[Novalug] Business Oriented Install-Fests [was: Where is Linuxtoday?]

Sun Jun 22 19:38:37 EDT 2008

Actually John, i was hoping you would chime in on this for me. yes, i
totally agree, this would be a great idea for OSS4biz to help with.

Tim

On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 6:03 PM, John Franklin <franklin at elfie.org> wrote:

> I'm surprised Tim hasn't chimed in on this thread!
>
> After many beers, the OSS-biz chose a different direction for the
> group at the May meeting, and a slightly different name to reflect the
> new focus:  OSS4biz.   OSS4biz provides community support for
> businesses from early stage start-ups to enterprises looking to
> leverage open source.  No, we won't fix their computers, but we will
> point them to open source solutions to their business problems.  An
> InstallFest like event is exactly one of the programs we envisioned
> pursuing.  Every startup needs certain things: an EIN, a bank account,
> e-mail, a website.  Can we show them alternatives to Exchange?
>
> Maybe we can put together a CentOS or Ubuntu install suitable for
> connecting to their Cable/DSL connection and gives them an Exchange
> alternative, a lightweight VPN solution, a Website with Joomla! or
> Drupal pre-set, automatic patching, and a list of local people (and
> references) who would happily help them maintain it.
>
> jf
>
> On Jun 21, 2008, at 11:00 AM, greg pryzby wrote:
>
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > FYI, if this is something of interest, organize and advertise and I am
> > *sure* that Novalug will step up to assist and provide 'experts'.
> >
> >
> > Randy Johnson wrote:
> >> I for one strongly support Robert's idea of a business-oriented
> >> install
> >> fest, demo, etc! I'd love to see how to use Linux equivalents of
> >> AD, group
> >> policies, network monitoring, xp desktop imaging/RIS/sysprep (esp.
> >> Ghost-like equivalents that work with Intel SATA drivers) and so
> >> on. I would
> >> definitely attend such an event and would also pay or make a
> >> donation.
> >>
> >> Regarding Michael's question of who the audience would be, I'm a
> >> Windows
> >> admin at a small non-profit. Dollars are there, but I need to
> >> justify every
> >> one. The same thing goes for time! There must be a lot of us in the
> >> Windows
> >> world who would love to "make the switch" but feel prevented by
> >> time and
> >> learning curve issues. And with all due respect, I don't think
> >> paying $1200
> >> a year for linux enterprise support is a viable option -- for that
> >> money, my
> >> board of directors would ask me why not just stick with Windows!
> >>
> >> Anyways, thanks Robert for your mail, and thanks NOVALUG for the
> >> forum.
> >>
> >> Randy Johnson
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: novalug-bounces at calypso.tux.org
> >> [mailto:novalug-bounces at calypso.tux.org] On Behalf Of Robert Kuropkat
> >> Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 6:47 PM
> >> To: Tanenhaus Michael; NOVA LUG
> >> Subject: [Novalug] Business Oriented Install-Fests [was: Where is
> >> Linuxtoday?]
> >>
> >> *This message was transferred with a trial version of
> >> CommuniGate(tm) Pro*
> >>
> >> An interesting, business oriented install-fest might be seeing
> >> automated, network based installs as well as updates/upgrades and
> >> generally maintaining enterprise wide baselines.  And I'd like to see
> >> the free as in beer alternatives.  I'm not adverse to recommending
> >> commercial options to my organization, but usually, the only
> >> difference
> >> I see in the free vs commercial solutions is a six figure price tag,
> >> just for the ease of initial setup.  The price seems a bit steep to
> >> me,
> >> but on the other hand, so is the still brutal setup of some of the
> >> free
> >> tools.
> >>
> >> i.e.  Enterprise [non-commercial] tools are in a state today, where
> >> workstation installation where 5 years ago.
> >>
> >> I'd really like to see a demo and some more work done on products
> >> like
> >> Unattended or Unattended-GUI that make it easier to setup and control
> >> installs such as Red Hat, Ubuntu AND Windows.  I'd like to see this
> >> as
> >> perhaps a cornerstone to various system recovery strategies, eg.
> >> back up
> >> the data, not the apps or OS.  This is particularly useful when the
> >> corporate lease expires on your Dell 2650 and it gets replaced with a
> >> brand spankin' new Dell 2950.  Classic backups don't help much there.
> >> It would be nice to twiddle an install script, reboot the new server,
> >> select a menu option, let the latest version of your OS do it's slick
> >> new hardware detection and walla!  New server.  Load the data and
> >> done.
> >> It's also useful when you know you have standard business or
> >> developer
> >> apps but have developers who want to use different distros.  With a
> >> good
