the latter and lack the
expertise to use my time in a way to produce any form of decent poster /
flyer let alone come up with wording to appeal to windows users so they
are aware of alternatives. I just struggle, with it.

there are lots of really nice flyers out there, however they are either

customised for 1 location
lack basic information like the Ubuntu website (see 1)
lack other useful information which reduces their effectiveness

I think we do a good job we just need to co-ordinate efforts more.

Paul








Paul Sutton Cert SLPS (Open)
http://www.zleap.net


Open Mic nights - Wednesday 8pm to 11pm (14+) Free entry
Breakin' Ground - Street dance for young people (8+) Wednesday 6pm
(starts May 11th)

The Lighthouse,26 Esplanade Road, Paignton
01803 411 812 or e-mail info at devonmusiccollective.com for more info.

17th September 2011 - Software freedom day

[Sarah Chard]

O

Post by Paul Sutton
we just need to co-ordinate efforts more.

I agree with Paul -

the wiki pages seem to have a lot of out of date info - which is quite
off putting if you are coming in looking for an active community.

it would be great to have more poster & leaflet templates for use at
events and other relevant material that could be tweaked if needed.

Finding info and designing stuff, thinking up wording takes a lot of
time and effort - we could share what we have centrally and make it
easily accessible.
If we know there are events coming up such as a release date or software
freedom day - we can have material specific to that event for people to
use. Install fests can happen at any point - so why not have some
material ready - it all makes it so much easier for people to organise
on the ground.


as Paula said

Post by Paul Sutton
creating 'buzz' at local levels is the best way to get Ubuntu out

there on a shoestring

we can make it easier for those that want to get out there and create
the 'buzz' by providing more info on what has worked at events in the
past and up to date downloadable materials for local groups to use.

Sarah

[Alan Bell]

Post by Sarah Chard
O

Post by Paul Sutton
we just need to co-ordinate efforts more.

I agree with Paul -
the wiki pages seem to have a lot of out of date info - which is quite
off putting if you are coming in looking for an active community.

we did have a ruthless deleting session, if there is stuff that is out
of date then please feel free to delete or update, or report it to the
list or something.

Post by Sarah Chard
it would be great to have more poster& leaflet templates for use at
events and other relevant material that could be tweaked if needed.

yes, http://spreadubuntu.org/ is great, and I have submitted stuff there
a presentation template
http://spreadubuntu.org/en/material/presentation/6-slide-presentation-template
and something specific to installfests (which we never actually did) I
am happy to update that poster to fit a more narwhalish or ocelotic theme
http://spreadubuntu.org/en/material/poster/ubuntu-uk-installfests
you can too!

Post by Sarah Chard
Finding info and designing stuff, thinking up wording takes a lot of
time and effort - we could share what we have centrally and make it
easily accessible.
If we know there are events coming up such as a release date or software
freedom day - we can have material specific to that event for people to
use. Install fests can happen at any point - so why not have some
material ready - it all makes it so much easier for people to organise
on the ground.
as Paula said

Post by Paul Sutton
creating 'buzz' at local levels is the best way to get Ubuntu out

there on a shoestring
we can make it easier for those that want to get out there and create
the 'buzz' by providing more info on what has worked at events in the
past and up to date downloadable materials for local groups to use.
Sarah

[Rob Beard]

Post by Paul Sutton

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.
Al.

I am trying to do what I can here in Paignton.
1. A while back I found a simple flyer / poster purple background but
this had no url on for ubuntu so I added one
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3356122/poster-01.png
this seems to be a common problem a nice poster but it lacks something
really obvious like a web url.
2. Banners
On their own these are expensive, we could do with some banners with the
ubuntu logo thing on and a website. These can then be put up all over
the UK if they can be sourced cheaply. However I can't afford to do
this. (see 3)

I presume you mean physical banners?

The one we had done for the LUG (1 metre by 3 metres in colour) was
about ?50. Probably not so bad if it's possible to get sponsorship.

Post by Paul Sutton
3. The south wesd loca team seems to be pretty redundant, Is anyone out
there willing to help maintain it or should it be just deleted, or have
a link to another website. Either that or someone needs to commit to
keeping it upto date.

I think it would be good for those of us in Devon to maybe meet the
folks from Somerset and Dorset (and Cornwall if there's anyone down
there who isn't already a member of the Devon & Cornwall LUG).

Post by Paul Sutton
the biggest problem is time and money, I lack the latter and lack the
expertise to use my time in a way to produce any form of decent poster /
flyer let alone come up with wording to appeal to windows users so they
are aware of alternatives. I just struggle, with it.

I agree, and I lack both at the moment. I know someone who does graphic
design who could probably come up with a poster design, just need some
sort of wording.

