Software for Starving Students
Michael Halcrow
Sun, 21 Jul 2002 21:17:40 -0700
I propose that the UUG launch a campaign entitled, "Software for
Starving Students." The goal of the campaign would be to inform students
Open Source alternatives to commercial software for their computers. The
major pitch is that students save their money that they would spend on
Windows, Office, Quicken, etc., and instead use Linux, KDE, OpenOffice,
GnuCash, etc.
We could have such quips as:
- "Eat better this semester. Get quality free software! For more
information, visit http://uug.clubs.byu.edu/freesoftware";
- "Free professional Office suite available for BYU students and
employees. Visit http://uug.clubs.byu.edu/openoffice for more info!"
- "Community support beats tech support. Use Open Source software, and
let the BYU UUG help you out when you need it!"
- "Still feeding that Windows addiction? Break free of your bonds! Use
Linux!"
Anyone have a big stuffed penguin they could donate for the sidewalk
booth? :-)
Part of this campaign would be the install fests, newbie orientation
seminars, etc.
Mike
Re: Software for Starving Students
art moore
Mon, 22 Jul 2002 06:43:54 -0700
I think this is a great idea! I'll get started on it
immediately. Who wants to volunteer and write the
content for these pages? Also Byron, maybe you want to
incorporate these into your flyers.
We're going to be discussing some of these things on
thursday, so we need people to come out. I don't want
to particularly go into Stuart's presentation, so I
was thinking of meeting with everyone interested in
being involved before the meeting at 7:00. The regular
meeting will start at 7:30 like always.
Art
--- Michael Halcrow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I propose that the UUG launch a campaign entitled,
> "Software for
> Starving Students." The goal of the campaign would
> be to inform students
> Open Source alternatives to commercial software for
> their computers. The
> major pitch is that students save their money that
> they would spend on
> Windows, Office, Quicken, etc., and instead use
> Linux, KDE, OpenOffice,
> GnuCash, etc.
>
> We could have such quips as:
>
> - "Eat better this semester. Get quality free
> software! For more
> information, visit
> http://uug.clubs.byu.edu/freesoftware";
>
> - "Free professional Office suite available for BYU
> students and
> employees. Visit http://uug.clubs.byu.edu/openoffice
> for more info!"
>
> - "Community support beats tech support. Use Open
> Source software, and
> let the BYU UUG help you out when you need it!"
>
> - "Still feeding that Windows addiction? Break free
> of your bonds! Use
> Linux!"
>
> Anyone have a big stuffed penguin they could donate
> for the sidewalk
> booth? :-)
>
> Part of this campaign would be the install fests,
> newbie orientation
> seminars, etc.
>
> Mike
Software for Starving Students: Fall 2002
Michael Halcrow
Sat, 10 Aug 2002 10:35:37 -0700
It's time to start planning for the big Free Software push for the start
of Fall 2002. I consider the efforts we put forth over the last couple
of weeks to be a trial run, since this is the term when the fewest
students are attending classes. What we need now is reflection on what
went well, what didn't go well, and where we can improve for when the
floodgates open next month.
I propose the following action items:
- Make our goals obvious to the passerby.
- Quality Free Software exists, so you don't have to (a) shell out
hundreds of dollars for non-free software or (b) illegally pirate
software (I talked to more than one guy who admitted that he uses
warez). We are here to help make students honest :-)
- Free also means Freedom. If you like Free Software, you don't have
to feel guilty about giving copies to your friends! Also, you don't have
to put up with adware, spyware, and DRM when you use your computer.
- If you use Free Software, you will escape the Perpetual Bloatware
Upgrade Cycle.
- ...others?
- Contact RedHat, Mandrake, and SuSE about the ads in the Daily
Universe.
- Reserve booths in the Wilk.
- Those at the booths probably got a lot of questions. I would like to
have them posted here, so we could formulate what the best answers would
be. I would also recommend _not_ introducing non-techies to vi, emacs,
etc. during their initial encounter with Linux. Let them discover all
that on their own, once they figure out how to print, browse the web,
etc. However, if they _are_ more technically oriented, then judge for
yourselves.
- Finish the switch commercials. Two are edited, and we have two more
that await editing. I can take care of those. However, it wouldn't hurt
for us to get together sometime in the next few weeks and do some more
filming. We need to agree on a time when more people can attend.
- Work on the presentation. Wednesday morning, all we had were a couple
of folks sitting behind laptops. Eventually, we put up some papers
explaining what we're doing. We should put together a banner, and
arrange for a TV and VCR to show the switch spots.
- We should emphasize the Community Support thing, and make it
blatantly obvious how to join our mailing list.
- New fliers. The fliers we had looked pretty good, but I would
recommend larger type for some of the text (I had to squint to read some
of it), and more URL's to Free Software related sites (my Linux: Desktop
OS page, GNU's Free Software Philosophy page, etc.). Also some quotes
that reflect our goals. Basically, clue people in on what the Free
Software movement is all about, and why it matters to them.
- Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if the MS guys noticed us, and
started spreading FUD at their seminars and booths. We need to be
careful not to stoop to their level, but to present clear, hard facts
coupled with URL's that back up our points.
And thanks to all who have contributed their time and effort for the
Cause. Consider your karma points increased. :-)
Mike
Re: Software for Starving Students: Fall 2002
Frank Sorenson
Sat, 10 Aug 2002 12:37:42 -0700
Quoth Michael Halcrow (On Sat, 10 Aug 2002):
> - Work on the presentation. Wednesday morning, all we had were a couple
> of folks sitting behind laptops. Eventually, we put up some papers
> explaining what we're doing. We should put together a banner, and
> arrange for a TV and VCR to show the switch spots.
To show that we really mean business, not just tinkering, we should
use a laptop running Linux or some other free OS, instead of a VCR. We
could still display everything on a large TV, but it could be nice &
impressive to say that we're actually running it from someone's laptop.
Frank
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Sorenson
CSR Computer Science Department
Brigham Young University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Preparing for SSS Fall 2002
Michael Halcrow
Wed, 28 Aug 2002 08:39:38 -0700
School starts in less than a week! Are we getting PUMPED or what?!
Okay, well, maybe not. But we *do* need to define where we are in terms
of SSS.
I was buying my books today, and as I walked through the computer
section, some poor freshman was asking about the student version of
Microsoft Office. It pains me to think that he did accept the truth
because he simply didn't know where to find it (or that it even
existed). :-)
What is our situation with the booths? Both for reservations and for
manning the booths?
I recommend that we don't try to pack the booths all day for three days
straight, since I don't think we have enough man-hours for that once
school starts. I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised, though.
I am planning on visiting the Daily Universe office today or tomorrow to
discuss a story on our efforts.
Also, I did some work with fliers and what not (I will be modifying them
per some suggestions given). Here are my ideas for the booth and the
fliers:
Include banners. One banner on the left could read:
``Free'' as in ``No Cost''
... and the one on the right could read:
``Free'' as in ``Freedom''
An explanation of what we mean by each could be under each banner. I
think this will clear up the "what's the catch?" attitude.
There are about half a dozen different fliers I can think of that would
be informative:
- OpenOffice
- Linux
- Free Software/Open Source
- "Free" as in "Freedom" (needs work:
http://students.cs.byu.edu/~mhalcrow/free_freedom.ps)
- BYU UUG Intro/Invite
- Install Fest Invite
- SSS FAQ
- News articles!
Any contributions?
Mike
--
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Michael Halcrow | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Research Assistant, Network Security Lab | Dept. of Comp. Science
| Brigham Young University
"Oop. Ack. Phbbbbbbbbbt." |
- Bill the Cat |
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