Install fest

[Cliff]

Unfortunately not "everyone" has linux installed but, more importantly, 
there are a lot of curious people who don't care how it works.  They 
just want it to work and work well.  We can help them with a basic 
install so they don't have to worry about it.

IMO, redhat is probably the easiest to install since it is so well 
supported on campus.  Other distros can be brought in by anyone who 
wants to support helping install it.  The local redhat mirror can 
support at least 6 MB/sec (yes, MegaBytes)...gosh I miss playing with 
that gigabit fiber connection :(

Corey Satten ( http://staff.washington.edu/corey/tools.html ) wrote a 
small command line program to install the latest security patches 
mirrored on the UW site. It's small and fast and easy to use but doesn't 
(last I checked) update non-security related errata.

If we have a number of bootnet.img floppies and a number of install cd's 
(only need the first two for a "personal desktop" install) we should be 
able to support a large number of people.

Cliff

Charles F. Munat wrote:

> Evan Martin wrote:
>
>> Can someone explain to me the purpose of an install fest?
>> It seems to me everyone either:
>>  - has Linux(/whatever) already installed, or
>>  - ought to do it themselves so they can learn it better.
>>
>> So what's the point?
>>
>
> Well, first of all, I guess we'll find out. Maybe nobody signs up.
>
> Second, had this happened a year or two ago, I'd have been first in 
> line to sign up. My brother, who has finally gotten around to building 
> several Linux boxes, would have jumped at the chance, too. In fact, I 
> was pretty much dead in the water until someone from this club came 
> over one day and gave my understanding of Linux a jump start in return 
> for free pizza. Since then, things have gone a lot better.
>
> Linux is so poorly documented (not for lack of trying) that if you run 
> into even one little snag during installation, it could take you weeks 
> to figure out how to handle it. I, for one, don't have that much time. 
> I want to run Linux very much, but between school and running a 
> company, I need for it to install right the first time, and for it to 
> be very user friendly. Thus, after almost three years of trying to 
> switch to Linux, I am still using Windows for 80% or more of my work.
>
> Even if no one shows, just letting people know that there are many 
> Linux users on campus and that they (we?) want to help is worth the 
> effort.
>
> Chas. Munat
>
>