Interest in the group seems to be stirring again. Things are still pretty listless and lifeless, but a couple of ideas have been put forth. We have a large, comfortable meeting space we could host meetings in, and even provide food and other diversions since it’s at our home, just outside Mount Vernon. We realize this may not be convenient for a lot of people who have to come from the Springfield area, but we’re looking into it as a possibility. There are several people we know who would attend from the Mount Vernon area, and this may open up options for people who live in places like Monett, Cassville, Neosho and Joplin to join in as well.

It’s also been suggested in a previous post comment that we try and create a special interest group based in our own former membership and the membership of the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club, SMARC. This would put the meetings in downtown Springfield, which may be better for some people who would like to attend. It works fine for me as well, since I am also a ham radio operator, but the Monday SMARC meeting time definitely does not work, as Cheryl and I are rarely if ever in the Springfield area on Monday nights.

So that’s where we are at the moment. I’d love to hear comments from anyone about these options or any other options you may have. I would like to see meetings restarted and if we can get at least 10 or so regulars to build a membership foundation on, I’d say we’re in good shape to continue.

Due to lack of interest in Springfield-area Linux and Open Source users groups, OOSUG and/or LUG:ng will no longer be holding meetings. We would like to see meetings resume in the future if there is a significant increase in interest and participation.

Regretfully,
OOSUG

For those interested, the June 9th meeting will be held at The Library Station (located at 2535 North Kansas Expressway, Springfield, MO), in the Santa Fe Room, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm and the topic will cover digital photography in Linux.

The July 14th meeting will also be held at The Library Station in the Santa Fe Room, from 1:30 to 4:30, and the topic will cover “Virtualization: Failure-Proof computing”

Please watch this area for updates to these meetings!

For those interested, the May 12th meeting will be held at The Library Station (located at 2535 North Kansas Expressway, Springfield, MO), in the Santa Fe Room, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm and the topic will be on XGL and Beryl 3-D Desktop Environments.

For those that aren’t familiar with Beryl, it is a combined window manager and composite manager written in C using OpenGL to provide acceleration. It is designed to be highly flexible, extensible, and portable, all the while keeping in mind that the users know how they want their desktops to act better than we do. With Beryl the rather esoteric concept of the computer desktop is brought down to a more human level, allowing for a more native and intuitive understanding of your workspace. In other words, it’s great eye candy for your machine! For more information, visit: http://beryl-project.org/

After the meeting ends, we will head to Lambert’s Cafe in Ozark for dinner. All are welcome to join us (including your significant other!)… so make plans to attend!

On April 14th, from 1:30 to 4:30 we will be hosting an Install Fest at The Library Station (in the Santa Fe room), which is located at 2535 North Kansas Expressway, Springfield, Missouri 65803-1184

What is an Install Fest?
An Install Fest is a group of people getting together to install software. At an Install Fest, we’ll be helping you install Linux on your personal computer. Even if you’re not ready to install Linux on your system, you can just drop by to find out more about Linux in general and see it in action. Or you can bring in your already-installed Linux system and have us set up some software on it.

What is Linux?
Linux is an alternative operating system to Windows. Linux is fast, stable, secure, and reliable. Linux has a huge array of graphical applications available, including games, word processors, mp3 players, spreadsheets, image editors, and web browsers. Linux also has a great selection of server software, including web servers, database systems, scripting languages, and remote administration tools.

Linux almost never crashes. Many Linux machines run without rebooting for weeks or months at a time. And as if that weren’t enough, Linux is free, with an estimated 20 million users worldwide. Attending an Install Fest is completely free. The software is free, too.

Why are we hosting an Install Fest?
Linux is a great operating system, and we think it’s a shame that so many people use poorly-written software instead. Every time your computer crashes when you’re in the middle of typing a document or playing a game, just think: That could have been prevented if you had been running Linux. We simply want to see the widespread use of better software. It makes life easier for all of us.

