Ideas for Getting the Word Out about Ubuntu

[herteljt]

Have an idea about how to spread the word? Know of a project that would be great for the loco team? This is the place to share it.

[herteljt]

Two Ideas I have right off the bat

1) An install fest (as discussed at our meeting)

2) Drafting a letter to the editor that we can send to newspapers.

[Fonon]

My idea is that all of a sudden, all across a particular country (USA for example) you would have a bunch of computer seminars, that have proof that Windows has to many insecurities than we should have to handle with. They will then proceed to show different Linux distros, explane the GNU public liscense, and then provide demo workstations to try out Linux. If they like it, they can pick up a free CD, and some instructions on installation.

[Ayuthia]

We could develop some kind of Ubuntu Wisconsin Tour where we work with our local LUG to do installs or spreading the word. We could design special tour shirts that advertise when and where we plan to do the installs. For other means of advertising, using the boards at libraries, grocery stores, etc. could be a cheap way of advertising.

I feel that the local LUGs would be helpful because they already have a location where they meet so we could borrow their facility to do installs or provide demos of Ubuntu.

[uberushaximus]

My idea is that all of a sudden, all across a particular country (USA for example) you would have a bunch of computer seminars, that have proof that Windows has to many insecurities than we should have to handle with. They will then proceed to show different Linux distros, explane the GNU public liscense, and then provide demo workstations to try out Linux. If they like it, they can pick up a free CD, and some instructions on installation.

I disagree with this, firstly, our loco is for wisconsin, not the USA. Secondly, I do not that to have a 'crusade' against windows. I'd like to rather not have a negative campaign, but that's just my feelings.

[Ayuthia]

I disagree with this, firstly, our loco is for wisconsin, not the USA. Secondly, I do not that to have a 'crusade' against windows. I'd like to rather not have a negative campaign, but that's just my feelings.

I think that you and Fonon bring up a good point. We want to spread the word, but the question is: What word do we want to spread? I like the idea of saying that Ubuntu is more secure but is that what brought you to Ubuntu?

One of things that I think should be spread is the fact that we can have the best of both worlds by dual booting. There are still a lot of gamers out there that would not convert over to Linux because of the lack of their favorite game being there. If they find out that they could still have Linux and still play their games on Windows, they might just try it out.

[Ek0nomik]

I think an InstallFest would be an excellent idea. If we were to have one, I think it should take place during the early Fall or Spring or Summer. I don't think we want anything scheduled during snow season as people won't want to drive.

I also think we need to get in contact with Wisconsin LUGs if we want to set up an InstallFest.

[ridgeland]

I thought this was a nice idea:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=443219
CD stands - pass out free copies.
Would need some help contact numbers for local support, a little help and encouragement can make a difference.
I don't know where and how to get copies. Home-burned and labeled copies would not go over very well.

[musiclvr66]

If you are looking to get copies of Ubuntu that look professional, you can get them for free from Canonical. Looks like you could only order a few at a time though:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/shipit-faq
https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Beyond getting just a few of them, there will be a charge of some sort to get CD's that look professional.

Where would be some good places to put them out so people can take one? Your local library comes to mind.

The CD's would also be nice for the Install Fest.

Dave.

[EXCiD3]

magnet signs for your car

[Ek0nomik]

magnet signs for your car

Indeed. Car decorations is a good idea.


If you are looking to get copies of Ubuntu that look professional, you can get them for free from Canonical. Looks like you could only order a few at a time though:

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/shipit-faq
https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Beyond getting just a few of them, there will be a charge of some sort to get CD's that look professional.

Where would be some good places to put them out so people can take one? Your local library comes to mind.

The CD's would also be nice for the Install Fest.

Dave.

Definitely. Getting CD's shipped would be a huge plus. Does anyone know how many CD's you can order for a "passing out" cause without having to pay any fees?

[squig]

What about something that demonstrates generosity, or aids an organization that has financial difficulties affording licenses for Windows or Mac? What if we donated older computers with Ubuntu installed to schools that are low in financial resources, or helped nonprofits move from Windows to Ubuntu? Obviously, we don't have tons of free computers sitting around to donate, but we might get some, with a few well-written ads on Craigslist... Nonprofits have their own machines... so it would not be an issue of getting machines, just finding out what their work processes are, and setting up an Ubuntu workstation for them to try...

