Results of the Ubuntu/Fedora Event

[Cyprus Ubuntu Loco Team]

The Event
___________

There were 5 presentations in total. The attendance of the public was 
satisfactory and we were given the opportunity to exchange information 
and opinions. At the same time Ubuntu was installed on the Computers in 
the Lab and the public could evaluate the new system. Some had brought 
their personal computers and we tried to solve some of their technical 
problems.

Presentations
_______________

1) Intoduction to GNU/Linux and Free Software:

Grigoris Chrysanthou talked about the history and philosophy of the Free 
Software movement and explained to the public some basic concepts and 
the different choices they will have to make when they decide to use 
Linux. He also explained that Linux is not harder to learn but simply 
different.

2) Educational Academic Applications:

Theodotos Andreou presented some applications suitable for all levels of 
education. He presented applications like the GCompris educational 
suite, the  Maxima symbolic computation system (where he forgot the 
syntax and he couldn't solve the problem!) , the Celestia universe 
emulator and the Kalzium periodic table and chemical application. He 
emphasised on the high cost of existing educational applications and the 
advantage that free software can offer, being able to be used at home 
without legal issues.

3) Applications of GNU/Linux in Business:

Panayiotis Omirou showed the advantages of GNU/Linux in Businesses. He 
explained that moving the systems to Linux should be done in steps and 
taking into consideration the needs of the organisation. Lastly he 
mentioned notable applications and services that could be used as 
alternatives to closed source solutions.

4) Installation of Ubuntu Server as a Domain Controller using the EBox 
platform:

Theodotos Andreou showed how you should NOT install Ubuntu Server and 
EBox. The choice to use virtual machines instead of physical was a fatal 
mistake and the result was to eat up the time without results. He 
explained, however, the possibilities of EBox that could be a solution 
for those not accustomed to the shell.

5) The Shell and its applications:

Grigoris Chrysanthou explained to the public the potential of the Shell 
emphasising on the ease one could solve apparently difficult problems. 
He explained how the commands grep, sed, awk and others can be used to 
improve the productivity of an experienced user.

Workshops
____________

 
In the computer labs we had install Ubuntu though wubi on around 25 
Computers of the Cyprus University of Technology. There were also around 
10 Computers borrowed by some companies and members of the community. 
The workshops worked as expected and the participants were satisfied. 
There were educational workshops, installation workshops games and a lot 
of applications. We had demonstrations of the Compiz 3D Desktop and the 
Elisa Media Centre. We gave around 100 CDs of Ubuntu and some of  
Fedora. Members of the community were helping those with technical problems.

Problems
__________

1) The presentations lasted too long and the people were tired. As time 
passed by, there were less participants on each subsequent presentation. 
At the same time the workshops were in parallel and the participants of 
the presentations were not given enough time to work with the computers.

2) The presentations about the Ubuntu Server and the Shell should had 
happened in the Computer Labs. Especially for the first one, physical 
machines should be used instead of virtual.

3) The presentation about business was not promoted enough and the 
result was limited interest from the industy.

4) During the presentations we forgot to prepare a Fedora computer in 
the labs. Our apologies to Fedora users. We will be more prepared in the 
future.

5) When we set the date we didn't take into account the fact that many 
academic institutions were in a midterm exam period and many students 
could not attend because they were studying.

Thanks
________

We would like to thank the Information Systems and Technology Department 
of CUT for letting us use the amphitheatre and the computer labs. We 
thank the Head of the Department Mr Filippos Filippou, for giving the 
opportunity to show the potential of free software to the public, 
Andreas Mouskos and Diana Constantinou who was in charge of organising 
the event.

For the promotion of the event we would like to thank Mr Panikos 
Masouras of Cyprus Computer Society (CCS), Mr Costas Perdikis for the 
announcements to the University of Nicosia and Mr Leonidas Xatzimitses 
for the announcement to former and present CISCO Academy students. 
Especially the announcements send by CCS was crucial for the success of 
the event since more than 60% of the attendants were notified though 
them. Lastly we would like to thank George Mihail, Maria Efthimiou and 
Filippos Xatzimihail from the student IEEE branch of the Cyprus 
University for promoting the event in Nicosia.

We would like to thank the companies Maldogate LTD and CDT Computers Ltd 
for the Computers ans consumables (CDs and DVDs) we used during the event.

Lastly we would like to thank all those from the community that worked 
for the preparation and success of the event:

Aggelos Ioannou, Demetris Ioannou, Constantinos Mikellides, Marinos 
Ioannou, Christodoulos Stavrinou, Neofytos Panayiotou, Panayiotis 
Omirou, Grigoris Chrysanthou, Theodotos Andreou and others.

Future events
_______________

We are planning to organise, somewhere in December, some presentations 
in private tutorial institutions regarding the potential of free 
software in education. The next party is scheduled for May after the new 
releases of Ubuntu and Fedora.