Re: [tlug] erasing hard drive?

[Jonathan Q <jq@example.com>]

Greg Corrin (greg@example.com) wrote:

> I can't make Friday's meeting, but I was wondering if TLUG ever has install
> fests, where people can come with various machines and receive help with
> installs.

Revisiting your post to address this question, it has been a long time
since TLUG has had an install fest and  I would have strong reservations
about doing another one (A backup guest speaker or other activities
would be highly desirable) for the simple reason that install fests
have always been a flop.  Even back in the days when Linux could
be hard to install, almost no one would bring a machine to the
install fests, not even a laptop.  Hauling heavy stuff around was
one issue, I'm sure.  Another, I suspect, was that then - as now -
those who were interested in installing Linux could find a way
to do it on their own, even if it took a few tries.  In this
day when many distros are truly trivial to install, an install fest
might draw no one at all.

However, if anyone has a machine on which they need help installing,
I'm sure that if they brought it to a regular meeting (or even
a nomikai, if it was a laptop and they would risk it around
beer and drunk sysadmins :-) there would be no shortage of people
willing to help with an install problem or answer questions about
best practice when setting up a new Linux install.

Jonathan