These things would help people who might not actively seek out or use Linux, but who would really benefit from using it.

[TH3_D0ct0R]

Does anyone know how many CD's you can order for a "passing out" cause without having to pay any fees?

yesuh


You can make a special request for different quantities, but note this will take longer to process and may not be approved at all. We will consider special requests if you are a teacher giving CDs to your students, or if you are distributing CDs at a conference or other organized event.

it might no get approved but that is one way to do so
but they do seem kind of unwilling to send large amounts and if we did give disks away would we want to give 7.04 with its 115 dl's (the last time i installed it on a friends machine) or would this not happen until 7.10 was out?

Th3_D0ct0R

[ridgeland]

Squig,
I like that idea.
I salvaged an old PC (576MB no less) that was being thrown out, Blew away WinME installed Fedora 4 and set it up in our church's office. Trained the secretary on OpenOffice and it's been running for a couple of years now. Linux runs and runs. It was being thrown out because the owner's tech shop could not get it to stay alive with WinME.

I've been trying to get the local high school's community ed leader to let me teach classes in OpenOffice. She hasn't agreed yet. :(

I think some volunteer work with free CDs and an old PC running Linux that visitors can play on to see for them selves would be great.

A state wide push on one day could get good PR, but it will take months of ideas, planning, preparation, coordination to make it an event and not just some guy was peddling Linux at the library one day.

[herteljt]

Squig I completely agree. If we can use Ubuntu (or any other distro) to help out an organization or person I think it would really help the cause.

One thing I have done already is setup a two machines (one Ubuntu, the other Edubuntu) at a library where my wife works. They were given two old PC's by the school and had been running the software (which had not been removed) without concern for the lack a license. The two machines have become very popular with the kids who like to play the games. (Edubuntu has more games than Ubuntu and is apparently more popular).

So that brings up another idea that I sort of mentioned on a different thread, contacting libribries and offering to setup and maintain a Ubuntu machine. I think this would work best with smaller libraries, but larger libraries with full time tech support might also be interested.

[rowanrook]

Well, I think that university campuses would be an excellent starting point. Set up a table, do some demos, hand out some CDs, maybe some leaflets too. University students would probably benefit from the free software and support community if they knew about it. Plus, Ubuntu might appeal to the anti-establishment sentiments of the younger crowd. I am a student at UW-River Falls, and I would be interested in hosting such an event. However, I probably would need some help when it comes to answering technical questions or troubleshooting.
It seems to me that Ubuntu itself (as with any OS) is only part of the story. Perhaps the more significant aspect is to showcase the great software that goes with it, and show just how useful and easy to use it can be. For instance a lot of people don't have any idea what Firefox can do with its myriad of extensions. People have no idea that OpenOffice can do everything MS Office can do, for free. Most people would probably be more interested in what you can do with it rather than here is this cool free Linux OS. A lot of people don't even know what an OS is, yet they could definitely benefit from using the software.

[rowanrook]

Yes, giving new life to old computers is a good idea. Also, perhaps Ubuntu would be an interesting option for microbusiness entrepreneurs? People who have a business idea but not a lot of startup cash... has anyone already done research on this angle?

[ridgeland]

Hi RowanRook,
I'm north of Menomonie. If you get something going at UW-RF I would like to assist. I've been using Linux for 2 years, Ubuntu for less than a year. I keep learning but I could help with some simple stuff and give support.
Post a line in the thread "Location" - Tell the LoCo a bit about yourself. I see Jim Harris is in Hudson. There could be several folks around.

[MethodOne]

I would be able to give a demonstration on Ubuntu to people at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland (north of Sheboygan, south of Manitowoc). I already have the technical knowledge of Ubuntu, but I need help with the presentation. One of the IT instructors is already giving out Ubuntu CDs since I brought a box full of Breezy discs in her Linux class my second semester. Unfortunately, this is my last semester, in which I have three more classes before I graduate in December. I might do this some time after Gutsy is released.

There is one problem with presenting Ubuntu: how are we able to make people aware of the legal problems of playback of commercial DVD movies in Linux without discouraging them from using the distro or Linux in general?

