MythTV Installfest Beta Announcement - March 31st: 10:00 A.M.

[Jon 'maddog' Hall]

Hello,

As people on this mailing list may know, we have been talking about
having an installation fest for MythTV (www.mythtv.org), a piece of FOSS
that allows your PC to act like a TV recorder,
photo repository and music repository all in one.  We have determined
that a lot of people would like to do this, but it currently is fairly
technical, has a fair number of decisions and issues that need to be
discussed or learned, and as a
"do-it-yourself-in-the-isolation-of-your-own-home" has caused grown men
(and women) to gnash their teeth and rent their clothes, often taking
more than three days (if ever) to get the installation right.

Yesterday we had the .01 release of this "MythTV Installation Fest" held
at The New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, New Hampshire.  A
full report on this will be coming out in the near future, but we
believe that we learned a lot while at the same time getting some people
completely through the installation process.  We thankfully acknowledge
the guidance,
expertise and good humor of Jarod Wilson, and the facilities of
the New Hampshire Technial Institute (NHTI).

We are ready to move on to the Beta copy of this procedure, which will include
recommended (if not required) hardware specifications, a
recommended ^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h required software installation, and the
name of your cable supplier.  We will also be requiring a web-signup, which will not
only help us schedule the time, but make sure that you understand the issues
around this project, and that you bring the appropriate hardware and information.

More on the requirements and needed information will be forthcoming.

However, we have also decided to hold this Beta (open to GNHLUG members and
NHTI students on a FCFS basis) on March 31st starting at 1000.  I am telling
you this now so those of you who are interested in participating at this (still early)
stage may reserve March 31st for this effort.

If this Beta is successful we will then try opening this up to the general
public at a time following March 31st, probably by several weeks to allow time
for final tweaking.  We will also need time to advertise the offering and have sign-up.

We anticipate that the lessons learned from yesterday's .01 event will greatly
enhance both the success ratio and shorten the installation time of the software for the
Beta on March 31st.

I also anticipate that the lessons learned from both yesterday's .01 offering and
this upcoming beta may allow us to generate steps to allow MythTV to become mainstream
(or at least something that will not be a three-day marathon of frustration).

If you are interested in participating in this next stage, please keep March 31st
open, and await further details as they unfold.  I anticipate that the next announcement will
tell people the type of hardware we require, some places to buy that hardware if
needed, and the availability of a sign-up sheet so people can indicate their desire to
join in the Beta.

Warmest regards,

maddog