[Linux-aus] Fwd: [LACTTE] Notes for Council Meeting 2010/02/03

[Jon 'maddog' Hall]

> We need to somehow
> manage the fear of the parents that this may be something bad for the
> kid or the computer

In the early days of Linux (1994 or so) I took a copy of Red Hat to the
school library of my neighborhood school and carefully explained to the
librarian (verbally) what it was and how the students could put it on
their computers.  I even gave them a copy of "Running Linux".

I went back a year later to find both the book and the CD in the
reference section of the library, marked so it could not be taken out.

I asked "Why?" and the librarian told me that if the students could take
it home they would try to install it on their computers and that would
violate the license for the software.

So I told them about "free software" and how it was OK for multiple
computers to be installed off one CD.

"Oh well", they said, "No real harm, since the guy that bought in the CD
worked for Digital Equipment Corporation, and the students do not have
any VAX computers at home anyway."

It was an Intel-based CD.

>write a good flyer

Yes, please do. :-)

md