Co-workers not thrilled to get Ubuntu Cds as early holiday gifts

[Patrick K.]

For the first time sense 5.04, I've ordered more copies of Ubuntu. I distributed them amongst my co-workers over at Kodak. They were the hardest of core when it came to Micro-Squish Windows. Although they couldn't deny a gift of free software, for it would be rude.

I only got 5 copies of 6.06, 4 were tossed in the trash, one actually made it on one of the guys laptops. He later put Windows ME back on it, he was needing to reinstall Windows anyways. He kept the CD though.

Needless to say, I fished the 4 tossed out copies back out of the trash can.

First thing that came to my mind when I saw them there before leaving "Stupid people do stupid things".

Why did I think that?


True story, it just happened today.

[viper]

People who do good deeds sometimes do not get recognition they deserve hey? :) Keep smiling and keep handing them out!!!

[kvonb]

...if the licence for Windows vista is as draconian as I've read, then they may soon be begging you to return them!

[Patrick K.]

People who do good deeds sometimes do not get recognition they deserve hey? :) Keep smiling and keep handing them out!!!

This is the first time I've actually handed them out before. So I'm not sure I'll continue after that.

When I had 5.04 copies, I just left them at the post office. Nobody ever took them, eventually they ended up in the trash after about a week of sitting there. I think maybe a few were taken, I didn't dig in the trash to find out if they were. I just set them next to the Navy brochures and other get rich quick booklets that were usually found there. They even leave AOL cds there. More AOL cds were taken then Ubuntu... Made me sad.


What would you expect anyways... Gibbon Nebraska. When the wind stops blowing, everyone falls over state.



After that incident with the "Gifting Ubuntu Story" and ignoring it. I felt guilty for not seriously taking action after I learned about it. I know I was the target of it, however I thought it was another average prank. I figured I'd at least do this to make up for it. I don't need any recognition... I could care less. One way of taking guilt off me, although I don't know why I should feel guilty about it. Not like I actually made the stupid story.

I only just got Ubuntu 6.10 last week when someone had to Skype me and mention the damn thing again. I had 5.04 just to play with mostly. 6.06 to 6.10 actually made me seriously switch over from Novell SUSE.


Regardless, I'll keep hanging in there. Quietly promoting Ubuntu when asked for recommended OS.

[viper]

...if the licence for Windows vista is as draconian as I've read, then they may soon be begging you to return them!

Kinda agree with ya mate :)

Patrick seems to me you got nothing to feel guilty about, when your co workers systems are getting screwed by spy ware, trogans etc etc they might just come back knocking on your door and say "he dude you still have a copy of the Linux thingy you were talking about".
The amount of clients boxes that i have installed *buntu in the past 6 months is unreal compared to this time last year, believe me the word is spreading slowly but its getting there.

[Patrick K.]

I found a method that works. I took the back end of a note pad and stuck some ubuntu stickers on it. Then I wrote on it (coloring the insides of the letters) FREE SOFTWARE! OPERATING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT!

All 4 remaining copies were gone by the end of the day. All the guys in the tech department who pass by my cube kept looking at them. I saw each one of them snag a copy. I have to order 10 more though, some of the other guys want ones now too. x.x Gee give them to people actually handing them out, advertise FREE SOFTWARE and tell them to read the back, they take it. However the tech guys weren't the ones who I handed them out to. I originally kept them in my pocket. So today I displayed them. Seems the display idea works better.

One of the techs says "I'll have to partition some space off my drive when I get home and put this on. I've tried linux before, never got into it. If your right about this version being very easy and still advanced at the same time, I'll give er a shot. I'll probably end up keeping it anyways. I need an easy linux to break into. Thanks"


Fantastic.

Ordering more after I submit this.

[PriceChild]

You might want to mention the way they work as Live cds without altering the hard drive ;)

Oh and you may have troubles re-ordering cds of the same distro from shippit on the same accoun.

[Patrick K.]

You might want to mention the way they work as Live cds without altering the hard drive ;)

Oh and you may have troubles re-ordering cds of the same distro from shippit on the same account.

I already mention it on the note pad I leave them on. Then I explain it anyways when they want more information.

