I agree, a LUG is were you can and do get a broader education about 
computers and computer issues.  (Usually with a little bit of a Linux 
slant !-)  But is a good place to learn, and share your knowledge.

I have always found the meeting *VERY* useful.  And was very 
disappointed to see the TCLug stop having regular meeting.  And had for 
years tried to find a somewhere to have a meeting.  Now I personally am 
not a fan of meeting at the U of M, and I don't like to meet week 
nights.  So with those constraints I felt it was easier to start my own 
group, and chose to no go through the TCLug.  So that is how Penguins 
Unbound came about.

So I would encourage all to come and check out the Penguins Unbound 
meeting.  I would love to have someone come and talk about any of the 
topics, and I plan on drawing up the calendar for next year in December. 
    The best place to get info about the Penguins Unbound is at the website
http://www.PenguinsUnbound.com.  And I do post all meeting announcements 
to the TCLug list, so you can just watch this mailing list.

Thanks.

==>brian.
Brian Dolan-Goecke

Robert Nesius wrote:
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:04 AM, Carl Wilhelm Soderstrom 
> <chrome at real-time.com <mailto:chrome at real-time.com>> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>     Really, there's not nearly as much need for the LUG as there used to be.
>     Linux is much easier to install, communication between everyone is
>     better,
>     and Linux has gotten far enough into the mainstream that there's not
>     as much
>     need for advocacy as there used to be. Linux didn't destroy all
>     opponents in
>     the OS wars; but it did force the other vendors (M$ and Apple) to
>     get a lot
>     better. 
> 
> 
> I generally agree with this.  I'm far more interested in the Free/Open 
> Source Software movements and issues than Linux itself as an OS.  Linux 
> as a platform - great!  But once Linux is on the box - then what?   So 
> my focus area is a bit broader, but LUG's seem to be the best place to 
> find like-minded people, including topics like:
> 
> * Licensing (understanding the GPL)
> * Linux & F/OSS in the Enterprise
>      - how to integrate into a windows-dominated environment
>      - How to provide services to windows clients transparently
>      - authentication and identity sourcing
>      - Workflows and tool chains
> * More broadly, our privacy rights
> * Standards, and standards corruption by for-profit entities.  
> * Developing solutions on Linux with F/OSS tool chains
>   - web develepment being a key area of interest for me.
> * Coming changes/new features in the kernel.
>  
> 
>     In the end, that's a pretty good result. Once again, the
>     (relatively) free market helps consumers win in the end. :)
> 
> 
> Free (liberated) software helped more than markets, imho.
>  
> 
> 
>     So the LUG is to a greater percentage what it always had been... a
>     social
>     club for geeks. :)
> 
> 
> Yar.
> 
> -Rob 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
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