If you would like to have a speaker on zfs, that is my area of expertise. lk On 11/25/13 2:08 PM, John Frisk wrote: > Having helped out to run the Penguins Unbound group I like the ideas > Michael and Erik have proposed. Even though Penguins Unbound has had > InstallFests centered around Ubuntu, we just had our InstallFest in > November and there was Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. all tried out. I > believe there will always be a place for activities like that in which > one could say it falls in the eco-system of Linux. > Going forward there are several great ideas proposed for future topics > (ZFS, Puppet) for the group. These will not be Ubuntu or even Linux > specific per se but have ties the IT professional community in general > (and happen to run on Linux). > > I would support meeting in January to refocus the group. I think the > mailing list serves its purpose for a casual question/communication > vehicle but I am unaware if the TCLUG has met (other than to > occasional social event). > > I would even propose a straw man that really centers around the IT > professional community that has tracks (like a conference). > These tracks could include something like: applied languages (java, > ruby, php), operating system focus (android, BSD, et. all), > scripting/automation, etc. Each track could meet whenever it wanted > assuming some volunteer to manage said track. There are already > groups that have this focus and maybe they would (if they wished) > coordinate and/or run the track. In short, I'm proposing that while a > Linux User Group is definitely a piece of the fabric of the IT > community, the fabric is rich and should be flexible to the other > pieces of fabric to promote computing in general. The refocus could > help bring out the focus around Linux and what is needed by our > community in the Twin Cities. > > Count me in to be willing to assist. > > > > On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Michael Moore <stuporglue at gmail.com > <mailto:stuporglue at gmail.com>> wrote: > > There seemed to be a great deal of interest in desktop Linux > 10 to 15 years ago. Local Linux events were well attendend. > Apple was languishing and a lot of smart people were trying to > do what they could to avoid Microsoft's apparent monopoly of > everything. > > > 10 years ago you pretty much needed local Linux support because > you were going to have some sort of install problem. If you were > coming from Windows you might not have ISO burning software so > even getting a CD might be difficult. If you got past install, you > might need to compile a kernel to get support for some specific > piece of hardware. > > Users coming into Linux now are likely to discover it online, > discover support communities online and ask for help in > distro-specific forums instead of joining a local LUG. > > But these days? Look around. It would appear desktop Linux is > increasingly becoming more and more obscure as people move on > to their Macs, iPads, iPhones and Android devices. > > Who runs Linux on the desktop these days? A few Unix > graybeards (myself included) and some stubborn idealists. All > the cool kids have MacBook Pros. > > Ironically, in many ways, given the rise of the web and the > corresponding reduction in importance of the Windows based > application ecosystem, it's never been a better time to run > Linux on the desktop. We've got a few high quality web browers > and email clients at our disposal. PC hardware to run Linux on > has never been more affordable. And Linux installs in a breeze. > > > I think Linux use has become more mainstream, and users aren't and > don't have to be as vocal about it. I heard a discussion between > non-technical people at church a while back about the merits of > Mint vs. Ubuntu. Some of the people installing Linux today are the > ones who 10 years ago would've been called on to remove adware > from a relative's computer. > > 10 years ago, the local LUG (at least where I was) was also the > primary place to go to for other technical help like scripting, > web development, tech job hunts and other things that aren't > strictly Linux related. The LUG was simply the watering hole for > local tech savvy population. (REALLY Off topic material had to > have "OT" in the subject line). If you're going to get into > scripting today you might be better off joining a Python or Ruby > mailing list rather than one focused on Linux. > > If Linux and tech users are headed to distro/topic specific > support groups it does raise the question of what the purpose of a > local LUG is. If it's just to hang out online and handle the > occasional Linux related email, then the current state of the > mailing list probably mostly fine. If we want to have a more > defined purpose then Erik's proposed January meeting sound like an > important chance to refocus the group. > > -- > Michael Moore > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org <mailto:tclug-list at mn-linux.org> > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > > > > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mailman.mn-linux.org/pipermail/tclug-list/attachments/20131125/43c930bd/attachment-0001.html>