Post by Paul Sutton
there are lots of really nice flyers out there, however they are either
customised for 1 location
lack basic information like the Ubuntu website (see 1)
lack other useful information which reduces their effectiveness
I think we do a good job we just need to co-ordinate efforts more.

Yep that could be useful, such as making the source artwork available
for things like posters maybe in SVG, Gimp or OpenOffice format or
something like that so it can be modified?

Rob

[Rob Beard]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.

<snip>

Post by Alan Pope
Your turn.

Maybe contact local companies and see if they are upgrading machines and
if they could possibly donate old computers which could be then passed
onto local community centres or community groups.

I am involved with something along these lines at the moment, we managed
to get some old machines donated and got funding from a local charitable
trust to pay for a server and we installed an LTSP server and clients
running Ubuntu at a community centre. Now the guy running the community
centre has managed to secure some old laptops from a local IT company
and we're refurbishing them and selling them on at a low cost for folks
in the area. The machines are running Linux Mint, but we're spreading
the word about FLOSS, and getting shot of a copy of Windows every time :-)

I'm sure there are probably non-profit groups and community centres
across the country who might welcome an old PC for basic Internet use,
or even maybe places like nurseries who might be interested in an old PC
to run things like TuxPaint, GCompris, TuxTyping etc.

In addition to this, maybe residents near community centres might be
interested in basic computer tuition, or a computer club for folks to
meet up at (maybe not just limited to Ubuntu, this is what the Exwick
Computer Club has done to introduce people from Windows and Mac
background to Ubuntu etc).

Rob

[Carlos Ferreira]

The UK team should be talking to Universities and other public services,
doing advocacy and trying to figure out what the obstacles to the adoption
of free software are, and how they can be overcome. In fact, it's something
I'd like to do myself.

Carlos Ferreira
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[Yorvyk]

On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:24:51 +0100

Post by Carlos Ferreira
The UK team should be talking to Universities and other public services,
doing advocacy and trying to figure out what the obstacles to the adoption
of free software are, and how they can be overcome. In fact, it's something
I'd like to do myself.

The problem with this idea is that you have to find somebody with influence who is willing to listen to some oik that's just wandered in off the street and is telling them their IT strategy is wrong. That's how it was described to me by a senior IT bod at a council. His suggestion was that Canonical need to be doing this sort of thing with professional 'sales' people. Also the philosophy of Open Source doesn't really wash, what?s needed is numbers in Pounds Stirling.
He also pointed out that there is no single point of attack when trying to get FLOSS into these places. As an example, when he put forward Open Office. One of the excuses given was that people were familiar with Microsoft Office and that was what they got taught at college. The college says it teaches MS Office because that's what industry uses.

[alan c]

On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:24:51 +0100 Carlos

Post by Carlos Ferreira
The UK team should be talking to Universities and other public
services, doing advocacy and trying to figure out what the
obstacles to the adoption of free software are, and how they can
be overcome. In fact, it's something I'd like to do myself.

The problem with this idea is that you have to find somebody with
influence who is willing to listen to some oik that's just wandered
in off the street and is telling them their IT strategy is wrong.
That's how it was described to me by a senior IT bod at a council.
His suggestion was that Canonical need to be doing this sort of
thing with professional 'sales' people. Also the philosophy of
Open Source doesn't really wash, what???s needed is numbers in
Pounds Stirling. He also pointed out that there is no single point
of attack when trying to get FLOSS into these places. As an
example, when he put forward Open Office. One of the excuses given
was that people were familiar with Microsoft Office and that was
what they got taught at college. The college says it teaches MS
Office because that's what industry uses.

Try:
UK Government policy strategy (9 March 2011)
'Government ICT Strategy'
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/uk-government-ict-strategy-resources

or shortened
http://bit.ly/e6Xpb2
Download in a format of choice including 'Open Office Text'

Interesting contents.
Unlike the strategy on similar subject over the previous 4 years which
did not get much use I think, this strategy imposes *mandatory* open
standards.....

'To allow for greater interoperability, openness and reuse of ICT
solutions, the Government will establish a suite of agreed and
mandatory open technical standards' (12 months)

'The adoption of compulsory open standards will help government to
avoid lengthy vendor lock-in'

'The Government will also put an end to the oligopoly of large
suppliers that monopolise its ICT provision'

Also the strategy will directly affect the jobs and careers of IT
senior workers:

'Government will appoint SROs with the expectation that they will stay
in post until an appropriate break in the life of an ICT
project/programme, to reduce the risk of project failure'

Might concentrate the mind somewhat?

When did you last see such words in a Government document?

Also, I asked my local councillor if the (my) Council uses software
libre in any form. The response at first greatly disheartened me, it
referred me direct to the IT department on grounds of the Councillor's
self declared ignorance. However I then was offered and accepted an
invitation to be shown round IT and discovered to my delight that
there was massive use of Suse Enterprise Server, everything was in
VMs, and there was a known number of legacy apps held on (windows),
although the office staff still mostly used xp.

