My netbook connected via Synergy to another laptop.

Anyhow, I think that this boils down to people not doing their homework. For sellers, or those who bundle netbooks with their services (like telcos), they should research on their offerings before they do the marketing so that they will not make messages that could lead their customers to confusion. It matters what they say in their marketing copy before anything else. Sometimes catchphrases and slogans are culprits in giving customers the wrong impression. I hope that those who are selling netbooks will learn how to NOT give false expectations. Especially because Linux on netbooks is not what users know about all the time. If they don’t want high return rates, then they should do their homework first. If they know that they might have to add trained customer service representatives who will be called for help, then they should make a way. Just because it’s a netbook with Linux shouldn’t make their customers that it is an inferior product.

As for those who are enticed by offers of bundled netbooks with their telco or something, they should do their research first. I personally use a netbook for work. But that’s because I know that I can use Ubuntu Netbook Remix on it and be happy. And even before that I asked around. My co-workers who are more knowledgeable about these matters did agree that with what they know about my work, they knew that the specs of the netbook I chose will work for me. A netbook is a tool after all and it’s up to me to see if it’s something I could work with or not. And this is something I could do even before buying it. I also know people who’ve bought netbooks for the convenience of travelling with a lightweight machine and still have the means to check their email and surf the internet.

So think things over before buying a Linux-powered netbook or before you decide to sell them. It’s better that way.

Post from: New Linux User

I met Sacha through blogging. Technically we knew each other from high school but we mainly connected when I started learning about Linux 5 years ago. She’s one of the most encouraging people I’ve met and she even helped me throughout the time that I was panicking when I got a kernel panic message. She is also an Emacs and Drupal geek and her blog’s really a great resource on those topics, as well as how to have a well-balanced life.

Anyhow, her slideshow talks about how to be the shy connector. After all, not everyone is an extrovert. And when you happen to be an introvert things could be difficult when it comes to advocating Linux or even teaching someone about it. It won’t come as easy as you would like it to.

The point is that you can bring something in the conversation. Especially because you are interested and/or passionate about something such as Linux. Come to think of it, I’ve met people through blogging and Linux but I am essentially an introvert myself. There are times when I go to events and I realize I am so not a people person. But when I find someone or a small group of people to talk with, it gets easier for me. And it also gets easier for me get people together, because I know who have similar interests. You can’t just let yourself be alone all the time. I suppose that there are days that you can’t help but want the quiet times. Interactions with other people let us grow as we help others too.

With this, I hope that you will and have learned something about being a shy connector. And I hope that it has given you a new perspective when it comes to teaching and advocating Linux and open source software.

Post from: New Linux User

Anyhow, Juliet Kemp sounds like an awesome geek for doing this. Taking the time to travel and just see the world. Of course there had to concessions for things like what computer to bring, how to keep earning a living, etc. The author of the article also cited how to maintain being online while on the go since it was a ten-month long travel. Aside from that the author was connecting to servers on the other side of the planet using an Asus EEEPC. Which was something quite interesting. The only way to access them is from the little Asus EEEPC machine and varying internet speeds.

This is really an inspiring article for Linux geeks who might have been thinking of how to go around and travel. It’s not always easy to leave work behind because of fears that there might be issues that would come up and you won’t be there to fix it. But really, having access to servers via your terminal and having all sorts of neat tools are quite helpful. This article makes me think that sys ads could indeed consider working from home too even if they’re mostly maintaining servers and not helping people on their desktop machines.

After reading this article, I could say that Linux geeks could have fun too. There are ways and this particular Linux geek showed us how.

Post from: New Linux User

How does one prepare for a talk on Linux? There are so many things you could say about Linux. Let’s see what could be some things to consider.

• Know what the audience will be expecting. They will most likely want a specific topic so it’s better if you need to have an idea as to what they want to know. In a lot of schools or seminars, they usually would ask you to prepare for something. But if it’s a general talk about things, you could ask for their theme. You could find some ways to relate Linux with their theme.
• Who are the ones to listen to you? Are they totally clueless or they already have some idea about Linux? How fuzzy is their idea of Linux? Having an idea of what they know could help you figure out how to relate with them during your talk. Developing rapport with the audience is an important thing to do. Sometimes people are shy and they do not always express themselves so it’s also good to prepare by remembering your own experiences and your friend’s experiences with Linux so you could establish common ground with them.
• Have a quick show and tell presentation. If your talk is too long they will get bored. And with technology it’s generally easier for people to follow if it’s a show and tell kind of thing. It will make technology something that they could relate with. This is especially nifty for those who will give an introduction to a particular technology. If you will demonstrate what you could do with specific applications, you should probably prepare a quick demo by making a short list of the common tasks that could be achieved with the application and then certain special features. It’s good if you could make the presentation fun and lively.

