Computing as If People Mattered: Sept 19 2009

In celebration of Software Freedom Day, The Working Centre, the Kitchener Waterloo Linux Users Group and the University of Waterloo Computer Science Club are holding a day of events and activities on Saturday, September 19, from 10am to 4pm. Please join us!

The day will feature workshops, demonstrations, and giveaways. We will have some refurbished PCs with Ubuntu on them for sale at ridiculously low prices. There will also be some draws for prizes such as T-shirts and used systems.

Getting Here

We're located at 66 Queen Street South, in downtown Kitchener. Please enter using the Charles Street Entrance across from Full Circle Foods -- other doors will be locked.

We are located a block away from the Charles Street Transit Terminal. There is pay lot off of Ontario Street behind the building. There is bike parking across Queen Street.

Workshops

We will be running a series of 20-minute workshops on various computer topics. Many of the talks are suitable for people without a lot of computer experience. Here is the current schedule:

Time	Topic
11:00am	Introduction to OpenOffice.org
12:00pm	Avoiding Viruses and Malware (*)
12:30pm	Software Freedom Day: What are we celebrating?
1:30pm	Reducing Communications and Computing Expenses (*)
2:00pm	Don't Be Afraid of the Command Line
2:30pm	Introduction to Openoffice.org (repeated)
3:00pm	Linux for Windows Users

Presentations marked with a (*) involve some discussion of software that is not free/open source.

Demonstrations

In addition to talks we will be holding some longer 1 hour demonstrations. Volunteers will show off software and answer your questions.

There will also be informal demonstrations throughout the day, and hands-on workstations for you to try.

Installfest

If you bring a computer to the event, volunteers can help you install free/open source software on it. We can help you install programs from the Windows OpenEducationDisc, or we can help you install and configure an open source operating system such as Linux.

If you wish to install new software on your computer, please arrive before 2pm so there will be enough time work on the installation.

If you already use free/open source operating software on your computer, volunteers will be on hand to help you troubleshoot problems. For example, you might be having trouble getting a piece of hardware working under Linux, or you might have a question you have not been able to solve with OpenOffice.

If you wish to participate in the Installfest, please carry out the following steps beforehand:

• Back up your important data beforehand.
• If you are going to install a new operating system on your computer, make sure that you have permission to do so, and that you and the other people who use your computer are okay with you wiping out the operating system. It is wise to use a non-critical or older computer for experimenting with new operating systems.
• Be sure to label your belongings before coming to the event. Put your name and contact e-mail/phone on your computer and any external components you bring in.

Although we hope nothing will go irreversibly wrong during the event, if you participate in the Installfest you will be doing so at your own risk. So be careful!

We will also have non-destructive "Live CDs" on hand that will let you try Linux out on your computer without touching your hard drive.

More Informatiom

If you have questions about the event, please contact Paul or Charles: pauln at theworkingcentre.org or charlesm at theworkingcentre.org . You can also call Paul at 519.743.1151 x 147 (and leave a message if necessary).

Get Involved!

If you would like to volunteer or contribute to the event, you can contact Paul or Charles above. You can also just arrive on the day and participate.

Please invite others who might be interested in this event. Here is a poster you can put up to advertise the event.

Here are some leaflets you can hand out to others.