[Cumbria] Promoting the LUG

[Schwuk]

> It seems to me that potential members of this LUG need their own
> transport. Gleaston Water Mill is a lovely place, but not at the centre
>  of the universe.

That's why I got the mailing list setup and once they website is updated, we
will all be able to contribute to that. The meetings are very good, but the
'dead' time between them was cutting down on their usefulness. Hopefully by
using this list, we can keep the flow going between meetings...

> The only reason that most people will 'try' Linux is if they believe
> that it will benefit them.  <snip>
>
> To make an impression on Mr & Mrs Average, we would need to actually
> show people what it's about and how good it is. I mean actually take it
>  to them. Perhaps the best chance of doing this to set up stands at
> local  fairs / shows?  Anyone interested?

Very good points, and a good suggestion. There's the Linux Install Day (
http://www.linuxinstallday.org/ ) we could get involved in. There are also
regular computer fairs - I once went to a one at Chorley that had a Linux
stand selling burnt copies of disks and generally evangelising it.

> To make an impression on small 'professional' users (ie small
> businesses, schools, etc) is likely to be more dificult because of
> their  concerns about security, compatability with existing setups and
> support.

True as well - I've just been involved with fixing a Linux box for a school.
The box hadn't been set up very well, and was being used as an open relay an
d proxy. They were prepared to rip the box out and replace it (probably with
an MS product), but I've locked it down, convinced them that Linux is
perfect for the job and hopefully one of the admins from the school is going
to sign up to this list...

> Large business establishments employing IT professionals (eg Dave)
> already know about Linux.

Yes and no. They may know of linux, but they are not prepared to implement
it. It's normally down to single people evangelising and sneaking systems in
that it gains a foothold.

> I think that a high membership of these guys and their interests in
> 'big' systems would deter (even frighten off) Mr & Mrs Average, so we
> need to think carefully about where we are aiming.

Yes, but we don't want to cater for just one group of users. In my case
desktop and large systems go hand-in-hand, but I'm also looking into using
linux for home entertainment projects - I've been eyeing up a couple of
projects that replicate PVR (Tivo-like) functionality. I'm sure I'm not the
only one who thinks like this.

Cheers,
--
Dave Murphy