[GLLUG] GLLUG: Collaboration

[Charles Ulrich]

Nathan Hartley wrote:
> I have often wondered if Closing the Digital Gap needed any help, but
> have to many other responsibilities. 
> 
> I really love the concept, sort of the Habitat for Humanity for
> computers. They offer free training to low-income qualified candidates.
> At the end of the class the students receive a free computer (from
> donated parts, assembled by students in their A+ program) and one year
> of Internet access from ACD.net. 

I looked into this when I had first moved to Lansing. It is a great 
idea, but I talked with a couple people who were involved with CTDG and 
they said that some of the people in the group's chain of command were 
extremely hard to work with. Basically, it boiled down to the fact that 
you can either volunteer your time for hardware hacking (cannibalizing 
numerous old dusty half-broken 10 year-old machines to make one good 
one) or classroom training. Basically, the vibe I got was that they 
weren't interested in new ideas, even if the cost was low or would even 
save them money in the long run.

> I bet a free OS, maybe Ubuntu, would be a big hit with the right support
> behind it.

Indeed it would, but right now they're training their students on 
Microsoft operating systems and software and guess what gets preloaded 
on their systems? I don't know that I even blame them all that much. 
When you really think about it, a typical member of CTDG's target 
audience has maybe seen a computer and their lack of computer skills is 
part of what keeps (or will keep) them in the low-income bracket. 
Windows makes sense here because it is the lowest common denominator. 
Wherever these people go and have to interact with a computer, it will 
almost certainly be a Windows computer. Their friends and family will 
probably have Windows computers. When they call tech support, the person 
on the other end will only be able to support Windows.

I think that currently, the best way to promote Linux is to continue 
converting people. Show users of other operating systems the power, 
freedom, and cost-effectiveness of open source software. Especially now 
that some distributions are getting drop-dead simple to use. As geeks, 
we have an easier time relating to those who already know what they're 
doing on a computer and they are going to be the ones who understand 
what in the world we're talking about and why the heck we make such a 
big deal over whether our Intarweb icon is an "e" or a cartoon fox. The 
technically adept are also more likely to grab a box of live CDs and 
evangelize right next to us.

Sorry if this turned into a bit of an uncontrolled rant. Wasn't trying 
to make any specific point, it's just the way my brain's been operating 
lately, especially this time of night.

-- 
Charles Ulrich
Ideal Solution, LLC -- http://www.idealso.com