[Cialug] Installfest thought

[Kevin C. Smith]

On Sun, 2005-06-05 at 00:05 -0400, Kenneth Ristau wrote:
> Kevin C. Smith wrote:
>  >>From cialug.org front page:
> > 
> > Who are we?
> > A Group of Free *nix Enthusiasts that live in Central Iowa. 
> >  
> 
> OK, point taken. *wipes egg from face*
> 
> But to make a counterpoint, how many non-linux-kernel distros will we
> offer to install at the Install Fest?  *BSD, Minix, Solaris?
> Personally, I would not feel comfortable installing any of those, but
> other's in the group might.
> 
> Please don't take me wrong here.  I'm just playing Devil's Advocate in
> order to get our limits defined.  I agree that the FSF and Open Source
> Initiative are crucial elements of the Free *nix movement, but I want to
> suggest that we focus on what an Install Fest is all about -- installing
> Linux.
> 
> I agree it is a good idea to have a meeting of all Install Fest
> interested parties (at Taki's perhaps?).  This is starting to gain
> enough momentum to warrant an Install Fest Committee.
> 
> later,
> kristau

In the past I've offered to install FreeBSD as a option, but to be
honest no one ever took it up. And, now I haven't done a BSD install for
so long I would have some trouble.

Basically, I feel we should help install whatever they want; barring any
copyright issues. But, it is a Linux Installfest and that is the focus.
The presentation (how this all started) should also focus on Linux. It 
is difficult to understand Linux, without a historical perspective 
which includes Unix (BSD and friends), Free Software, and the recent 
Open Source "initiative".

I actually think we all basically agree. It's just a matter of how much 
do you hit the FSF perspective in an introductory presentation. 

I believe most people will just want their computers to work. So, they
aren't going to care if the Nvidia driver is not "Free" as long as 
they get good FPS while playing Quake3 (a non-free game).

-- 
Kevin C. Smith