What's the best way to support Ubuntu monetarily?

[aysiu]

I don't have any money on hand to donate (not until my wife finishes school), but I'm sure there are some new users who probably would love to help this free OS out. I'm creating this thread to brainstorm some ideas to help these new (possibly financially well-off) users spend their money to help support Ubuntu.

1. Obviously, one way to do it is to just donate to Canonical (http://www.ubuntu.com/donations/document_view).

2. I would say donate to the forums, but according to the "about us" (http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php?page=about) page, "We are not accepting donations at this time as our reserve is full."

3. One of the reasons so many people offer command-line instructions to new users is that it's easier than describing a GUI interface, but another reason is that bandwidth is expensive. Is there some project in the works to do a lot of screenshots for the command-line-fearing newbies out there? If so, I would imagine donating to that project would be helpful.

4. I was also thinking, along the lines of bandwidth, that if there were some compact Ubuntu Guide (the Ubuntu Guide (http://www.ubuntuguide.org) is very comprehensive) type thing that could be a PDF that people could volunteer to host that (and the accompanying bandwidth). I've been thinking of creating a PDF like this myself once Breezy officially gets released. It would be like the Mepis guide (http://www.mepis.org/files/MEPIS%20User%20Guide.pdf) but for Ubuntu and a bit more comprehensive (somewhere between the Ubuntu Guide and the Mepis guide).

Any other ideas of what the best ways are to support Ubuntu monetarily (or otherwise, I guess)?

P.S. This thread was inspired by some of the later posts in this thread (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=58862&page=2)

[aysiu]

23 views so far and no comments.
Do people think these ideas are dumb? Good but nothing to add?

Would it be worth me creating a PDF for Ubuntu like the Mepis one? Would anyone be willing to host it on a mirror site?

[urbandryad]

help distribute burnt CD's? :3 I don't want to wait forever for Breezy when the stable version is released, but the website 'shipit' is the only way I can get it at the moment. >(

[bob_c_b]

1. I have considered this myself, not out of the question.

2. Same conclusion.

3. Not a bad idea, but I also think we shouldn't promote fear of the command line. Because of all the "Click OK" stuff we have created an uncalled for fear on the CLI.

4. I am in the process of moving, but once I get settled in and get my server back up I would gladly host a mirror.

I have been having similair thoughts, good post. Also, I do a lot of technical writing at work, I would be willing to help with the guide if you need it.

[agger]

23 views so far and no comments.
Do people think these ideas are dumb? Good but nothing to add?
Would it be worth me creating a PDF for Ubuntu like the Mepis one? Would anyone be willing to host it on a mirror site?

I think a PDF like the Ubuntu guide, but ready to print out and keep as reference would be a great thing. I'd definitely host it.

As for donating, I still find it difficult to understand what is what in the entire Ubuntu project, and the distinction between the Ubuntu project and Canonical's business goals. To put it in another way, I understand the value of doing work or of hosting documents, etc.

But if I am to donate money I must first understand why that money is needed, and I'm not sure I understand why a private company like Canonical need mine.

Maybe creating a business around Ubuntu and contributing whatever development you have to make to make things work back upstream would be the best way?

[aysiu]

3. Not a bad idea, but I also think we shouldn't promote fear of the command line. Because of all the "Click OK" stuff we have created an uncalled for fear on the CLI. No, I totally agree we shouldn't promote fear of the command-line, which is why I started the thread Why I think the command-line is user-friendly (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=59334), but we should have multiple resources. If there's one thing I've learned as a teacher of five years, it's that people have different learning styles, and one style isn't going to fit everyone. For me, the command-line is great because I can just copy and paste stuff. For someone else, a few screenshots wouldn't hurt.

This installation guide (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Installation/I386) is clearly lacking, when compared to this (http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/). It's not all because of a lack of screenshots, but I think that's partially to blame.



I have been having similair thoughts, good post. Also, I do a lot of technical writing at work, I would be willing to help with the guide if you need it. Same here. My job requires me to create a lot of documentation and such, so I'm used to it. I'm waiting for Breezy to be officially released first, though, so that the guide would be good for at least six months.

[aysiu]

I think a PDF like the Ubuntu guide, but ready to print out and keep as reference would be a great thing. I'd definitely host it.
I may call you on that in a month or so. My plan is to draft up something and post it on my own website for some Ubuntu forums folk to review and send me corrections or possible additions--I'd like to keep as much tight control on it as possible, though, lest it end up the mess that the wiki is, but I would also want to make sure I'm not leaving gaping holes in the documentation or misinforming newbies.

[poofyhairguy]

Any other ideas of what the best ways are to support Ubuntu monetarily

Kinda. If you run a server in a nation where US patent laws and such don't apply (such as France) then it would be a big help if someone would set up a new Ubuntu repo. with things like windows media codecs and java.

[joelito]

As soon as I can buy blank CDs I'll give Breezy CDs to friends and classmates to try it out.