I then felt much better.

The individual Councillor's lack of self confidence with anything
computers is typical of most people. I am working on this individual
..... and anyone else who I can get to listen!!

Marketing can be an indirect process. If every one saw or heard the
word Ubuntu every day, they would begin to accept it as a normal part
of life, even though they might not be using it.

[Chris Rowson]

Post by Yorvyk
The problem with this idea is that you have to find somebody with influence who is willing to listen to some oik that's just wandered in off the street and is telling them their IT strategy is wrong.

You hit the nail on the head there. It's true. In their minds, why
would an 'IT professional' listen to a person who more often than not
is 'an enthusiastic volunteer'?

A more useful way to go about promoting corporate adoption of Ubuntu
may be to create a website featuring businesses and Government
agencies who have *already* adopted Ubuntu. Look what Google do here
with Google Apps:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en-GB/customers/index.html The
Ubuntu-UK team could make an effort to maintain something similar. It
seems to me to be a more realistic and achievable objective.

Businesses are much more likely to be swayed by their peers, rather
than someone who has 'wandered in off the street' as you say.

Chris

[Alan Bell]

Post by Yorvyk
On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:24:51 +0100

Post by Carlos Ferreira
The UK team should be talking to Universities and other public services,
doing advocacy and trying to figure out what the obstacles to the adoption
of free software are, and how they can be overcome. In fact, it's something
I'd like to do myself.

The problem with this idea is that you have to find somebody with influence who is willing to listen to some oik that's just wandered in off the street and is telling them their IT strategy is wrong. That's how it was described to me by a senior IT bod at a council. His suggestion was that Canonical need to be doing this sort of thing with professional 'sales' people.

they do, we sometimes work with them. There are several consultancy
companies working with local governments and at national level to
promote and advocate software freedom. I am involved in some of this and
hope to give a more wide ranging update on it in a few weeks.

Post by Yorvyk
Also the philosophy of Open Source doesn't really wash, what?s needed is numbers in Pounds Stirling.

Somewhat true, but vendor lock in is a bit of a driver. A lot of the
standard Free Software arguments don't really apply at government level.
"you can adapt the software to your needs" - "yeah, we just pay them to
do that"
"what if your requirements are not on the vendor's roadmap" - "we tell
them what their roadmap is and they do it"
"what if the vendor goes out of business?" - "nobody goes out of
business if they are trading with us"
"what if you want to audit the source code to see what it does?" - "we
demand to see it and they let us"

so they actually do understand and value the benefits of software
freedom, they just are used to paying for most of it. Economic arguments
have some traction, freedom to reuse software is of value, freedom from
having to count users for license compliance is of value.

Anyhow, back to the point. The stuff we should be doing as a LoCo is
providing a community for the public and private sector to join. With
community support there is no helper/helpee distinction, and I don't
want to create one, it is a user group that shares technical support
knowledge and helps each other, not a technical support service. The
public sector at the moment has a real lack of community understanding,
they are used to, and comfortable with, a customer/vendor relationship.
The main failing I see at the moment is a tendency in their open source
strategies to attempt to treat "the Open Source community" as a
supplier, I don't want them to procure stuff from the community. I want
them to join and be part of the community.

Alan.

[john beddard]

Yes Alan,

Successful products/ developments today are customer inclusive.
Including them at the LoCo level is a good idea. Although how skilfully
this can be done requires some consideration.

My experience is that local government (Councils) are desperate to
discover and become a part of the technology/ internet scene and learn
how it works. Having invested largely in other now declining sectors
over the past 20 years, for example retail. The emphasis is shifting
back towards a 'skills based' rather than a consumer-based economy.

My sense is that social enterprise would provide the most interested
people. Since their approach is similar to that of the open-source
community. Plus the fact they already have a 'change-mindset.'In wanting
to serve the community with ideas that originally came from a minority
base : like Ubuntu.

John

Post by Alan Bell

Post by Yorvyk
On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:24:51 +0100

Post by Carlos Ferreira
The UK team should be talking to Universities and other public services,
doing advocacy and trying to figure out what the obstacles to the adoption
of free software are, and how they can be overcome. In fact, it's something
I'd like to do myself.

The problem with this idea is that you have to find somebody with influence who is willing to listen to some oik that's just wandered in off the street and is telling them their IT strategy is wrong. That's how it was described to me by a senior IT bod at a council. His suggestion was that Canonical need to be doing this sort of thing with professional 'sales' people.

they do, we sometimes work with them. There are several consultancy
companies working with local governments and at national level to
promote and advocate software freedom. I am involved in some of this and
hope to give a more wide ranging update on it in a few weeks.

