InstallFest #1

Today’s Agenda:

10:00 - 10:15 Networking and Coffee Kickstart
10:15 - 10:30 Introduction to Open Source and SLLUG
10:30 - 12:00 Group Activities Commence
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch (free as in pizza)
12:30 -  2:30 Group Activities Continue
 2:30 -  3:00 Wrap-Up and Next Steps

Networking and Coffee Kickstart - 10:00-10:15

Welcome! Meet, greet, find a spot to call your own. Settle in.

Beverages will be available throughout the day. Any special requests can be made to one of the organizers.

If you’re new to SLLUG or the STC, please introduce yourself to at least two new friends this morning. Open source is all about collaboration.

Introduction to Open Source and SLLUG - 10:15-10:30

What is Open Source? What is GNU/Linux?

Open source software goes back several decades. Software is created by writing out text in a certain language. That text is called the “source code.” In an open source project, it’s possible for someone to gain access to that original source code to read it and change it as they wish.

To most end-users, the difference between open source and closed source is invisible. To hit some key names on either side of the fence: Windows, Microsoft Office, and Apple iOS are closed source, while Linux, Firefox and Android are open source. Closed source projects cannot be viewed/edited from a source code level.

The biggest benefit of open source software is simply a matter of control.

Today we are looking at Linux (GNU/Linux for purists). Linux is an operating system that was written to be open source from day one. It is a low-level interface between hardware (like your phone) and software (like your browser). If you’d like to know more about the history of Linux, please ask one of our volunteer core, who will surely wax poetic for hours at a time.

The reason we’re holding this InstallFest is to help introduce people to this concept of free and open source software. We believe that open source software is good for humanity, and fun. We hope that by the end of today, you agree.

Who’s Running this Madhouse Anyway?!

Our volunteer core consists of:

With many special thanks to our keen Sarnia-Lambton Linux Users Group members, and the students in Lambton College’s Information Technology Professional program.

If you have any questions, ask whoever’s nearest. If the two of you can’t figure it out, ask the person with the longest beard. If the three of you are still stumped, go find the preson with the RedHat gear on. If all four of you are stumped then it’s time to just shout out “HELP!” and someone will surely be there to commiserate.

What is SLLUG and the Sarnia Tech Community?

The Sarnia-Lambton Linux Users Group (SLLUG) was born out of a desire to spread knowledge and fun around open source software.

SLLUG stands on the shoulders of a few community efforts, including the Sarnia Tech Community, The Cube at Lambton College, Startup Sarnia-Lambton, and other efforts.

Collectively, the goal of all of these projects is to validate Sarnia as a city where technology can be built, used and grown.

If you would like to be part of this validation and growth, stay in touch with us and keep coming out to events like this one.

How Can We Stay in Touch?

SLLUG has a few means to stay in touch:

  1. www.sllug.ca is the website of the Sarnia-Lambton Linux Users Group
  2. mail.sllug.ca is where you can subscribe to our mailing list
  3. www.sarniatech.ca is the website of the Sarnia Tech Community
  4. www.facebook.com/groups/SarniaTech/ is the STC’s Facebook Group
  5. sarnia.slack.com is the Slack group for the Sarnia Tech Community

Slack is a great tool for working together. But it’s closed source! If you want to help us set up a tool like Rocket Chat, Mattermost, Matrix or Zulip, today is a great day to start.

We already have an IRC channel (#sllug on Freenode) but IRC is a bit of an uphill battle.

What Are We Doing Today?

There are three basic streams:

  1. Beginner - “I’m new here, what’s this ‘Open Force’ thing?”
  2. Intermediate - “I use Firefox. I’ve installed Ubuntu. What’s next?”
  3. Advanced - “6ish hours seems like plenty of time to setup a business…”

Within those streams, there are lots of options. It’s highly encouraged to work with at least one partner, depending on your comfort level.

Beginners will be installing Linux for the first time, and getting to a usable desktop environment, where they can browse the web, check their e-mail, and maybe play a game of SuperTuxKart over the LAN.

Intermediate users will be challenged to setup a web stack (or some other app) on a system of their choice that they were not familiar with before today. For example, if you’ve used Ubuntu Desktop, setup an Arch Linux server.

Advanced users are free to do whatever you’d like, but please drag someone along for the ride. You probably had a cool idea of what you wanted to spend the day doing. If there’s anything we can help you with, just shout.

For everyone: have fun! If you have any questions, please ask.