Gerhard's article in Stabroek News Business Section and the press release announced the Software Freedom Day activities which took place at Orion Technologies, Stelling Road, Vreed en Hoop.
The objective of the activity was to contribute to the public awareness about free and open source software.
Orion installs the software from the TTCSOSSWIN CD on all the systems which they sell. One of the systems was on display.
We had available a laptop with Mandriva 2007 and a desktop with Ubuntu Feisty. There was another demonstation of a linux router set up on an old PC.
" I am fed up with viruses"
One home user said he read about the event and he came to see what was on offer because he was fed up with viruses and was curious to see about Linux and the other software. He was concerned about the proliferation of viruses and was also interested in protecting his home.
"What about business applications?"
A small business owner was interested in the options for retail business management and open source POS. We admitted that there was a limited number of business applications available, especially for small businesses, but the availability is increasing. He thought of trying out some of the other OSS such as Open Office, even as he admitted that the training seems locked in to certain proprietary software, rather than the technology use.
"Is Linux easy to use?"
A student doing the A plus exams was keen on learning about Linux since he had only heard about it and we hope to hear from him how the installation goes. He also recommended that we organise some demos for IT classes at schools. A journalist who dropped in also asked about the different aspects of Linux and OSS. He was interested in GAIM. We suggested that he could click around on the Mandriva 2007 desktop, especially OpenOffice which he would be likely to use, and he was surprised at how 'easy' it was.
Picture below shows a first time user
Picture below shows Sean Ramdehol demonstrating the monitoring on a linux based router, software mounted on an old PC. His cell phone is connected to the machine. Vidya (with the lesser of the two paunches) is trying to call to see how the monitoring would pick up the call. Gerhard is ensuring that we do not damage his equipment