[Ayuthia]

I don't know if there is an easy answer to the codecs issue. There key part is that you don't have to get rid of Windows. You can have both. Gaming is still quite popular on Windows and there is no reason why they can't still play it on Windows. But,if they can't afford to purchase MS Office, Photoshop, ... Ubuntu has a solution for them.

People don't have to give up on Windows, but once more people start using Linux, hopefully more development will be made to get more things available for Linux.

[lifewithryan]

I think that you and Fonon bring up a good point. We want to spread the word, but the question is: What word do we want to spread? I like the idea of saying that Ubuntu is more secure but is that what brought you to Ubuntu?

One of things that I think should be spread is the fact that we can have the best of both worlds by dual booting. There are still a lot of gamers out there that would not convert over to Linux because of the lack of their favorite game being there. If they find out that they could still have Linux and still play their games on Windows, they might just try it out.

I think I disagree as well, as much as I don't like Windows, we don't want to have any sort of negative "campaigning." Instead perhaps leverage how well we can integrate into the environment with other system etc. Certainly there's enough attention on Windows security that we don't need to add to it. Instead we need to negate the FUD that gets spread about Linux.

Aside from that, doing a security thing, you have to really be on top of your game in the security realm to pull this off. Security people will eat you alive if you have any holes in your demo's etc. Furthermore, yes Ubuntu is secure, but only until you start running services on a box, (apache, mysql, postgres...the list goes on). At that point your machine is only as secure as the admin. (Same can be said for Windows). Lets not confuse the fact that there are viruses all over for windows and a very VERY few for linux with a security issue...its related, but not the same.

Get the word out in a positive manner and accent Ubuntu's ease of use and flexibility.

Having said all that, I'd kinda like to do the guerrilla type stuff like putting bumper stickers on garbage cans downtown, or on public bulletin boards, etc...sort of an in your face thing, but then that kind of detracts from being the socially responsible folks we claim to be. (I'll shut up now)

[lifewithryan]

What about something that demonstrates generosity, or aids an organization that has financial difficulties affording licenses for Windows or Mac? What if we donated older computers with Ubuntu installed to schools that are low in financial resources, or helped nonprofits move from Windows to Ubuntu? Obviously, we don't have tons of free computers sitting around to donate, but we might get some, with a few well-written ads on Craigslist... Nonprofits have their own machines... so it would not be an issue of getting machines, just finding out what their work processes are, and setting up an Ubuntu workstation for them to try...

These things would help people who might not actively seek out or use Linux, but who would really benefit from using it.

Now *THAT* I like :) Find people to donate their old machines...we'd have to set a limit on just "how old" but not a bad idea...

[herteljt]

Here are a few more thoughts I have related to this issue.

First, another idea for outreach, I am going to be posting on my work's classified ads (a nice little venue if you have one available) to install Ubuntu for free on old systems. I plan on putting a few restrictions on what I'll do (minimum machine requirements, I will not be held responsible for lost data). My goal is to set people up with Ubuntu, Automatix, Swiftfox and maybe a few other pieces of software and some websites where they can find to start
the "linux experience". Isn't this something that each of us could do in our respective areas? Just talking with a few people, it is amazing how many machines are gathering dust because they are "too slow" to handle XP service pack whatever. I think this grassroots approach to getting the word out might be more effective (and manageable) for me since I will be able to set my own schedule and work on things when I have time (instead of on one specific day).

Benefits that I perceive and share with others (on a regular basis) about Linux
1) Many distros will run on older systems. Therefore, you do not have to throw that old PC away just because the lastest version of ____ needs _____.

2) If all you are going to use your computer for is checking email, surfing the web, listening to a few songs and writing a text document there are open source options available that work just as well (if not better) than things you want to buy

3) Linux is (in my opinion) more stable and will not crash as easily (of course, once you start monkeying with stuff you can get it to crash pretty easily)

Anyway, those are a few more thoughts that I have. Great discussion!

[rowanrook]

I thought this was a nice idea:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=443219
CD stands - pass out free copies.
Would need some help contact numbers for local support, a little help and encouragement can make a difference.
I don't know where and how to get copies. Home-burned and labeled copies would not go over very well.

There is a really easy way to install Ubuntu to dual boot with Windows XP, without using a CD. It is called Wubi (http://wubi-installer.org) and it worked for me when the live CD failed. Check it out! The only thing is, initially you have to choose "ubuntu" as the login name and password, but you can change that later. It really works and it is so easy. I think it is perfect for anyone who already has Windows and doesn't want to give it up completely.

