Re: Software Freedom Day - Sat 15 Sep
On Wed, 2007-08-15 at 23:14 -0400, Ben Scott wrote: > Software Freedom Day 2007 > Saturday 15 September (one month from today) > http://softwarefreedomday.org/ > > I'm thinking getting involved in this would be a nice replacement > for my efforts at hamfests. Maybe others would also like to chip-in. > Anyone else teetering on the edge of volunteering who would like to > join me? I'm thinking something at UNH Durham might be appropriate, > or maybe the Portsmouth/Newington area (BestBuy?). Or I can drive "to > away", if that's where the action is. > > I know we've got a few people who already to this. I was hoping > they could give some words as to what works, what doesn't, what to > expect, etc. This is all new to me. I did this last year with Matt Oquist. Since he is the originator of the day, he had an "inside scoop" to getting the materials, which included: o Balloons that had "Software Freedom Day" printed on them o T-shirts that (likewise) had SFD printed on them o Many CDs from Ubuntu/Canonical He also had a "Software Freedom Day" banner that we put around the table or up on the wall, and fliers photocopied telling about the event We did two sessions of it. One was at the Nashua Public Library and one at the Cafeteria at Daniel Webster College on two separate days. The great thing about SFD is that it is kind of "loose" in the definition of SFD, so it could be many different days, and celebrated many different ways. "Everyday is SFD" seems to be the theme. I think it is too late to get the official materials, but you could always order Ubuntu disks from: https://shipit.ubuntu.com/login and there may be a T-shirt floating around. On the other hand, if there is not you could probably get a design from Matt or from the site: http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/ or even make your own. But enough of this! Here is the official "Start Guide" that can give you some ideas! http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/StartGuide And you might want to send your invitation to join SFD to the entire gnhlug mailing list. I am sure that there would be lots of people who would love to help you celebrate it. Enjoy! md ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
Software Freedom Day - Sat 15 Sep
Software Freedom Day 2007 Saturday 15 September (one month from today) http://softwarefreedomday.org/ I'm thinking getting involved in this would be a nice replacement for my efforts at hamfests. Maybe others would also like to chip-in. Anyone else teetering on the edge of volunteering who would like to join me? I'm thinking something at UNH Durham might be appropriate, or maybe the Portsmouth/Newington area (BestBuy?). Or I can drive "to away", if that's where the action is. I know we've got a few people who already to this. I was hoping they could give some words as to what works, what doesn't, what to expect, etc. This is all new to me. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
Re: NEARFest - request for participation study/discussion
My thoughts: I, too, believe the time has come for GNHLUG to bid farewell to the hamfest, at least for now. I think our "return on investment", so to speak, has been steadily diminishing, as Linux has moved more into the mainstream and high-speed connections have become more available. I'm sure there will be some who miss the cheap CDs. Who knows, maybe we'll even loose a potential convert. But I think our time, money, and effort are better spent elsewhere. Should that situation change, we can always start it back up again. In particular, if a GNHLUG ham wants to put on a kick-ass Linux radio demo, as we've had in the past, I think that would be grand. But until then, no. It was always interesting and fun, but it's time to move on. And remember that there's nothing keeping individual GNHLUGers from attending. Anyone could wear an "Ask me about Linux" pin and keep a few CDs in their pocket, and respond to inquiries as they do their own 'osstrading. If someone wants more, give 'em a GNHLUG business card and/or a pointer to http://www.cheapbytes.com/ (for their choice of distro). I may do this myself, irregularly. What to do instead is best addressed in a separate thread. I'd like to add my own thanks to everyone who helped out over the years, including: Ed Lawson, with the ultra-cool radio demos. Ted Roche, for local logistical and network services. Bill Sconce, mike ledoux, Matt and Heather Brodeur, Rob Anderson, Rob Lembree, and doubtless other booth volunteers I have unfortunately forgotten. And (saving the best for last), of course, maddog, for buying the spot and the tables and persistently refusing any reimbursement, for something like a decade. I owe you all a beverage. At least. Clear skies, everyone. -- Ben ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
Re: NEARFest - request for participation study/discussion
On Wed, 2007-08-15 at 21:35 -0400, Bill McGonigle wrote: > On Aug 15, 2007, at 10:52, Jon 'maddog' Hall wrote: > > > The question I have is whether GNHLUG should be "supporting" this > > event, > > or put the time and energy into some other event that would have a > > greater payback? For example, a booth/table at a state or local fair? > > Or find some local "PC show" to have a table? Or better support of > > Software Freedom Day? Help organize a summer camp for Free Software? > > My sense is that this is the proper approach, though I don't know if > we can afford or handle the biggest events. > > The Hopkinton State Fair website claims 125,000 visitors per day, and > doesn't publish the cost of their booth space, but I imagine it's way > more than $50. If we were a charitable organization perhaps a group > like that could cut a deal and write it off. > > I had fun the last time I got to Hosstraders, though I'm not sure I > convinced anybody to use free software. I also imagine the State > Fair would be less forgiving about a 329' ethernet cable taped along > the buildings or antennas strapped to trees. We'd have to upgrade to > WiMax. :) Well, we did not have the Ethernet Cable, or even any Internet connection at Deerfield. One of the vendors talked about "sharing" a connection (supposedly brought in by satellite) via wireless, but that never materialized. We lived for many shows without Ethernet, although I do admit that having it the last time would have made the "dead time" more bearable. md ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
Re: NEARFest - request for participation study/discussion
