Linux Souls : Helping Bridge the Gap for New Linux Users

To be honest, I have been looking for a hobby that is different from the norm, and could potentially help get me back on the right track for becoming fit once again. Geocaching seems to have all bases covered.

So, you've installed Ubuntu.  Maybe you've spent some time fiddling around with your settings.  Maybe it's starting to feel like "your" operating system.  You've got a nice drop down terminal, a solid wallpaper and theme, and you're having a grand old time.

I don't know what you all think of when you hear about Ubuntu, or I suppose in this case Linux in general; but when I heard about it the first thing that popped into my head was some guy, hunched over his box, slamming arcane commands into a terminal and accomplishing amazing things faster than I could ever hope to with my mouse!  Needless to say, I wanted to (want to) be that guy.  I love efficiency.  I love minimalism and simplicity.  If I can accomplish something without my fingers leaving the keyboard to use a mouse then I'm a happy camper.  

Ok, so, I'm incredibly new to blogging.  And by incredibly new, I mean this is my first attempt.  So show mercy and all that fun stuff.  Anyway...
I'm writing this blog for three reasons.  First and foremost, I want to provide a sort of testimony about my switch (though not complete) from Windows to Linux.  My experience in the shift has been unquestionably amazing.  Much of that is due to the operating system itself: its quality, functionality, ease of use and speed.  Even more of this is due to the community.  

Just wanted to take a moment to share with all of you that this upcoming Saturday, the 18th of September, is Software Freedom Day 2010. I would like to encourage all of you to go out, celebrate, and spread the word about why all of us love and use Free Software. There are hundreds of groups that are planning events all over the globe.

Whether you're a newly founded LoCo Team or have been one since LoCo Teams were formed, There are some really important ways that your experiences can be quickly turned into a winning situation for everyone involved.  That coupled with the fact that there is an improved method of having your reports appear on the Main Team Reports page.

I want to say a quick thank you to Danny Bray (aka Lupine) for securing us a much better hosting solution! Hopefully now I will be able to consistenly blog again!

Earlier this year the Space Coast Linux & OSS Meetup group was formed. We have had some pretty good turnouts and had some good times getting to know one another. It's about time that we had our first Installfest as a group. I have recently put up a poll on the Space Coast Meetup Site here! If you are interested and would like to get involved with this meetup group, please feel free to register and weigh in on the Poll.

Today, I was able to actually make it over to South Carolina for the South East Linux Fest. Friday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m there were some really great sessions. Here is the breakdown:

Barcamp 2010 was great this year. Only one day, but the talks were excellent and as always the venues were great. David Baucum (maxolasersquad) gave a talk on how he was able to help his company "open source" their Point of Sale system.

The Florida Team was definitely well represented as many members came from literally allover the state. dantalizing (Gaineseville), maddog_2009 (Melbourne), crashsystems (Plant City), maxolasersquad (Tallahassee), pak33m (Orlando), govatent (Miami), and razertec.