INTRODUCTION

This blog is for a novel idea we had during a combine study session last week. "We" refers to as usual me and then to two more of my class mates from the Compsciz Department of GEC, Thrissur. (I am not naming them. Name and the rest details will be provided only by looking how the program is going to be "implemented".)

Back to the topic. Before I explain the idea we had let me go to the reasons that created them. One of my earlier mentioned class mate named Aswin Sasidharan (let's call him Mr. X as I don't want to reveal his identity) said with great emotions that he wasted his life till now on windows. He had heard of linux and wanted to try it when he was in his school itself. But as there was no one in his locality who knew about Linux, his wish didn't come true. According to him, the classes our seniors took for us on Linux, its ideology, installation, usage etc etc was a dream come true.

This made us think and think really hard as we were planning to study BEE that day. "There are many students like him now. There fore they  X. How are we able to sit in this Golden throne and drink from the Golden Goblet when we know there are million "out there" who knows nothing of Linux nor of free software for that matter.” (What we know of that matter is definitely an askable question but unfortunately I am in no mood to tell that. So leaving it for later.).

The revolutionaries in us woke up. Whatever be the cost, be it a suppli, two suppli or even full suppli, as long as we are not going to be year out, we are going to go "out there" and help others know more of linux and of this excellent concept of free softwares. So we planned to change the world. Bill Gates Beware!! This is your final warning. We are out for the hunt.

Now came a question. How do you define this "out there"? The other colleges was voted against as soon as it was recommended as most "out there" will be knowing more about this than us. We wanted to have a group who knows nothing in computers beyond windows. So came the option of a street side show. This too was voted against as this was too "primitive" and as much as we wanted some guys who know nothing much about computers, we also wanted them to know atleast something about computers. So finally the suggestion came. SCHOOLS. Yes, That's it. That's place where we can manage well and still be effective. And school time is a time when you get loads of time for experimenting with computers. Thus it was decided by 3/3 votes.

The blueprints for the programs soon unraveled in front of us. Contact the school authorities that students from the great GEC are coming with an OFFER that they will take a one hour session on Linux. They will welcome us with both hands and we will do the students a great help. The idea was temporarily postponed till our exams get over.

The idea of one hour session was decided. But what to do that one hour? Question number two. "We will hold a meeting in a seminar hall or stuff for one or two classes" piped in one. And the more we though about it, it became clear that there were no such great orators in our class who can handle about 80 school students for one hour. Ours seniors had taken such a class for us when we first came to the college. But we really lacked experience in these and natural orators are hard to be found. So came another idea "Why don't we split the students into groups of 10 and separately explain the facts like our Super Seniors did for us. Again the 3/3. Bill Passed.

Over the next hour the details like what to tell during those sessions, which all topics to include, which all demonstrations needed etc were discussed. All these things were finalized. Then came the question number three. When do we go for this? We were ready to go on weekends but then the schools won’t be functional and students won’t be there. So we decided to take one session each week for the “total upliftment of the society”. Anyway from what we heard there is not going to be that much of classes the next years. Loads of free hours are going to be there. And we as such don’t believe in classroom education and don’t enter the classes unless they are very necessary. So one session per week seemed a piece of cake.

Then came the publicity part. If we are going to do and if it gets enough publicity it’s good. And what more, we might even end up with having sponsors sponsoring our service. But this was temporarily suspended as we ourselves didn’t know how this is going to turn out to. Publicity will come. But that is only after 4-5 such classes.

Now as I seem to have forgot to tell, Mr. X has some sort of indirect contact with the SPACE group who made a linux distro based on Debian named IT@School. We decided that popularizing that can be good idea to start off with. And X is now busy trying to contact them. We also confirmed on recommending Ubuntu for the home users. Graphics and effects too will be demonstrated using Ubuntu 8.04.

Then came the preparation part. We know we have to be equipped well as these school students can get notoriously dangerous by their questions. So as soon as the exams get over, we use more of these IT@ School and Ubuntu and get experienced with it. Some softwares like GIMP, OpenOffice etc will also be covered just in case someone asks us doubts about them. There are certain tools in IT@ School which though might not be very complex, but still it will interest a school guy. Hence through IT@ School shall we go to the free software concept. Certain e-books have to been downloaded and are being read/referred/learned for getting more knowledge about Linux.

Around this time, someone remembered that we were sitting there to study. So we went to have dinner, came back and slept. So all come here visit this page to know what’s the latest on this program.

Signing off.
Alexp0205