Additionally, Linux is about freedom. You are not only free to share copies of Linux with whomever you want, you also have the freedom to view, modify, and redistribute the Linux source code itself. In other words, you’re not at the mercy of some company to make the software you’re using how you want it. We’d like to see the widespread use of software that gives people the freedom to do whatever they want.

Can I install Linux and keep Windows too?
Sure. We can easily set up your computer so that a choice appears when you start up, allowing you to boot either Windows or Linux. Both can reside peacefully on a single hard drive.

Will this cause problems with my computer?
When installing any software, there is always a chance that something will go wrong. However, we have personally installed Linux on dozens of systems, and not once has it screwed up the computer or messed up the Windows installation. At the Install Fest, we’ll take all the usual precautions to make sure everything goes smoothly.

What if I decide later that I want to delete Linux?
Deleting Linux is very easy. We can tell you how to restore your system to exactly how it was before Linux was installed, if you so desire.

Will Linux work on my computer?
Linux supports all kinds of different hardware. However, there is some hardware out there that Linux does not work with. If you do not know how to determine what type of hardware you have, that’s fine. Just bring in your machine to the Install Fest or send us an email, and we can figure out whether Linux will work on it.
For a minimal Linux installation, you should have at least 3000 megabytes of free hard disk space. The more space that’s free, the more you can install.

What should I do ahead of time to prepare for the Install Fest?

Hardware checklist: Click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, then choose the System icon, then click on the Device Manager tab. Write down all the hardware devices you have (brands and models) and their respective settings (IRQ numbers, etc.) Be sure to include:

• Ethernet card (Brand, model, settings)
• Video Card (Brand, model, settings, RAM)
• Sound Card (Brand, model, settings)
• CPU
• RAM
• Modem
• Hard Drive Space (must be at least 1 GB)
• SCSI components

Backup your files: Just as a precaution, you should backup any important files ahead of time.

Make room: Make sure you have at least 3000 or so megabytes free on your hard drive if you want a complete install of Linux. Six gigabytes of free space is probably enough for a full-fledged install with some room to grow. If you don’t know how, we can do this for you at the Install Fest.

Defragment: If you know how to make a separate partition for Linux on your own, do so and skip this step. Otherwise, right before you shutdown your computer and bring it in, you should defragment your hard drive. If you do not know how to do this or do not want to do it on your own, we can defragment for you at the Install Fest. It just makes the install process quicker if you can have this done ahead of time. People who arrive having already defragmented their drive will be first to be installed upon.

To defragment in Windows, first exit or disable all programs. This includes ICQ, AOL instant messenger, Netscape, a virus checker, or anything else that you may have running. Next, click on the Start button, go to Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, then click on Disk Defragmenter. Click “OK”, and then when prompted, click on the “Start” button that pops up in a window.

• your computer’s case that contains the processor
• your keyboard, mouse, power cords, power strip, network cable, and anything else you need to make your computer run
• your monitor. we won’t have any spare monitors, unfortunately. Bring your monitor manual if available, as well.
• all the manuals and documentation you have for your computer and its hardware
• a hardware checklist for your computer (optional)
• network hubs, if you have any (optional)
• any Linux CDs that you might have (optional). Please email the address below with any requests for specific distributions.

How will you install Linux on my system?

We’ll install Linux either via a CDROM drive or over the network. We’ll walk you through the install or do the install for you, depending on your level of expertise.

Please visit our website at http://www.oosug.org or email info@oosug.org for more information!

This coming Saturday, the ICON Users Group of Springfield in conjunction with many local businesses and organizations, will be putting on the March of Technology. There will be presentations from vendors like Google and Microsoft, and local interest groups will be around to help with questions about technology, computing, Open Source software and more. OOSUG will have a booth at the March of Technology Expo. For information, click here.

OOSUG (Ozarks Open Source Users Group), is proud to be an active part of the Springfield, Missouri Open Source Software Community!

Our group meets monthly to discuss all things Open Source… from the very basic information to the latest developments.

Information is available for all skill levels - from those interesting in finding out what Open Source software can offer them, to those that have been using Open Source software for years.