The I don't think a site with screenshots should take that much space/bandwidth. Maybe i'll try to design one such site and then find a place to host it.

[papangul]

There should be an option to pay for the shipit services, or there should be another shipit like system where people can pay and get the CD's delivered within a few days, like linuxcd.org.

Regarding donation, where should one donate, Canonical or Ubuntu Foundation?

[aysiu]

The I don't think a site with screenshots should take that much space/bandwidth. Well, it depends on how many people visit it. If you get 1,000,000 users worldwide accessing your site, you'd be surprised how quickly your bandwidth will get eaten up!



Maybe i'll try to design one such site and then find a place to host it. Go for it!

[aysiu]

There should be an option to pay for the shipit services, or there should be another shipit like system where people can pay and get the CD's delivered within a few days, like linuxcd.org. What's wrong with just plain old linuxcd.org? I noticed they have Ubuntu.

[poofyhairguy]

Regarding donation, where should one donate, Canonical or Ubuntu Foundation?

The foundation. Then its a tax write off

[professor_chaos]

send checks to professor_chaos at 10110 Pine Brook Minnesota 40211 ;)

[aysiu]

So now that Breezy's out, I really want to create this PDF. It's basically going to follow my path to installing Ubuntu, which will target a very specific audience (though, I think this is a significant demographic, from what I've read in the forums):

People with a Windows XP (or other NTFS Windows) taking up the whole drive who want to repartition and dual boot with Ubuntu.

So, I've backed up all my data. My plan is to wipe my entire hard drive clean, reinstall Windows to take up the whole disk, use the Ubuntu installer to repartition and install Grub to the MBR.

My hope, though, is to put in some good screenshots. So far, using Qemu, I've been able to get good screenshots for the first few parts of the installation process (starting up, selecting languages, the name of the computer, etc.). Once I get to partitioning, though, it gets a little stuck (the only option available is "manually edit the partition table," and when I select it, it doesn't really let me edit anything) because it would be trying to install on a computer that's already in use (after all, Qemu is just simulating booting the CD, not really booting it).

So does anyone know how I get good screenshots of the install process from the partitioning on? I tried taking pictures with a digital camera, but it always comes out looking like crap.

[marketing_ubuntu]

Well, if you want to 'give something back'... ;)

[gflores]

Well, I have this bookmarked. However, the partition images seem complicated or old. I don't know if it'll help.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/

[aysiu]

Well, I have this bookmarked. However, the partition images seem complicated or old. I don't know if it'll help.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/ I have that bookmarked as well, and I'm pretty sure the partition shots are old; though, I think they're close to the real thing.

Edit: Actually, I looked at that link again, and I think it's pretty damn good. I'm wondering if there really is a way to improve on that. Hm. What should be in a guide? I guess I should think this through before I start creating one.

[Goober]

I remember reading somewhere about an option to buy Tshirts and stuff to support Ubuntu, is that not still going on? I guess donating $$ is the best option . . . provided you have that $$ to donate.

Personally, what I think Ubuntu needs is one fairly obvious location with a complete list of HOWTOs, FAQs, and the like, to answer many of the questions that new users ask that come up time and again. I know that people can search for answers, but, well sometimes that just doesn't work. This might not be monetary, but its more to help new users.

By the way, I prefer using the terminal to Synpatic. Call me a skeptic, but using the Terminal seems so much less Windows-ish, and therefore better. I kinda like the fact that the Starter Guide was/is only for the Terminal.

[aysiu]

Personally, what I think Ubuntu needs is one fairly obvious location with a complete list of HOWTOs, FAQs, and the like, to answer many of the questions that new users ask that come up time and again. I know that people can search for answers, but, well sometimes that just doesn't work. This might not be monetary, but its more to help new users. Maybe that's what we need. Yeah. I'm realizing as I look at all my bookmarks that we have so much good documentation on everything, but there's so much stuff out there, it's hard to keep it all organized. We've got the Wiki, the Ubuntu Guide, random walkthroughs like the hermanzone dual boot, various HowTo threads in the Ubuntu forums... I don't know what the solution is.



By the way, I prefer using the terminal to Synpatic. Call me a skeptic, but using the Terminal seems so much less Windows-ish, and therefore better. I kinda like the fact that the Starter Guide was/is only for the Terminal. I like the terminal, too. I use it to do upgrades (I love seeing the scrolling text) and to do installs if I know the exact package name. Otherwise, for browsing around, I prefer Synaptic.