On Aug 15, 2007, at 10:52, Jon 'maddog' Hall wrote: > The question I have is whether GNHLUG should be "supporting" this > event, > or put the time and energy into some other event that would have a > greater payback? For example, a booth/table at a state or local fair? > Or find some local "PC show" to have a table? Or better support of > Software Freedom Day? Help organize a summer camp for Free Software? My sense is that this is the proper approach, though I don't know if we can afford or handle the biggest events. The Hopkinton State Fair website claims 125,000 visitors per day, and doesn't publish the cost of their booth space, but I imagine it's way more than $50. If we were a charitable organization perhaps a group like that could cut a deal and write it off. I had fun the last time I got to Hosstraders, though I'm not sure I convinced anybody to use free software. I also imagine the State Fair would be less forgiving about a 329' ethernet cable taped along the buildings or antennas strapped to trees. We'd have to upgrade to WiMax. :) -Bill - Bill McGonigle, Owner Work: 603.448.4440 BFC Computing, LLC Home: 603.448.1668 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cell: 603.252.2606 http://www.bfccomputing.com/Page: 603.442.1833 Blog: http://blog.bfccomputing.com/ VCard: http://bfccomputing.com/vcard/bill.vcf ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
Re: Re[2]: Hosstraders/NearFest
Al, I sent on your information to the organizing committee of the Greater New Hampshire Linux User's Group (GNHLUG). They will be getting back to you. Thanks for thinking about us. Warmest regards, maddog ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
NEARFest - request for participation study/discussion
Hi, As you know, GNHLUG has had a booth at "Hosstraders" for a long time, and that last spring a new organization took over called "NEARFest" http://www.near-fest.com/ This fall, NEARFest is October 12-13, 2007 at Deerfield, as it was last time. This fall they have more inside space, but I am told that the inside space is going fast. The prices this year are $50. for the space (approximately 8' long) and $16-17. for the 8' table rental. This is about the same as last spring, but is up considerably from what Hosstraders used to charge us (about $35. for 24' of space and $13. per table), and the profits were going to the Shriner's Hospitals and Burn Centers. Over the years I have been the main "organizer" (and funder) of this, with Ben Scott (and his magical CD-burning machine), Ed Lawson, Bill Sconce, Matt and Heather and others helping out. If I forgot anyone, I apologize. Besides being cold a lot of the time, I always enjoyed talking to the ham people, and the camaraderie of the other LUG members (along with the doggie bowls of french fries and the Italian sausages). However, last year we were testing the "NEARFest" waters, and it was also on Kentucky Derby weekend, so Ben and I held down the fort one day and I was by myself the second day. We had no CD burning, and about three or four people came by and lamented that we did not supply that service. I talked to one or two people about FOSS, and those were mostly people that already knew about it. In addition to the money, I spent two days of my time (more or less) at the fairground and Ben showed up for a day (thanks Ben!). I am not complaining about this, because it was a "trial", and not very much publicized, and it WAS Kentucky Derby Day! :-) GNHLUG people that wanted to sell/unload stuff did that for "price of admission" outside. Some people did "sell" outside, with what NearFest calls "tailgating" (an additional $10. for the car and a 10'x10' space, so $10. total). This fall I will be in Brazil and Canada during NEARFest days (yes, I know Brazil and Canada are very far apart, but trust me, that is where I will be...) so I can not attend. THEREFORE I think we might take the time to re-evaluate whether GNHLUG attends this event or not. Originally GNHLUG went up there to: o Demonstrate Free Ham Software to the ham radio community o Sell/Swap/Buy a few old hardware components We were successful in getting some of the word out, and Ed usually put together a display of the working Ham software. Later this changed to: o Demonstrate Free Software o Distribute CDs o Give away old hardware (since no one wanted to buy it) The question I have is whether GNHLUG should be "supporting" this event, or put the time and energy into some other event that would have a greater payback? For example, a booth/table at a state or local fair? Or find some local "PC show" to have a table? Or better support of Software Freedom Day? Help organize a summer camp for Free Software? Or cut back to supporting NEARFest once per year, and do something else the second part of the year? Or, taking another tack, should we escalate our support of the event and give short courses at NEARFest? One issue here is that the current management of NEARFest is not very "Linux Friendly" (I think mainly through ignorance), whereas the HossTrader guys were friendly, but never gave us the support necessary to put on a course. Of course we never really put forth a formal proposal. Another issue is that in order to take any "gratis" courses/events we put on, the attendees have to pay admission to NEARFest (I think it is $10.) One advantage to Deerfield is that I believe the facilities would better allow a short course to be given with an LCD projector inside, if we worked with the organizers to set something up. If we (well, really *YOU*, since I can not be there) decide to support NEARFest this fall, please contact AL SHUMAN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or +16034136605 ASAP. I am sending it to the "org" list, since most of the people on this list are the ones that would probably organize it, but perhaps this should also be sent to the "discuss" list. Thanks, maddog -- Jon "maddog" Hall Executive Director Linux International(R) email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 80 Amherst St. Voice: +1.603.672.4557 Amherst, N.H. 03031-3032 U.S.A. WWW: http://www.li.org Board Member: Uniforum Association Board Member Emeritus: USENIX Association (2000-2006) (R)Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. (R)Linux International is a registered trademark in the USA used pursuant to a license from Linux Mark Institute, authorized licensor of Linus Torvalds, owner of the Linux trademark on a worldwide basis (R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the USA and other countries. ___ gnhlug-org mailing list gnhlug-org@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org/