I hope I don't have an order issue, I got 5 the first time, now I'm ordering 10.

[darkhatter]

I would be just as mad if I got Ubuntu CD's lol. How would you feel if someone at your work kept giving you Window CD's...:-k

[23meg]

I only got 5 copies of 6.06, 4 were tossed in the trash, one actually made it on one of the guys laptops.Let aside ignorance of and prejudice about FOSS, isn't it regarded as rude to explicitly throw to trash anything that your coworkers give you as a present where you live? Good to know you got them back.

[Patrick K.]

I would be just as mad if I got Ubuntu CD's lol. How would you feel if someone at your work kept giving you Window CD's...:-k

Coasters?
I wouldn't toss them. I mean, FREE COASTERS! Here I was thinking about buying some from www.kodakgallery.com (my support job) with ubuntu logos on them. And someone hands me a windows Cd. Coca-cola can gets free resting place.


I wonder If I should get marketplace on my kodak gallery account and see if I can put coasters up on it for people to buy and just have the profits directed to Ubuntu donations. hmmm

[ner0tic]

could he have picked a worse windows release to replace it with. me is by far the worst attempt at an OS i've ever seen

[max.diems]

Oh and you may have troubles re-ordering cds of the same distro from shippit on the same account.

Hard time? Try not gonna happen. Quite annoying.

And yes, I have about 7 6.06 orders, only the first was approved.

[Bezmotivnik]

I only got 5 copies of 6.06, 4 were tossed in the trash, one actually made it on one of the guys laptops. He later put Windows ME back on it, he was needing to reinstall Windows anyways. He kept the CD though.

This is a little better than I've done.

Nobody I ever gave them to actually did an install.

Most of them treated the 6.06 CDs about like those nuisance AOL CDs that are everywhere. :rolleyes: It was sort of like trying to give away angry, poisonous snakes...brings to mind M. R. James's "Casting the Runes." :mrgreen:

[Patrick K.]

This is a little better than I've done.

Nobody I ever gave them to actually did an install.

Most of them treated the 6.06 CDs about like those nuisance AOL CDs that are everywhere. :rolleyes: It was sort of like trying to give away angry, poisonous snakes...brings to mind M. R. James's "Casting the Runes." :mrgreen:



One of the guys there just called me up and asked if I knew how to mount an NTFS drive. I laughed and then pointed him to the wiki page that explains it. Good to know he is actually trying to use it.

[Polygon]

you might want to wait for an better moment to give the cds away, like when one of their computers completely dies and they lose a lot of important work cause windows is unstable like that, then be like "hey, i know this operating system that is much more stable and easier to use then windows, and most everything is free" and then if they are interested, give them the live cd have them check it out, and if they are really interested, install it for them :D

[Patrick K.]

you might want to wait for an better moment to give the cds away, like when one of their computers completely dies and they lose a lot of important work cause windows is unstable like that, then be like "hey, i know this operating system that is much more stable and easier to use then windows, and most everything is free" and then if they are interested, give them the live cd have them check it out, and if they are really interested, install it for them :D


One of the female employees there wants me to install Ubuntu on her computer from what I understand. Her computer is toasted for what I understand. The restore partition for Windows has crapped out on her. She is going to bring in her computer in the morning, I'll be working on it this weekend.

[roosar]

You can't help those who don't want to be helped.

However, if it makes any difference. I was one who picked up a cd from a stack at a coffee shop. I've been an Ubuntu user since then (5.04). I do use Windows from time to time but from what it sounds like, I'll probably move to Ubuntu for good when Vista comes out.

Hopefully that cheers you up a bit. Keep fighting the good fight.

[Patrick K.]

I got the computer now.

IBM NetVista

PIII
Comes with Windows ME and even still has it's cd key sticker on the side.



Upgrades (Hardware) That I've done.
Ram from 64 Mbs to 512 mbs (SD)
Hard drive from 20.4 Gbs, to 150.3 Gbs.

Upgrades (Software) That I've done.
Installed Ubuntu 6.06 LTS + Automatix (The should be staples of every PC)

[kvonb]

Patrick K:

Don't forget FirefoxII: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox (download the script it works).

...then this:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=279990&highlight=flash+firefox

I did it today and flash works for the first time ever, (I run Dapper) :).