[rowanrook]

Here are a few more thoughts I have related to this issue.

First, another idea for outreach, I am going to be posting on my work's classified ads (a nice little venue if you have one available) to install Ubuntu for free on old systems. I plan on putting a few restrictions on what I'll do (minimum machine requirements, I will not be held responsible for lost data). My goal is to set people up with Ubuntu, Automatix, Swiftfox and maybe a few other pieces of software and some websites where they can find to start
the "linux experience". Isn't this something that each of us could do in our respective areas? Just talking with a few people, it is amazing how many machines are gathering dust because they are "too slow" to handle XP service pack whatever. I think this grassroots approach to getting the word out might be more effective (and manageable) for me since I will be able to set my own schedule and work on things when I have time (instead of on one specific day).

Benefits that I perceive and share with others (on a regular basis) about Linux
1) Many distros will run on older systems. Therefore, you do not have to throw that old PC away just because the lastest version of ____ needs _____.

2) If all you are going to use your computer for is checking email, surfing the web, listening to a few songs and writing a text document there are open source options available that work just as well (if not better) than things you want to buy

3) Linux is (in my opinion) more stable and will not crash as easily (of course, once you start monkeying with stuff you can get it to crash pretty easily)

Anyway, those are a few more thoughts that I have. Great discussion!

One caveat regarding older systems: device drivers may be an iffy proposition. I still am searching for a way to enable my Dell AIO 942 printer and Targus Bluetooth mouse. You want to make it clear that some stuff may not work as expected...

[rowanrook]

Two Ideas I have right off the bat

1) An install fest (as discussed at our meeting)

2) Drafting a letter to the editor that we can send to newspapers.

There is one general issue which I see as problematic: device drivers. I rather dread the prospect of helping a bunch of people install Ubuntu only to discover that various device drivers are not available. With my system I have three devices (Dell AIO 942 printer, Targus Bluetooth mouse AMB01, Belkin Bluetooth adapter) which don't appear to have drivers.... rather a dealbreaker for the average user I would guess.

[herteljt]

One caveat regarding older systems: device drivers may be an iffy proposition. I still am searching for a way to enable my Dell AIO 942 printer and Targus Bluetooth mouse. You want to make it clear that some stuff may not work as expected....

Great point, I completely agree with you. I will want to make sure that everyone knows that things might not work out. I had a huge amount of trouble with my mother's wireless card (broadcom) and also her bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Still, I think the benefits of trying to setup people outweigh the risks of toasting some old windows 98, 2000, or ME system.

[brucewagner]

I'm not in Wisconsin, but I stumbled upon your thread....

I think a THREE PRONGED attack would be best...

ONE EVENT, on a regular basis (monthly?), which would offer three things:

(1) HANDS ON DEMOS to let me play with a working Ubuntu, Open Office, best of breed open source software, setup....

(2) INSTALL CLINIC where users could even bring in their entire machine and have experienced geeks install it for them on the spot! *

(3) AFTER INSTALL SUPPORT LINE manned by volunteers who are very proficient with Ubuntu.... (perhaps the least technical volunteers could answer the initial calls and escalate to the more technical guys only on an as-needed basis...) An awesome option to create a free Support Phone Line would be to set up a free local grandcentral.com number - which could be directed to one or more people's phones - at the same time or at different times - with complete flexibility, voicemail, etc. (If you want an invite to create a grandcentral.com number immediately, without the waiting period, let me know.)

If I had had known about a regular monthly clinic (event) like this, I would certainly have gone... Even if only to get my hands on a Ubuntu machine and try out all the apps before committing to install it on my own machine!

* PS -- Also "demonstrating" how to do a COMPLETE SYSTEM BACKUP with "verify" -- of their Windows system --- PRIOR to wiping it out and installing Ubuntu... would be very prudent... Just in case anything goes terribly wrong. Perhaps having them sign a release might not be a bad idea either..?

[sanjito]

I have noticed that alot of folks here are either College studnets or live in/near colloge towns. With that being the case, why not use the free public services, ie, local television, radio. In Madison we have WYOU. Basically you can sign up to have your own hour of TV time for your own program. Could do a live Linux install and show the apps tha come with it.