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Re: [LUG] Community - it's why we are all here.

 

On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:54:40 +0000
Jonathan Roberts <jonathan.roberts.uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I'll also keep in mind about asking about hardware problems on the list
> in the future but I think this problem wouldn't have been solved: my
> laptop's power connection had started to interrupt so it was pretty
> clear, at least I thought it was, that the problem lay with either the
> power cable or the connection to the system itself. Add to this that the
> laptop was still (just barely) in warranty so the repairs were all free.

1. No need for the repair people to have access to the hard drive.
2. No need to leave the secret key on such a hard drive.
3. There are several members adept in the use of soldering irons in
your area.
4. Non-email advice and assistance from any DCGLUG member is only
likely to involve your travel costs to a meeting point and a pint of
beer.

Who needs a warranty? Who do you think paid for the "free" warranty
originally? Yes, the same person who paid for the pre-installed OS -
the consumer.

> In actual fact the repair people replaced the motherboard on the
> laptop.

Typical OTT reaction. All that was needed was a few millimetres of
solder - Robin is probably a good tip for those kinds of things, he
fixed exactly this problem on my ageing laptop. No motherboard changes
involved. (None possible, the machine is too old!) :-)

(no secret keys compromised either - it was a clean install because all
Robin needed was to know the machine booted and continued to run.)

> If you do think people on the list could have helped please let me know
> so I have a better idea of what people are capable of helping with in
> future!

Almost anything.

:-)

I'm not kidding, we have electrical engineers, hardware specialists,
software developers, circuit board techies, sysadmins. We have members
with experience of handheld, laptop, desktop, networked and mainframe
computers. Members have a collective experience of at least two if not
three *dozen* computer languages from the common to the downright
obscure. From wireless to Cray, from arm to zope, bind to W3C. We have
members who are at the cutting edge of their field(s), we have members
who have retired or who are semi-retired and now have the time and
experience to give an objective view on trends and fads. We have
members practising their skills day-to-day to earn their living, we
have members who have spent their working life teaching and mentoring
others in a range of computer skills. We also have members (like myself
and Adrian for starters) who have professional lives outside the IT
sector. We have financial and business expertise, marketing and
presentation skills, enthusiastic new members and seasoned old hands.
We also have experience of political activity (lobbying) and several
members are in regular contact with organisations like the FFII -
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure - who are deeply
involved in the fight against software patents.

Take a browse in the Members Register sometime.

Don't forget to go outside the DCGLUG sometimes too - even if this
group doesn't have someone with specific knowledge, there is almost
certainly someone here who knows the right person to ask.

Each member of this list is often a member of a dozen, maybe several
dozen, other mailing lists within their specialist areas. I'm on
numerous Debian lists, Matt on various GNU lists etc. etc.

We all meet other specialists in the round whilst trying to fix our own
problems. Free software makes lots and lots of friends (and a pint or
two of beer always seems to help). People get used to sharing software
and are open to sharing their time and skills too. Free Software - Free
Society. (RMS).

This is one small section of the community - we are here to help and we
are linked to virtually every other part of the community through the
wonders of free software. Ask nicely and all manner of questions can be
answered.

Anything that is affected by or supported by free software is fair game
here. Anything that affects or supports free software is also fair
game. As likely as not, someone on the list either has direct
experience of the issue or knows the person or organisation to ask.

*THIS* is what Microsoft fail to understand, *THIS* is the strength of
free software. It was never about giving stuff away without charge or
merely making the source code available for others to read; it was and
is always about the community, it has always been and will continue to
be about making friends and helping others through sharing. Simple, but
incredibly powerful. Only a fool would not participate.

--


Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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