ADVOCACY: Last night's "Linux in Business" session

[Ted Roche]

Congratulations to Greg Rundlett, Dave Berube, and Justin Seiferth for a
comprehensive presentation last night at NHTI's Center for Training and
Business Development. Sponsored by Kathy Moore and Terry Simkin of the
Center, the evening was a free informational session to judge the depth of
interest and opportunities for training from the CTBD on the topic of Linux.


Greg talked for half an hour on many of the Linux success stories, from the
U.S. Census Bureau to iStockPhoto. David talked for ten minutes on the TCO
of Linux, claiming "it's not a cost, it's an investment." And Justin wrapped
up the formal presentations with 20 minutes of slideshow on security as a
process and not a product. Break time was next, the usual "ten minutes" that
turns into twenty. Greg took advantage of the time to pass out a dozen
Knoppix disks. After the short break, we wrapped up with about an hour of
panel discussion, culminating in a list of topics the audience felt the CTBD
could present.

There were 22 attendees. 4 or 5 identified themselves as business owners,
and a half-dozen as new to Linux. I had the impression that the vast
majority were unemployed or underemployed IT staff - programmers, analysts,
admins - looking to learn more about Linux. Certainly there were some
hobbyists and home users in attendance as well. There was no mention of the
LUG, unfortunately, as it seemed like a crowd who could benefit.

Congratulations and thanks for a good night of advocacy to Greg, David and
Justin!