[ssam]

a quick aside. if a user asks how to install something and you give them a cryptic command (it is cryptic unless you explain it very well), then they are dependent on your cryptic commands. this is bad

* they will need help again everytime they want to install something new
* they might try an cryptic command anyone gives them
* they dont feel they know how linux works

if you tell them to open add application, find the program, and click install, or how to use synaptic, or just point them to the very good synaptic tutorial that i have never seen. then they can be self sufficient, they can browser for stuff. the next time they want to install something they might just try and do it them selves.

now this is currently not possible if they need to add something to the fstab or something there is no gui for, but you can at the very least get them to use "sudo gedit /etc/fstab"

now for the actual question

how about a bount for a gui fstab control panel. or a bounty for good intergration of wifi drivers such as linux-wlan-ng or ralink (both have open source drives which are difficult to install, or require commandline configuring). or faster boot.

google summer of code showed that bounties can get good work done.

[Goober]

Maybe that's what we need. Yeah. I'm realizing as I look at all my bookmarks that we have so much good documentation on everything, but there's so much stuff out there, it's hard to keep it all organized. We've got the Wiki, the Ubuntu Guide, random walkthroughs like the hermanzone dual boot, various HowTo threads in the Ubuntu forums... I don't know what the solution is.


Well, you need to look through the eyes of a newbie to see where it would fit best. I think that when someone first creates their account, this would come up, and would have links to threads such as "Is Ubuntu for you?" and "Linux is NOT WIndows", as well as how to install, where to get help best, etc. And of course links to HOWTOs, the Starter Guide, and lots of pretty Screenies.

I don't really know much about how Forums work, but at the top sounds like the most logical, perhaps where that Yellow Announcement is announcing Breezy's release. Or perhaps even at the very top, with the "Home, Gallery, Link Directory" etc. But the solution, I feel, is just linking all these help sites into one page, making it wasy as possible for novice Ubuntu users.

[aysiu]

a quick aside. if a user asks how to install something and you give them a cryptic command (it is cryptic unless you explain it very well), then they are dependent on your cryptic commands. this is bad

* they will need help again everytime they want to install something new
* they might try an cryptic command anyone gives them
* they dont feel they know how linux works I don't know. When I was new to Ubuntu the Ubuntu Guide saved my life. In the beginning I didn't really care what the cryptic commands meant--I just needed to know what they were. After I got my partitions mounted, the extra repositories added, and my screen resolution optimal, I explored a bit more to find out what all these things mean. I feel that lazy people who don't want to learn will tend to find ways to avoid learning, no matter what you do.



if you tell them to open add application, find the program, and click install, or how to use synaptic, or just point them to the very good synaptic tutorial that i have never seen. then they can be self sufficient, they can browser for stuff. the next time they want to install something they might just try and do it them selves. See the second link in my sig. Unfortunately, screenshots eat up a lot of bandwidth (images add up--text does not). It also takes a lot more work to explain Synaptic than it does to just say type sudo apt-get install whatever.



now this is currently not possible if they need to add something to the fstab or something there is no gui for, but you can at the very least get them to use "sudo gedit /etc/fstab"

now for the actual question

how about a bount for a gui fstab control panel. or a bounty for good intergration of wifi drivers such as linux-wlan-ng or ralink (both have open source drives which are difficult to install, or require commandline configuring). or faster boot.

google summer of code showed that bounties can get good work done. To tell the truth, I don't really understand why this is an issue. I know for a fact that Mepis automounts partitions from the very beginning, with no /etc/fstab tweaking (GUI or CLI). You just click on the partition and it mounts.


Well, you need to look through the eyes of a newbie to see where it would fit best. I think that when someone first creates their account, this would come up, and would have links to threads such as "Is Ubuntu for you?" and "Linux is NOT WIndows", as well as how to install, where to get help best, etc. And of course links to HOWTOs, the Starter Guide, and lots of pretty Screenies. That may be good for newbies who are completely new to Linux in general, but just because someone signs up for the forums, it doesn't that person's a newbie (either to Linux or to Ubuntu). Also, too many links can be overwhelming for someone totally new. I try to recommend links based on where the newbie is. If someone is totally new to the world of Linux, I usually point her to http://www.psychocats.net/essays/linuxguide.php. If someone is familiar with Linux but not Ubuntu, I usually point her to http://www.ubuntuguide.org. It really all depends.



I don't really know much about how Forums work, but at the top sounds like the most logical, perhaps where that Yellow Announcement is announcing Breezy's release. Or perhaps even at the very top, with the "Home, Gallery, Link Directory" etc. But the solution, I feel, is just linking all these help sites into one page, making it wasy as possible for novice Ubuntu users. We have stickies, but too many stickies clutter up the forums. And... well, unfortunately, people don't read stickies as much as they should. To be perfectly honest, I almost never read stickies--they're background noise to me.

[Goober]

Well, I'm just the opposite. I like nothing better then a nice big long list of HOWTOs and the like, which is why I really really like the Starter Guide.

When I first got Warty working, and found this Forum, the first thing I looked for was some kind of central location for how to use this new OS. Of course, I did figure things out, with the Wiki, the Starter Guide, and Searching, but it would have been easier for me at least if there was one central location with all the info that I needed. But maybe this is just me.