[sclug] Promoting linux

[John Barron]

On Sunday 14 August 2005 13:19, Adam Trickett wrote:
>
> The Hants-LUG have some nice FAQ content to use, see:
>
> http://www.hants.lug.org.uk/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?InfoPoints/LinuxInfoFlyer
>

Thanks for that - most useful to see how others present the same ideas, and 
how I might blend the best of it into what I'm trying to achieve.

>
> I think live disks are great for technical users, but nothing beats show
> and tell for less skilled users.
>

I usually try and do both, though at the moment I don't have a functioning 
laptop to take around with me - at some point if I get round to it and find a 
few spare ???'s I keep thinking I must try and pick a suitable second-hand 
one. My needs are fairly straightforward, so I don't think I need a brand-new 
one, and I'd object in principle if the price included an OS I wasn't 
intending to use on it.

> Don't forget to remind people that even though the live disk is great,
> it's running off CD and Linux will be faster if installed, and you can
> add even more software if you want, or remove things if you don't want
> them.

One criticism that I have had is that there isn't anything in my flyer at 
present that expresses the element of choice and freedom that Linux allows, 
whether for what window manager you use, or anything else that can be 
customized to your particular needs or desire.

I have been toying with how to do that, as it's a nice idea and I'd like to 
include it, but at the same time I'm being very strict with myself by 
requiring that the whole thing fit on two sides of A4 in a 12-point font, and 
I'm also conscious that a common criticism of Linux is that new users can be 
overwhelmed by the sheer number of window managers, editors, distributions, 
and everything else to choose from.

-- 
John Barron