These are just some things you could do when preparing for a talk.

Post from: New Linux User

Sometimes my co-workers joke around about how they will raise their children. They joke that they will teach them how to program even when they’re just babies. Sometimes they say that they will teach them how to fight against boys (if they have female children) so that they will not get boyfriends right away. (Haha. I think that this could actually backfire. But, as one of them said, at least she’d grow up knowing how to defend herself against jerks.)

But I like it more when they say that they’d teach their children about Linux, aside from Windows and Mac OSX, etc. I like it that they want their children to be more well-rounded in terms of their perspectives. They want their children to grow up not limiting themselves to only a specific technology and that’s something inspiring. It’s not just a matter of growing up with a good set of values but a healthy appreciation of technology we are exposed to. Hopefully they will also have this attitude towards other technologies that are not necessarily related to computers.

I heard that one of my co-workers plans to take a picture of his daughter with a penguin plushie. I wonder how he’d introduce her to Linux and programming when she’s older. I’m pretty sure it will be very interesting.

Post from: New Linux User

Tux, the mascot, with hearts! (heart brushes from free-brushes.com)

I even told my boyfriend about it and he seemed interested in writing about it too. He had a smile on his face when I showed him the article. Must be because he was reminiscing along with the people who have shared their first encounter with Linux and how they fell in love.

Linux has a different appeal to each of us. Some people love how they could configure it so much to the point that they would really spend a lot of time doing just that and if they’re really that obssessive, the possibility of them doing more tweaks simply excites them. Haha. But it’s true! Some people could get really enthralled that way. Others would say that they love < name of feature > of Linux. And others like me would probably have had it like this:

First encounter with Linux: Scared out of my wits. Why? Because it was so foreign and strange. Just like the new boy in school, probably. I think it was Linux with the command line interface so I had no idea what to do.
Second encounter with Linux: Another look, another chance. Linux looked better because of the graphical user interface. I think GNOME and KDE were still young at that point but it was enough for me to be more brave and, well, ‘talk’ with Linux. (This was after my encounter with BSD though. So that might have made me more receptive.) Mandrake showed me that I don’t have to be online all the time to get new applications. For someone with no internet access at home, those 4 discs made a huge difference.
Third encounter with Linux: I would think it was like a dating stage of sorts. At home, Linux was installed on our computer but at work, I was using a Windows computer. Every week, there’d be nights dedicated to checking out stuff in Linux — how to do certain tasks, etc. It became really interesting and from then on, I decided to go ’steady’ with Linux. In a manner of speaking that is. Not all my co-workers understand it but it works for me. So that’s perfectly fine.

Now that I’ve written about that, I feel it’s kind of weird using the dating analogy but for everyone who has used a computer and an operating system for quite a while now, it sort of makes sense. How about you? Ever felt the same?

Post from: New Linux User

Even if people are not comfortable with the idea, Linux is beginning to become more mainstream than we imagine. The production of machines such as the Asus EEE, Dell’s selling of Ubuntu-powered machines, Acer’s computers running on Linpus and now we have HP with small notebooks which run Linux — these have all helped in making it more known to the general public. However, there are still some challenges when it comes to Linux adoption:

• Mindset. – Geeks must understand that other people are beginning to use Linux as well. And the new users who probably don’t consider themselves as geeks must not feel terrified of asking the geeks. Sometimes mailing lists and forums would have so many newbie questions and there are those who hate reading such mail or questions but it’s part of the growing number of uses and converts to Linux.
• Advertising/Campaigns – It’s not enough to let people know about Tux and give an idea of the culture behind Linux. There should be more campaigns or ads that would show users why it is useful or why they really should use Linux instead of other operating systems.
• Support. – For manufacturers who are selling laptops with Linux pre-installed they have to be sure that their tech support representatives are skilled enough and know where to look in case that there are tricky issues that the users are encountering.

In your experience, how would it be better for users now that that Linux is more mainstream?

Post from: New Linux User