> >> set of tools, there should be no need to restrict the deployed OS
> >> options.
> >>
> >> Show me how I can do that without spending tens, or even hundreds of
> >> thousands of dollars and I'd attend.
> >>
> >> Follow that up with other corporate boggeymen preventers such hard
> >> drive
> >> encryption, anti-virus etc. and you get even farther down my check
> >> list.
> >>
> >> Add the big brother items, such as network monitoring, penetration
> >> testing, etc. and I can probably even pay to attend.
> >>
> >> Show me how to setup linux services equivalent to Windows services
> >> on a
> >> one to one basis and INTEGRATE them (MS Exchange -> ?, Active
> >> Directory
> >> -> OpenLDAP) and I'm into the icing.
> >>
> >> Note: I don't need a list of apps, I already know most of the
> >> options.
> >> What I don't have is a smooth way to roll them out, integrate them
> >> and
> >> show how they compare to the Windows counterparts the rest of the
> >> larger
> >> corporation is using as well as the value add of even using them
> >> rather
> >> than submitting to "the man" and going the route the rest of the
> >> corporation has.
> >>
> >> Sure I can bulldog my way through them and will, but I think you
> >> hit on
> >> an interesting idea.  Why should I have to?  This is what install-
> >> fests
> >> were for!  And the reason you had so many of them once was because
> >> word
> >> would spread and each time new people would attend, but also, those
> >> who
> >> attended the last would be ready for advanced topics at later ones.
> >>
> >> The "nice side" to Windows solutions is you usually have very limited
> >> options and the corporate suits are already used to laying out tons
> >> of
> >> cash for them.  But if you are a one off organization in your
> >> company,
> >> no one knows what to do, nor do they want to bother or pay for it.
> >> Only
> >> once it is well established and proven will they tend to give it
> >> greater
> >> thought.
> >>
> >> Robert Kuropkat
> >>
> >>
> >> Tanenhaus Michael wrote:
> >>> I would respectfully disagree with Maxwell on this one. I believe
> >>> strongly
> >> that Linux is simply changing rather than stagnating. The adoption
> >> of the
> >> open source model is EXPLODING! Linux has achieve relevance as a
> >> server
> >> operating system and is being adopted at a good pace.
> >>> In regards to Desktops - Vista has been a great enhancer in
> >>> getting people
> >> to come off auto pilot and actually evaluate the different options
> >> available
> >> to them. I think the LiveCD/LiveDVD has become more popular because
> >> of this
> >> trend.
> >>> One of the side effects of change is that the audience changes
> >>> with the
> >> products. Most business models for OSS software revolve around
> >> enterprise
> >> support for OS and applications. This in turn drives marketing and
> >> sales
> >> specific to delivering this message of corporate value. As the
> >> focus changes
> >> from whats cool about the technology to what is good for business the
> >> audience who is listening changes as well.
> >>> I run a consulting company who has a primary mission of forwarding
> >>> OSS
> >> technologies (including Linux) in the enterprise. We are partnered
> >> with
> >> Novell (SuSE) because their solutions using the technology deliver
> >> a great
> >> deal of business value. I have watched this thread with interest
> >> because one
> >> of the marketing events we are looking at for this year is
> >> coincidentally an
> >> InstallFest. The question for us has been what is the interest
> >> level - and
> >> who would be the audience to attend?
> >>> I believe Linux conferences and marketing are essential for
> >>> keeping Linux
> >> and OSS relevant and therefore growing in adoption; and I believe
> >> that there
> >> is definitely an audience for these conferences - because we see a
> >> lot of
> >> questions about Linux; I am just not sure its the same audience as
> >> 5 years
> >> ago.
> >>> For the record - we DO recommend Linux :)  For server and Desktop
> >> environments. This is a relatively recent change for us - we did
> >> not believe
> >> the enterprise desktop distributions were ready until about 12
> >> months ago. I
> >> believe it to be a viable option against Vista and Apple - and have
> >> demonstrated it with our own staff.
> >>> I am very excited about OSS and Linux; I think it has become a major
> >> influencer in technology innovation and has bypassed Microsoft is
> >> injecting
> >> new and different ideas into the marketplace. That sort of
> >> competition is
> >> great for everyone - its gets the juices flowing!
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Michael Tanenhaus
> >>> Principal
> >>> Mavenspire, Inc
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>
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-- 
tim ferro
www.timferro.com
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