[Glastonbury] The openCD

[tim hall]

Last Wednesday 25 August 2004 12:13, peter.t.cole at lineone.net was like:
> I have down loaded the openCD it seems a really good way of getting Windows
> users on to Open Source  software.

I can guess too, but I'd not heard of it before.
Do you have a URL for it?

> I am open to comment on the next bit.
>
> I have been tying to think of ways of getting open source products out to
> the masses, first though was to take out an add in the Blackmore vale mag
>  and try and get an editorial on the subject, but that was as far as I got
> on that one.
>
> the next thought that i had was to burn 5 or 6 copies of the open CD and
> sent it too the MD's of the big supermarkets and suggest that they had a
> whole load of CD's 

How would they get hold of the quantity of CDs required?

> and gave them away to customers or sold at a small fee 
> to cover cost's and any money left over could be split between  charitys
> and Open Source projects.
>
> I think i may well be spitting into the wind on this but if even just one
> of the chains took this up it would get Open Source software out to a lot
> of people with out the shock of having to change OS ( we could add knoppix
> as well ) .

Generally speaking I prefer networking this kind of stuff, which is 
potentially even slower than what Nick was suggesting, it would give the 
recipient at least one line line of direct support. I am planning to 
distribute AGNULA/DeMuDi installers along with my music CDs, I could handle a 
few copies of this CD for my Windows using friends (I assume this is what 
it's for?) who desperately need some (any) decent software.

I was appalled to see the state of a client's XP install, not only was it 
riddled with Trojans & virii, but it didn't seem to contain very much in the 
way of useful software. Obviously XP users aren't expected to either want to 
edit HTML pages or ever use FTP, or at least they are expected to pay 100s of 
pounds for the privilege, and even when you do pay the money, support is far 
from guaranteed and usually consists of some know-nothing on the end of a 
very busy phone line.

OK, this will come as no surprise to those of you who live closer to what is 
laughingly described as 'the Real World' - I was genuinely shocked. I'd love 
to have a CD of Win-compatible software to offer to these people, they may 
have a terrible OS, but they could at least have some decent software. I'm 
starting to encourage all Windows users to switch to Mozilla-Firefox in place 
of IE - it would make writing web pages a lot easier if everyone used an 
up-to-date standards compliant browser. Because of the corporate nature of 
the beast, many users are using old versions of IE, which doesn't even read 
HTML4.x particularly well. Firefox has a rich supply of extensions, which 
would cover most of these needs and blocks pop-ups BY DEFAULT (and for free).

I know I'm both preaching to the converted and rather OT for this list, except 
that I think this is a way of promoting free software and also easing the 
predicament of our Windows-using friends, whilst introducing them to a whole 
other world. Once they stop depending on M$, persuading them to jump ship 
entirely will be much easier.

My 2p anyway.

tim hall