[3rdalbum]

Yes it's rude to throw a present in the bin immediately, but isn't it also rude to give out things you got for free as Christmas presents? :-P

[xyz]

I've been thinking about this for a while now:

Is it "safe" to leave Cds laying around for anyone to grab?
Could this "nice action" turn against Ubuntu?

I'm saying this because I gave a CD to a buddy of mine warning him to just, for the time being, stick the CD in his CD-ROM to use it as a Live CD.

He does not know the first thing about GNU/LINUX so I told him DON'T INSTALL!!And he did!

He totally messed up his pre-installed Multimedia Windows; couldn't boot anything and then proceeded to call me pouring all his frustrations on me. I can't even report what he did exactly because he couln't explain what he did.

Needless to say he's blaming Ubuntu for it not having the guts to admit he messed it up. He does not want to hear about Linux again and this is not a HUGE loss.
I'm sure you got my point...leaving CDs around like at school,work...could turn out to be not such a good promotional idea?
What do you think?

[Stew2]

I've been thinking about this for a while now:

Is it "safe" to leave Cds laying around for anyone to grab?
Could this "nice action" turn against Ubuntu?

I'm saying this because I gave a CD to a buddy of mine warning him to just, for the time being, stick the CD in his CD-ROM to use it as a Live CD.

He does not know the first thing about GNU/LINUX so I told him DON'T INSTALL!!And he did!

He totally messed up his pre-installed Multimedia Windows; couldn't boot anything and then proceeded to call me pouring all his frustrations on me. I can't even report what he did exactly because he couln't explain what he did.

Needless to say he's blaming Ubuntu for it not having the guts to admit he messed it up. He does not want to hear about Linux again and this is not a HUGE loss.
I'm sure you got my point...leaving CDs around like at school,work...could turn out to be not such a good promotional idea?
What do you think?

I agree. I actually liked it better when they shipped 2 CD's, one live and one install. No chance of someone inadvertantly clicking on the install icon. I also believe that if someone doesn't actively "seek out" or request a new operating system that they are unlikely to be interested in anything different to what they are used to. My 2 cents :D

Regards,
Stew2

[Patrick K.]

Patrick K:

Don't forget FirefoxII: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/firefox (download the script it works).

...then this:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=279990&highlight=flash+firefox

I did it today and flash works for the first time ever, (I run Dapper) :).

No need, Automatix will update Firefox to 2.0.

I got an issue with it right now though. I'm trying to figure out why it wont load up. It's not showing a no signal from monitor but the bloody thing has a blank screen and wont even show the BIOS startup screen. Even with a different video card. I tried removing the battery and letting sit for a few hours to clear the CMOS but nothing seems to be working. I knew she said it wouldn't load Windows, I didn't know it would load at all... It powers up, drives make noise, Hard drive spins up and no video. I've checked the power supply and it's OK. Man I wish I knew what is wrong with it. I'm going to call up Computer warehouse and ask for another opinion on this. It's an odd one.






I've been thinking about this for a while now:

Is it "safe" to leave Cds laying around for anyone to grab?
Could this "nice action" turn against Ubuntu?

I'm saying this because I gave a CD to a buddy of mine warning him to just, for the time being, stick the CD in his CD-ROM to use it as a Live CD.

He does not know the first thing about GNU/LINUX so I told him DON'T INSTALL!!And he did!

He totally messed up his pre-installed Multimedia Windows; couldn't boot anything and then proceeded to call me pouring all his frustrations on me. I can't even report what he did exactly because he couln't explain what he did.

Needless to say he's blaming Ubuntu for it not having the guts to admit he messed it up. He does not want to hear about Linux again and this is not a HUGE loss.
I'm sure you got my point...leaving CDs around like at school,work...could turn out to be not such a good promotional idea?
What do you think?


I leave a sticky on them with a disclaimer that installing without proper research could result in loss of current data. "Back up any data you may deem sensitive/important before installing to make sure nothing is lost if you decided to revert back. If you need assistance installing without removing Windows contact 3082109896 for help."

