[Infopoint] Infopoint - lets make it happen!!

[alan c]

naes yllek wrote:
>  Hi
>
>  Apologies, for the delay in responding to original post.
>
>  Since the launch of InfoPoint & as part of our advocacy adventure,
>  Hull LUG have been faithfully attending our local computer fair with
>  three of us (TJ, Nathan & myself) in regular attandence. Initial
>  interest was positive, on one night we couldn't keep up with demand
>  and was burning CD's on the spot.
>

Good for you!

>  Despite our efforts, and the jaw aching talking for England on the
>  subject of Linux & Open Source, we have hardly seen any new members
>  attend our meets.

I have been using linux for a little more than a year now, but before 
that I had attended an install day with an *old* box and was delighted 
to get the then current mandrake installed. However, at the time I was 
simply unable and too busy to spend much time with it, although the 
unused box and the installday literally gave me hope that there is some 
good and a refuge from windows in the world, and although I still 
suffered with doze, I knew I would get to linux eventually because it 
really did exist, and I had seen it (!)

In the subsequent *two years* (yes)  the distros improved greatly, and 
circumstances changed at home, I had more time, and the level of 
discomfort with doze increased.

I eventually started seriously with suse, and have not looked back, 
wishing now I had started sooner. But in reality I am more of a user 
than a programmer, though very techy, and the distro sophistication now 
suits me a lot. I am using CL slowly, when needed, otherwise gui. (long 
live KDE)  :-)

The moral from my story is that in the classic marketing sense, people 
need to see a product at least three times before they will commit. And 
my own timescale was *two years*, and I was very determined, and have in 
theory, plenty of time. It still took me a year of using linux and 
usenet to feel that I could cope with most that happens in my soho network.

And I still feel like a newbie.

This is no different from my initial experiences with windows. It took 
me a long time to have any idea how to manage it as a soho user with a 
small lan in anything like a semi professional way. The difference was 
that 'doze was ther, could not be escaped from (by me at the time) an 
dcame 'free' preinstalled. Or there was a guy down the raod etc who 
could answer a question.  We lack this last aspect with linux.

Thinking about it now, I know that real newbies with windows probably 
have more trouble than they would with linux. I started, and coordinated 
for a couple of years, the Age Concern Berkshire UKOnline Center - One 
day  weekly, with helpers all volunteers (including me), and many 
newbies as clients, some not so old.

[...]

>There's also
>  the question of is Joe Public ready to use Linux? and, the no doubt
>  controversial question, is the Linux desktop really ready for Joe
>  Public?

I would say it is ready and very near to reaching mass appeal point. 
What is missing is the mass motive. and mass support from the neighbor 
next door or the kids down the road.
I see the immediate (new) market as the more enthusiastic PC user, 
hobbyist etc, hopefully students. These will all aid and abet their less 
confident friends in future.

>  The other aspect is about people's attitude towards change.

Publicity is a strong factor - but open source is certainly getting more 
publicity lately. BBC ClickOnline last episode mentioned open source 
without too much scepticism.

[...]

People do things if they feel an (eager) need. This might be curiosity 
or need for reliability and security, or lower cost etc.

My own experience showed clearly to me that a level of very local 
friendliness, contact, and support, is important when starting out. I 
went to a LUG evening, but it was very much beyond me and I fetlt very 
out of place, although people were friendly It was like being on Mars. I 
wanted to know which keys to press. I had been using windows for 20 
years, after all.

I think that micro-local support/contact groups are needed. If/when they 
exist, then at the time when people want them, they will come, I have no 
doubt. The worst that could happen is that when a person gets 
interested, there is no one to chat to, no friend to get simple advice 
from. A LUG is not this place for most non IT speciatists initially.

I intend to start a few simple things in Bracknell, and have started a 
yahoogroup as a local contact group which will foster any interest from 
people who need very local contact. It will feed into the LUG/s in time, 
not compete with it.

>  Sean
>

AlanC