091 Labs

WARNING: This might be a bit of a long post. Some parts of it have been waiting a while because blogging is the devil.

First off, we’d like to thank our friends at Four Star Pizza. We had our AGM (minutes here!) back at the end of November and they gave us a few pizzas for it. Now that Christmas is over and we’re well into the new year we figure that people have enough money again to be spending on random stuff… like pizza. Anyway, they have a new menu and a few deals going at the minute and we’d recommend having a look at them!

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Unfortunately, this workshop has had to be postponed as Mark isn’t feeling well and isn’t up to the trip down to Galway for the class. We’ll announce here when we know more about when it’s being rescheduled, sorry.

Why yes, a Linux workshop!

Friday January 20, from about 7pm onward. You want to learn Linux? Great! What you need is:

1. A laptop computer with enough hard disk space to install Linux.
2. A sense of self-worth and a desire to learn.
3. The fortitude to repartition your machine in order to install Linux.

We will be working with Ubuntu Linux 11.10¹.

Order of operations:

1. Get everyone settled and liability releases signed².
2. Introduce myself and introduce Linux. I have a swish presentation.
3. Hand out installation media to anyone who hasn’t been frightened away³.
4. Branch out into Q&A and get everyone working on a goal. I don’t have an overall plan in mind, save that I do better in this kind of format.

Scary footnotes aside, it should be a great evening for anyone who wants to come in and try Linux out and enjoy our friendly user-friendly hackerspace.

Admission is €10 per person, with proceeds going to the hackerspace.

—
¹The hackerspace has Ubuntu 11.10 installation media, I have Ubuntu 11.10 installation media and it is honestly the only distro I have used for any great length of time in the past decade.
²I want you to understand that complete data loss on your hard disk is a tangible risk if you mess up with partitioning. You will be supervised and the risk of data loss will be explicitly spelled out on the night.
³Depending on both the size of the crowd and my own infamously mercurial temperament, I may not be able to micromanage partitioning and installation. I will certainly supervise, but the burden of responsibility is on you, O Participant!

A huge thanks to the good folks at Ubuntu Ireland for sending us a shipment of CDs for the latest iteration of the world’s favourite Linux-based operating system, Ubuntu. Ubuntu 11.04 “Natty Narwhal” introduces a brand-new user interface in the form of Unity. Unity is a sleek and modern UI, which takes a lot of inspiration from both Windows 7 and Mac OS X, and even mobile operating systems like Android and iOS, maximising efficiency while maintaining the much-loved eye candy.

As a not-for-profit hackerspace, these CDs are extremely important to us. They allow us to run introductory classes for those who haven’t used Linux before. They allow us to introduce members of the public to the philosophies of free software, and that copying and redistribution of open source software like Ubuntu is not only perfectly legal, but highly encouraged. We may not have a space for the time being, but once we move to a new home we hope to run many Ubuntu-centric events.

Please take this opportunity to visit the Ubuntu Ireland website and find out what they do, why it’s important and why we should support them: http://www.ubuntu-ie.org/

To find out more about Ubuntu, visit: http://www.ubuntu.com

Want to try Linux? There’s a class for that!

Back by popular demand, 091 Labs’ Introduction to Linux class will be covering the installation and setup of Ubuntu 10.10, including configuring it to work seamlessly with your Windows files. We’ll even show you how to setup all the cool goodies!

The class will cost just €5, which will go towards rent and equipment for 091 Labs. The class will be about 2 hours long and printed notes will be provided afterwards. No prior knowledge of Linux is necessary as this is starting from the very basics!

What to bring:

• A laptop

By installing Linux you can KEEP Windows installed, you’ll just have the option of booting either Windows or Ubuntu when you switch your computer on. As a precaution, please backup all your important files anyway.

If you do not have a laptop, we will be able to offer a limited amount of old laptops which you can install Ubuntu on, just to get a feel for the installation. Please request these in advance. We have a Tuck Shop in 091 Labs selling drinks and snacks for low prices, which also goes towards our rent :)