Lindependence 2008 in Felton, Calif.

Hey, all --

You may have heard about this, since Ken Starks has posted an item or two on the mailing list, but I wanted to run this by the California LoCo to get a sense about how the California LoCo feels about this project before possibly going to the Ubuntu higher-ups.

Lindependence 2008 introduces Linux to the town of Felton, California -- about 6,000 people who live at the foot of the San Lorenzo Valley in Santa Cruz County, California. The plan behind Lindependence 2008 involves assisting those wishing to participate to go "Microsoft free" for an entire week -- starting on Independence Day 2008 -- using their choice of distro and FOSS programs.

I expect that most of the people who participate in this project will continue to stay "proprietary free" after the week is over, because they will discover what we already know: Linux, FOSS and the freedom to choose in our digital pursuits far outweigh the digital hegemony provided by the digital mandarins in Redmond and Cupertino.

Currently, town meetings and installfests are planned to be held during May and June of this year to familiarize the people in Felton with Linux and FOSS programs and, as stated, those who participate start a week of Linux and FOSS use from July 28 to August 4, and possibly longer. We have the media involved and two documentary makers have already expressed an interest in taking footage in the area between now and July with the intention of making a documentary.

Here's where you come in:

Represent Ubuntu: Ubuntu's participation is vital to making this project work, so we are inviting the California LoCo to get involved by representing Ubuntu at the meetings and installfests with LiveCDs and other supporting materials, as well as to stick around for the week to see how this develops.

Help: Originally, one of the larger distros (not Ubuntu, of course) had offered to foot the bill for this project if we made the project distro specific in exchange for their sponsorship. We graciously passed on the idea, because it was more important to us that the concept of choice when it comes to one's digital experience be in the forefront of this project. I would probably be violating some sort of forum protocol if I mentioned the "d word" -- donations -- so I won't. But the project is in dire need of funds and you can e-mail me off list about how to help.

A temporary site -- until our "Declaration of Lindependence" site is put up (soon) -- can be found here:
http://faq.fixedbylinux.com-a.google...linuxtothemass

You may have questions, observations and comments, and because this e-mail only scratches the surface, I welcome them. I can field them here on this forum, or I can answer e-mails to the address below.

Thank you for your time and I hope you will help us uplift Linux and FOSS going forward.

Larry Cafiero
HeliOS Solutions West
lcafiero@fixedbylinux.com

Just heard Helios on an interview, and it sounded like he hasn't heard from any teams in California that will be joining in Lindependence... While I'm not in California, I just thought I'd bump this back up for awareness... :)

Actually, I should be on this interview with Ken Starks (Helios), but I'm a newspaper editor in Santa Cruz and we have another huge fire going on, so all hand are on deck, so to speak.

As you can see above, I made this request in March. I'd like to agendize it for Sunday's meeting -- and I'll even take off work on Sunday evening to make the meeting (damn firewall!).

Ubuntu's presence -- and the Ubuntu LoCo's participation, obviously -- is vital for this project to work, and I am hoping that those in the Silicon Valley, just over the hill, as well as anyone else who wants to take a trip to Felton in July to help out will do so.

Feel free to contact me off-list at lcafiero-at-fixedbylinux-dot-com.

Thanks.

Larry Cafiero
HeliOS Solutions West
6116 Highway 9, Suite 4B
Felton, CA 95018
831-335-7303
Bringing FOSS to the Redwoods

So...how did this turn out? I've seen absolutely no feedback or "results" from the Lindependence Day initiative.

Hi rbmorse --

You haven't heard anything because it hasn't happened yet. The first two installfest/meetings are taking place on July 13 and July 15 at the Felton Presbyterian Church hall.

Thankfully, a couple of folks have stepped up to represent Ubuntu, so this great distro will be represented.

There will probably be two other meetings -- tenatively on July 21 and July 26. Keep an eye on http://www.lindependence.net for details.

Larry Cafiero, organizer
Lindependence 2008