There was a good turn-out and a mix of both experienced and novice Linux enthusiasts. Importantly, there was a number of Windows users yet to try Linux who came along to get a better understanding of what it's all about.

Peter's talk entitled, "An Introduction to Linux" was well prepared and he managed to turn what is potentially a complicated topic into an entertaining and informative talk. He's promised to make his slideshow available on the BCS website [I'll link to it when it's up.]

After the initial presentation there was then a showing of Alan Pope's screencast, "Installing Ubuntu with Windows Dual-Boot". The screencast was well received and proved to be a valuable speaking/teaching aid. Congrats to the Ubuntu screencast team! More screencasts can be found at: http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/

There was then a break for questions and answers before an impromptu demonstration of VMware on a Mac [I thought this was a Linux meeting?] running virtual images of Edubuntu and Windows. I'm not sure the demo benefited the new/novice users but I know some of the more experienced users found it of interest. I didn't catch the presenters name, sorry.

Finally, Cornelia did a short talk/presentation on the One Laptop Per Child project and expressed an interest in getting the BCS and Lincs LUG involved. It'll be interesting to see what comes from that — it's certainly a worthy project.

At the end it was agreed that there was a lot of topics discussed in the two hour session and that maybe it would be a good idea to run some local Linux workshops. I'm all for this and there seemed to be some genuine need/interest from the group.

All-in-all it was an enjoyable meeting and it was nice to meet some of the faces on the mailing lists. The Lincolnshire branch of the BCS seem to be much more organised than the Lincs LUG [not that that would be too difficult :)] I'll have to keep an eye on their site for future events.

Tags: bcs, lincslug, linux, ubuntu

Quote from the BCS site:

The format will be more that of a workshop/tutorial, and will be designed to encourage "hands-on" experience of using several GNU/Linux distros (in particular Ubuntu, Debian, and Knoppix. It will also allow for exchange of information and ideas, and try to answer questions and queries about GNU/Linux, especially for those who have little or no experience. If you have a laptop with a Linux installation, please feel free to bring it along to help demonstrate, or raise questions (although we cannot guarantee to answer all questions).

The meeting will in the EMMTEC Building at the University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS. Meeting at 18:30 for a 19:00 start.

I'll be there armed with some Ubuntu disks, if you're in the area be sure come by and say hello!

Full event details can be found at: http://ossg.bcs.org/2007/09/18/an-introduction-to-installingusing-gnulinux-for-beginners-lincoln-111007/

Tags: lincslug, ubuntu