[Menai-LUG] Re: [Northwales] Meeting/event - notes from the meeting

[Eion MacDonald]

Companies free/open software - applications
limitations come in problem of VAT accounting.
GnuCash /Kmymoney/Grisbi can do personal accounts.
Only free software that does my VAT accounts correctly is the java lazy8 
add onto to jEdit.
It works and keeps  duplicate to my Windows set up with QuickBooks Pro 
(2004 old version)
However lazy 8 is not so easy to use without book keeping basic for 
double entry set up.
(QuickBooks removes that worry, at a price)

Will you cover this in your applications point.
(VAT accounting, it is major reason I still dual boot to Windows!)

Regards
Eion MacDonald (eionmac at btinternet.com)
 Tel. +44 (0) 1925762873



Kevin Donnelly wrote:
> Sorry for the delay in posting these - some home stuff intervened.
>
> We had the meeting on Thursday, in Wetherspoon's - present were Phil Baker, 
> Liam Kurnos, Gordon Ross, Richard Smedley, Phil Thane, and myself.  We went 
> over a summary of the previous discussion on the list, and had a very 
> agreeable couple of hours.  I've combined the comments and suggestions from 
> that with a few more suggestions from myself on the way forward.
>
> Name and strapline for the event:
> We didn't discuss the name in detail, but I'm now going to suggest Flourish 
> (Ffynnu in Welsh), perhaps with "Choose Freedom" added - comments welcome.  
> The strapline, using suggestions from the meeting, might then be something 
> like: "Solve your business computing needs affordably and sustainably using 
> adaptable (versatile?) free (GPL) software".  Again, comments welcome.
>
> Partner organisations:
> A variety of these were suggested, but I think I need to have a fairly 
> clearly-defined programme in mind before I approach them.  I would plan to 
> start doing that in May.  M6-IT has kindly offered to host a "computer club" 
> on the day.
>
> Costs:
> These are such that breakeven would only come with around 170 participants, 
> although the breakeven would be lower if presenters do not take up the full 
> amount allocated for expenses.  It is unlikely that we can attract this 
> number (although I have no hard info to support that), so I will need to try 
> and get sponsorship/support for about 50% of the cost.
>
> Dates:
> We decided on a Friday - 12 or 19 or 26 October.  All are free at the minute.  
> The next best day would probably be a Tuesday.
>
> Pricing:
> We agreed a price of £40, with reductions for early booking.  As Richard 
> pointed out, though, the real price is the cost of someone being away from 
> work for a day.
>
> Installs:
> We decided this would be too complex to do on the day, and that giving out 
> Knoppix or Ubuntu CDs would be better.  This could be backed up by having 
> running demos of booting a LiveCD on various pieces of hardware.
>
> Pilot project:
> We agreed this would be too complex to run, so that idea is shelved.
>
> Programme:
> Most of the meeting was taken up with discussing the programme.  The key 
> question was "who is this aimed at?"  Most SMEs will not have a resident 
> geek/tech bod, so going into various pieces of software in depth may not make 
> much sense to them.  On the other hand, just telling people this sort of 
> software is available without showing them how to set it up or seeing it in 
> use is of limited practical benefit to them.  It's a question of what we can 
> explain sensibly in a given time to a given level of expertise.
>
> It's difficult to square this circle, and one suggestion was to keep the 
> business track fairly general, and have a separate technical track for people 
> who want to get into the details a bit more.  One track might then be shared 
> (a half-track) between social enterprises and education.  The problem about 
> expanding too much is that the possible costs for speakers also rise.
>
> Another issue that came up was the need to have people up to speed on teh 
> jargon (eg proprietary, GPL, FSF, distro, repository, etc).  Rather than have 
> a presentation on all this, the best thing would probably be to have 
> shortish, simple factsheets on the website (along the lines of the briefing 
> sheet series being developed by Richard Smedley's company, M6-IT), so that 
> people can at least get used to the terminology beforehand.