Post by Yorvyk
Also the philosophy of Open Source doesn't really wash, what?s needed is numbers in Pounds Stirling.

Somewhat true, but vendor lock in is a bit of a driver. A lot of the
standard Free Software arguments don't really apply at government level.
"you can adapt the software to your needs" - "yeah, we just pay them to
do that"
"what if your requirements are not on the vendor's roadmap" - "we tell
them what their roadmap is and they do it"
"what if the vendor goes out of business?" - "nobody goes out of
business if they are trading with us"
"what if you want to audit the source code to see what it does?" - "we
demand to see it and they let us"
so they actually do understand and value the benefits of software
freedom, they just are used to paying for most of it. Economic arguments
have some traction, freedom to reuse software is of value, freedom from
having to count users for license compliance is of value.
Anyhow, back to the point. The stuff we should be doing as a LoCo is
providing a community for the public and private sector to join. With
community support there is no helper/helpee distinction, and I don't
want to create one, it is a user group that shares technical support
knowledge and helps each other, not a technical support service. The
public sector at the moment has a real lack of community understanding,
they are used to, and comfortable with, a customer/vendor relationship.
The main failing I see at the moment is a tendency in their open source
strategies to attempt to treat "the Open Source community" as a
supplier, I don't want them to procure stuff from the community. I want
them to join and be part of the community.
Alan.

[alan c]

Post by john beddard
My sense is that social enterprise would provide the most interested
people. Since their approach is similar to that of the open-source
community. Plus the fact they already have a 'change-mindset.'In wanting
to serve the community with ideas that originally came from a minority
base : like Ubuntu.

What should be done as first steps in this direction?

[john beddard]

Well Alan,

Just using my own situation as a simple template.

I would like to focus on a small local area such as the town Darlington.
Darlington is a good choice because it has good railway links to other
areas.

1. Start a promotional blitz in the area lasting say 4 weeks. Including
Unis, Colleges, libraries and basically anyone who may be interested.
Just highlighting Ubuntu.

2. Meet up with the local regeneration team with pointing out the
possibility to attract a new exciting technology to the area. That
can involve the community and save small business-including social
enterprises- start-up companies a lot in IT costs. Asking the Council
if they have any suitable venues and free shop fronts. Then ask if
they would also like to attend any event or LoCo meetings : they
always do anyway.

3. Do the same in local business clubs. In the clubs I have been to so
far I thought that I would have to explain all about open-source and
Ubuntu. It turned that people were already 'savvy' and some were
already using Ubuntu. Further north in Newcastle, RedHat already have
a support office.

4. Then go back to stage one advertising actual dates and for events and
a possible first LoCo Meet up.

John

Post by alan c

Post by john beddard
My sense is that social enterprise would provide the most interested
people. Since their approach is similar to that of the open-source
community. Plus the fact they already have a 'change-mindset.'In wanting
to serve the community with ideas that originally came from a minority
base : like Ubuntu.

What should be done as first steps in this direction?
--
alan cocks
Ubuntu user

[Barry Titterton]

Post by Alan Pope
As a team we do "stuff" for the Ubuntu. Most of this stuff is based on
ideas a few people have had within the team. This includes:-
* Support
* Advocacy
* Promotion
* Events
I figured it's time to get some fresh ideas.
So, simple question:-
"As a team, what should we be doing within the UK?"
What would be really good is to just brainstorm, get a bunch of ideas,
NOT debate each one into the ground, just come up with ideas, the
details can follow later.
Here's my starter for 10.
"UK Team should seek monetary sponsorship from companies and
individuals, and invest that sponsorship money in Ubuntu related
projects and events in the UK"
Your turn.
Al.

1. Get the Ubuntu name and product known to the general public by having
stalls/displays at any public event: f?tes, fairs etc, not just tech
specific.

2. Have a supply of pre-loaded laptops (recycled or donated) that can be
loaned to people who express an interest, for up to a month at a time.
Follow up with help for the full install. This way people can try in
safety and at full speed compared with a live CD.

Barry T

[john beddard]

I've found some of the ideas brainstormed so far really useful. Also the
promotional materials.

In alignment with the brainstorming principles : no commitment, no
judgement. I'd like to mention one that could be filed under the 'crazy'
heading.

With the main business and social trends currently being towards saving
energy and resources. I think it could be worth discussing how Ubuntu
can contribute towards this end. For example, how could Ubuntu be
adapted for home business and home devices market. In alignment with the
SmartGrid that is due to begin adoption around 2015 :
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Smart_grid

Maybe a little ahead of time for most realists. However if Microsoft are
able to connect up home devices to their PC/Wireless solutions. They
could become even more entrenched in the home market.

John

[Andrés Muñiz Piniella]

Sorry working link... hopefully

http://www.openclipart.org/detail/148519/offer-help-with-computers-by-andresmp