[Stew2]

Hi Patrick, I was trying to repair an old P3 Netvista for a coworker this spring with a similiar problem and I believe it was a case of faulty capacitors as they were all bulged (sp?). Might want to give them a look if you have'nt already. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Stew2

[Bartender]

I found some old Dell GX2200's laying in a corner at work. The IT guy is an OSS fan. I put in a request to buy the PC's. If he'll sell them to me for cheap enuf, I want to install Ubuntu/Kubuntu, then invade the repositories, then loan the PC's out to co-workers who express an interest.
I figure nothing would work better than handing them a functional PC they can take home. See if it connects to their ISP, etc.

[lazyart]

It's a wonderful gesture, but about a year ago a friend of mine gave me a Ubuntu live CD. "It's better than Knoppix!" he said. Whoopee, I thought. I installed it on a box I threw together with spare parts. Kept it running for about a week. All I remember was that it was brown and I could remote to my windows box and VNC to it from my Windows Server. Then I removed it because I couldn't figure out what to do with it and lost interest.

I believe if you want to turn someone to Ubuntu, catch them when they're vulernable-- just after their Windows installation gets borked. Install and configure it for them, show them Synaptic and let them have at it.

You have to promise to put back Windows if they insist though.

[fuscia]

i put breezy on my desktop after having windows ME on it for six years (best thing microsoft ever did). mrs. fuscia uses the computer to do bills, read emails, buy too much furniture and see how badly we're doing in our fantasy football league. she couldn't care any less about any of the differences between windows and linux. she probably represents the norm. most people don't care what color their mailbox is, or if it has ants running around inside it, as long as they get their mail. you might have just as well have been passing out copies of the book of mormon.

[Patrick K.]

So far nobody has complained about it, actually I've got a thank you or two for showing it to them.

So far only 2 calls for help.

One was about games... I showed em loki installers and told em how to install. Quake 2 and Warzone 2100 for the wIN!!!

[paul cooke]

I was wondering what to do with the other 9 CDs I got with Dapper on now Edgy is out. My daughter solved that issue. She's doing a Diploma in IT at college and they had been playing around with Breezy live CDs in class, but they hadn't been able to copy them or take them home to install on their own machines. The rest of the class were highly chuffed when she turned up the next day with 9 "proper" dapper CDs. Apparently, the remainder of the class had been so impressed by Breezy, they had no qualms in installing Dapper duel-boot on their home machines.

[kvonb]

Patrick:


IBM NetVista

PIII
Comes with Windows ME and even still has it's cd key sticker on the side.



Upgrades (Hardware) That I've done.
Ram from 64 Mbs to 512 mbs (SD)
Hard drive from 20.4 Gbs, to 150.3 Gbs.

Is this the same machine that won't boot? You did try putting all the old stuff back in right? The memory would be the first thing to check, it might not support single sided pc133 chips, only double sided.

Also when you installed the hard disk you might have got the cable upside down/slightly off by 1 pin, check both ends of the HDD cable or remove it and see if it POSTs. Also is the HDD on the same cable as the CD/DVD drive? Some hard disk/CD combinations just don't work. Also 150gig is a huge leap in HDD spec, maybe the BIOS can't handle it, it is rather old.

Other silly things to look for are stuck in reset buttons/power on buttons.

Regards, Kev :)

[Patrick K.]

Patrick:


IBM NetVista

PIII
Comes with Windows ME and even still has it's cd key sticker on the side.



Upgrades (Hardware) That I've done.
Ram from 64 Mbs to 512 mbs (SD)
Hard drive from 20.4 Gbs, to 150.3 Gbs.

Is this the same machine that won't boot? You did try putting all the old stuff back in right? The memory would be the first thing to check, it might not support single sided pc133 chips, only double sided.

Also when you installed the hard disk you might have got the cable upside down/slightly off by 1 pin, check both ends of the HDD cable or remove it and see if it POSTs. Also is the HDD on the same cable as the CD/DVD drive? Some hard disk/CD combinations just don't work. Also 150gig is a huge leap in HDD spec, maybe the BIOS can't handle it, it is rather old.

Other silly things to look for are stuck in reset buttons/power on buttons.

Regards, Kev :)


I put the factory parts back in and still no go. I even unplugged everything and tried to get a Post Bios. no go.