[plug] Discussion from Perth Tech Groups meta meetup

[Luke John]

Dear PLUGgers

At the recent Perth Tech Groups meta meetup the PLUG members present
had a discussion about LCA 2014 and SFD and a possible PLUG advocacy
and awareness team.

As no one has been able to volunteer for the Leadership position for LCA 2014 we
have been unable to submit a finalised bid document, however much of
the work done so far has put us in a great spot for Software Freedom
Day and potentially a streamed Linux Conference Australia (read more
below).

below is some content from a shared publicly accessible collaborative google doc
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xASZglArjmmc-G66eybktP6qqXXZM-KEqKLu0agIXVU/edit>
which was set up after the discussion.
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no LCA
despite great efforts from many of our members we were unable to find
someone able to take on the leadership role, and as a result will be
unable to properly bid for 2014.
It was suggested we consider a Streaming LCA where we book some rooms
somewhere centrally located and fit them out with projectors/sound
systems and run a live stream of the conference.

maybe PLUG advocacy and awareness (PLUG-AA) team
In the vein of the PLUG-AV team this sub group would have its focus
representing PLUGs membership on awareness and advocacy issues.

An initial step would be to become a member of ACCAN and other such
groups, and prepare a simple leaflet that we can provide to
business/community groups about open source, why it’s the best choice,
and who they can contact when they are looking at technology
implementations.

We would also be likely to set up a separate mailing list for this group.

yes SFD
whilst we are unable to bid for LCA 2014 the work we have done so far
on this project has put us in a strong place to run SFD.  The
SpaceCubed venue was very nice, open, accessible and centrally located
so we will enquire about using their venue.  We’ve had heaps of great
suggestions about things to do on the day and surrounding the event
and will start meeting fortnightly soon. A meeting format suggested is
to have the initial meet in person, and then follow ups via mumble
when possible.
Some ideas for SFD:
Giving out free software, Linux Distros are an option and some of the
disks you can get come with nice prints on them instead of just a
burn/blank disk. But also free windows software, blender, firefox,
etc.. Maybe we could have a PC setup where people can insert their USB
drive and load up on software
Have a row of computers lined up with various softwares loaded so
people can try it out, and if they like it have cd’s with the software
and business cards with the software info and where people can
download it from.
Raspberry Pi - I’d be happy to bring mine down, by September I’d think
we should have a few we can setup around the place and let people play
with.
Quad Copters? - with linux/open source banners hanging from them
Have a few speakers who can talk about open tools and platforms
Moodle
Arduino
Home Automation
Ubuntu
Invite local businesses providing solutions based on open tools to
attend, give input and market themselves.
potentially make portions a “sign up” so we have a good idea of turn
up before the event. if so have an incredibly simple process (ie, add
your email/other contact, click this button)
have pre events to increase event awareness
Perth Small Business Meetup
Set up in town somewhere and hand out leaflets and show cool tools
have banners in town the week leading up to SFD
http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/documentdb/2462 these cost between $190 and
$900 depending on location.

why ACCAN
For those unaware, the federal government has been hosting discussions
on copyright reform for a number of years now with industry members.
Until very recently the only groups invited to engage in those
discussions have been Record companies, Movie Studios, Major
publishers, ISPs, and others involved in managing copyright (ie, they
buy and sell).

At the latest round of talks a group called ACCAN was invited to fill
the role of consumer interest being represented, Their website is
<accan.org.au> and their about explains them as “ACCAN is the peak
body that represents all consumers on communications issues including
telecommunications, broadband and emerging new services. We provide a
strong, unified voice to industry and government as we work towards
availability, accessibility and affordability of communications
services for all Australians.“  For PLUG to become a member of this
group there is a $27.50 annual fee, and would perhaps help launch the
PLUG-AA team.

on Linux Australia's proposed advocacy subcommittee
There has been discussion on the Linux Australia mailing list on
forming a subcommittee to represent its membership on “open
technology” issues.  Whilst no one seems to have volunteered as yet to
manage this, we would hopefully be able to work closely with this
group.

My view is that Western Australia is too far from the east to ensure
that a national group would be able to effectively run events on “open tech”
issues locally, which is why PLUG-AA could be useful.
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Kind Regards
Luke John