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Re: [LUG] Promoting GNU/Linux through computer shop



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On Thursday 01 April 2004 5:22, John Bunt wrote:
1) Some kind of card with links to Linux sites and DCLUG.


How many sites? Perhaps a better idea is for everyone here to recommend sites 
for these categories:

1. Best Linux newbie site (problems, support)
2. Best descriptive site (what is Linux, why free etc.)
3. Best Linux related news site
4. Any competitors for www.google.co.uk/linux ?
5. Any other v.good Linux sites that are not already on the DCLUG website.

These can then be added to DCLUG so please add a few lines describing the 
site.

Then on the cards and posters etc., we could just publish DCLUG, google/linux 
and the site for whichever distro is chosen as a showcase.

2) Obtaining freebies, passing them on to customers.

2) Obtaining freebies, passing them on to customers.

We've already had offers of, admittedly old, distros, including boxed sets, 
books too. The poster already on the DCLUG site can be easily updated if 
there are things you'd like on it, Andrew.

Knoppix CD's (regularly updated) should be easy enough to arrange, especially 
if the shop has it's own internet access. I can easily envisage a box with a 
CD-R drive and a broadband connection burning CD's while-you-wait. Nominal 
charge. Simple Debian stable box with cron-apt. To get a fast enough 
burn-time, you'd need a decent throughput from a modern-ish PC so there'd be 
no need to use a non-GUI environment. That would leave the option of making 
the burn process HTML based for ease of use.


3) PCs running Linux at the shop.

So, do we go for a distro that is easy for the SHOP to maintain (Debian) 
or a distro that is easy for new users to install - as these would be 
pre-installed, I'd tend towards Debian. (No surprise there!)

Who does the installing?

How many of these things do they actually need and how quickly?

save your effort, it simply will not work, because 99.999% of low budget
computer buyers are totally clueless, except they know microsoft is the

That shouldn't stop a good promo. Look at Apple - a bit of clever marketing 
and the iMac became really popular.

<snip cynicism>

Buyer: "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"

GNU/Linux still needs to be promoted, no matter how pessimistic you may feel.

They acknowledged that they have had many customers enquiring about Linux.
Proof, if it is needed, that there are enquiries to answer.

I have some inkjet compatible business card templates that I used to use for 
my own business but they are obviously home-printed when finished and still 
have the perforation marks to prove it. Professional business cards can cost 
lots of dosh and start at large print runs of >1,000. However, there are 
people using them, Kai ? You had a personal one with your key fingerprint a 
while ago - was that easier to produce?

Phil? I've seen a few Debian developers with these cards - personalised rather 
than group - are these available via a Debian arrangement, some kind of 
university deal or individually (low run size)?

If anyone else has a good eye for artwork / design, send me an example - any 
Linux format will do.

- -- 

Neil Williams
=============
http://www.codehelp.co.uk/
http://www.dclug.org.uk/
http://www.isbn.org.uk/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/isbnsearch/

http://www.biglumber.com/x/web?qs=0x8801094A28BCB3E3
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