Ubuntu Videos in Toronto

[Russell McOrmond]

Darryl Moore wrote:
> How's this.
> 
> Opening Scene: Large print notice of school policy regarding software
> piracy fills screen. "OFFENDERS WILL BE EXPELLED"

   I like this.  It's a message that hasn't been well understood in 
North America, which is that FLOSS is the ideal solution to so-called 
"software piracy".  Being able to hand out copies of Edubuntu or 
TheOpenCD.org (and the Mac equivalents) to students the first day to 
install on their home computers would in the long term solve the problem 
of students illegally sharing software (IE: it would get them familiar 
with software that is legal to share -- it is the old-economy licensing 
choices of the software vendor that is the source of this conflict, not 
the software sharing).

   The same thing with Open Access being a solution to much of their 
problems with Access Copyright fees, but unfortunately the Ministers of 
education and the board and school administrations haven't been 
interested in this yet.


   I'm wondering how many of the Toronto Ubuntu folks will be at the 
CopyCamp at the end of September?  http://copycamp.ca --- If you can't 
afford the regular fees, talk to the organizers.

   Having an Ubuntu center of gravity where interested people can meet 
each other and inform people would be great.  Just having a pile of 
laptops/etc running Ubuntu so that the diverse audience there (this is a 
Creator conference, but not necessarily technology people who know that 
Linux doesn't require a command line).  Lots of eye-candy stuff helps 
get people to realize where Ubuntu is, such as having XGL and compiz 
configured in the demo machines that can handle it 
http://www.ubuntuvideo.com/xgl_and_compiz_reviewed


P.S.  Have all the Canadian Ubuntu users in this list signed the 
petition to protect our right to install Ubuntu (or other software of 
our choice) onto hardware that we own?  See my signature.

-- 
  Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
  Please help us tell the Canadian Parliament to protect our property
  rights as owners of Information Technology. Sign the petition!
  http://www.digital-copyright.ca/petition/ict/

  "The government, lobbied by legacy copyright holders and hardware
   manufacturers, can pry my camcorder, computer, home theatre, or
   portable media player from my cold dead hands!"