[HLUG] FOSS Initiative (Was: OS Offensive)

[tundish]

A couple more thoughts, and some questions.

The source of IT equipment is key. We can use our own cast-offs for 
proof-of-concept, but to be sustainable we need a dependable source of 
old PCs in good working order.

What about the council itself? They have to comply with recycling 
directives, I'm sure. Will we save them money simply by taking the kit 
off their hands? What contracts do they have in place to dispose of old 
IT and could this stream be tapped? Who do we need to talk to?

Apologies to those in the local government sector who are familiar with 
the territory. This stuff is a bit new to me. If I've misunderstood 
anything, please correct me. Here's a summary:


Local Government
================

The council can't use old PCs because they still roll out Microsoft 
products. Windows 2000, for example, is no longer supported since last 
year, and these Win2000 machines may not be able to carry XP.

The council won't relife these boxes with Linux because that's not in 
their IT policy.

They are obliged to recycle the kit responsibly.

There is a bonus in doing this in a way which is locally beneficial.

* So there should be an incentive here to give us their old kit *

Beneficiaries
=============

Charities. Independently-run local government initiatives. Groups for 
the retired such as U3A. And Students.

Students are a big market because they each of them require a PC (often 
a laptop; the most expensive to buy new). They are tech savvy and likely 
to embrace new concepts. They are switched on to learning new stuff.

The Vision
==========

Imagine you could walk into a Library in Herefordshire and go to a stand 
marked "Open PC". The carousel stand has CDRs with a Linux Distro and an 
application form. You take out the CDR as you would a book.

You fill out the form and a week later you get a phone call to pick up 
your new (old) PC or laptop. Or if you have no transport it's delivered 
to you by a friendly LUG member. You install the distro yourself and 
either print out or email an acknowledgement to the library that you've 
got this far. This is the equivalent of taking the book back and 
transaction is complete. Plus one to the good guys.

If you're having trouble, there is support from friendly LUG members. If
it doesn't work out, and you never send the acknowledgement, eventually 
arrangements are made to pick up the PC and give it to someone else.

There's a long way to go before we get there. We certainly need to 
minimise the support calls and this means finding a suitable distro 
(maybe rebranding it) and having a source of high quality, predictably 
typed PCs and laptops.

Julian and Matt; what did your experiences with your project last year 
teach you? What are the challenges here?

Great to be talking about this. Cheers,

Dave.