>
> Another point was that for consistency it might be better to choose one distro 
> for all the presentations, so that newcomers don't get too twitchy when they 
> see four or five different-looking desktops.  The problem here is, which 
> distro do you choose?  The earlier point, that we should standardise on 
> Ubuntu+GNOME and openSUSE+KDE, may be valid, and that would allow both to be 
> used in the presentations - that shouldn't be too confusing for the average 
> viewer.
>
> So an initial programme (subject to cost concerns!) might look like this:
>
> =Plenary session=
> - Introduction
> - Keynote - Perhaps someone from FSFE?  Covering what free software is, why 
> software patents are bad for business, why open formats are vital, how the 
> flexibility of free software gives a competitive edge and feeds into 
> bottom-line benefits, etc
>
> =Business track=
> - Getting your bearings - practical implications of the free software outlook, 
> security implications, etc
> - Basic office tasks - email, web, word-processing
> - Collaboration in the office - using groupware and other CRM software, wikis, 
> etc
> - Remote working - using a VPN to take your office with you
> - Expanding your website - using content management systems, e-commerce, etc
> - Business necessities - payroll (eg Thyme), accounts (eg GnuCash)
> - Tying it together - using a Linux file/print/proxy/mail server in a 
> non-Linux network
>
> =Technical track=
> - Start here - installing and running Linux
> - Setting up Linux file/print/proxy/mail servers (several sessions)
> - Setting up a VPN
> - Linux for network security (Gordon Ross?)
> - Support - an overview of sources
>
> =Social enterprise half-track=
> - The ethics of free software - social responsibility, social exclusion, etc
> - Moving to free software - what is involved, where are the pressure points
> - Perhaps repeat some of the subjects from the business track, boiled down a 
> bit?  And/or offer hands-on experience in teh computer club?
>
> =Education half-track= (actually, this looks more like a full track)
> - Flexibility and savings - a case-study (Powys? Handsworth?)
> - Not more IT! -  Linux for beginners for a teacher's viewpoint (Phil Thane?)
> - Overview of relevant software - software specifically aimed at, or useable 
> in, the curriculum, and management software like Schooltool (giving existing 
> shortcomings where appropriate)
> - Distance learning - Moodle
> - INGOTS - an open IT qualification
> - Taming your library - Koha
> - Out of the Box - Karoshi
>
> =Welsh track= (or perhaps a half-track?)
> - Why free software supports Welsh better
> - Doing it yourself - how to convert a program to Welsh (KD?)
> - Office software in Welsh (Agored?)
> - The cutting edge - lexical resources, text-to-speech, etc (Canolfan Bedwyr?)
>
> =Plenary session=
> - Q&A session with panel
> - Wrap-up
>
> Any comments on the above would be very welcome.
>
> I was also wondering about whether we should look for a VIP to launch the 
> event (ie before the keynote).  The question is, who?
>
> Recording:
> We decided that streaming would be too difficult and expensive (unless we 
> could partner with a college multimedia unit where the students wanted/needed 
> to do a practical), but it would be worth trying to record at least some of 
> the presentations for delivery via the website later.  It was also suggested 
> that we circulate a Flickr tag, so that if people want to upload pictures, 
> they can be grouped in one place.
>
> I think that's about all!  The next step, after any further suggestions, would 
> be to start working up a website, as a basis for further planning.  The draft 
> timetable afterwards would be: website and approaches to speakers by 
> end-April; presentation summaries and approaches to potential partner 
> organisations by end-May; approaches to potential sponsors by end-June; first 
> publicity ads and opening of registrations in July; presentation drafts by 
> end-August; further monthly publicity August-September; finalise event 
> details by end-September; weekly publicity in October.
>
> Any offers of (non-financial) help are always welcome, eg help on the day, a 
> presentation you could give, someone you know who might be a partner or 
> sponsor, contacts in the media, etc etc.
>
>