[Leaplist] Linux Advocasy: What they'll miss

[patrick]

> 
> Hmmmmmm .... that looks pretty nice, too, but a bit truncated, maybe incomplete 
> (they don't list the mbd I am using as I write this as supported, but I'm pretty 
> sure it would by under Ubuntu). The one I am referring to had several thousand 
> lines (dozens of screenfuls vertically) for things like chipsets & gfx cards, 
> *very* voluminous & (as of then) up to date, & probably very tedious to 
> maintain, which is probably why it disappeared ,,,,
> 
> -- 
> 
> 	William A. Mahaffey III
> 
>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 	"The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war
> 	 ever devised by man."
>                            -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 


Hundreds of computers pass through my hands each year, thousands since
1996, when I was starting to advocate solid, secure, competent systems
for the average user.

I have had to dump only three systems that I can recall, two that
actually had hardware problems with clock or keyboard/mouse IO, that
couldn't run Linux.

I flogged them good in searching for solutions, but, it all came down to
failed hardware.  The third was simply impossible to get running under
Linux because it used hardware that was anti-OSS/Linux/BSD.

Monday night, at Gift from God Computer Foundation, I was asked to check
on a P4 system that was going to be formatted NTFS for Win XP Pro.
Inserted and booted up GPartEd CDrom. The 60 GB drive appeared to have a
serious flaw, was formatted NTFS with a final 8MB wasted.


After a re-format to NTFS, and then a reboot with the XP CD it all
loaded correctly.  Linux saved a system! The loading of Microsoft onto
computers for GFGCF is because: (statements of managers)
 1.) there is a COA on the case,
 2.) the GFGCF Board hasn't been presented with a demo of an
installation for the two classes of systems they turn out, <700 MHz, and
>700MHz and
3.) a stand-up spokesman for Linux from a real outside authority (like
another 501(c)(x), as in LEAP-CF) hasn't been arranged, yet.  I'm
working the fish, and the bait was taken hard, but, it will soon be time
for some team work.

Now that I have been there for 5 meets, and am accepted as the 3rd
'prophet' to show and tell them of the greatness of Linux, heads are
starting to bob...

Three of the great, key, techs of the re-build team have built and
installed Linux distros over the past 2 months, and now are trying Mint,
Ubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu.

They have had some trouble getting wifi and the ethernet up on some
laptops, and also had quite a few questions that I have resolved,
answered, and even demonstrated on hardware.

Everyone is welcome on Monday and Wednesday evenings between 6 and 10PM.
Come scope it out!

It is at 160 N. Alafaya Trail (Hwy.434), a block South of the fire
department in Oviedo, 2 blocks South of Hwy 426 (Aloma Avenue).

Thanks to Gray for attending, and perhaps you have some input on the
potential recruitment?